Case Studies | Advance Micro Solutions Blog

09 Feb

Top 2015 Tech Trends in Canada

According to several recent IDC reports, commissioned by Telus, 2015 will be a year of rapid technology transformation in Canadian businesses. The reports have identified six key drivers to keep an eye on.

1. The cloud, still?
Cloud adoption in Canada has been slower than the rest of the developed world for a variety of reasons. A survey of 350 SMBs by IT Business Canada late last year indicated that over half would be making partial moves to the cloud. Still, there were several concerns:

Forty-six per cent of respondents ranked data security as their number one concern in leveraging cloud technologies
22 per cent said their biggest worry was keeping the sovereignty of their data intact.

Many Canadian businesses simply want to keep their mission critical data in Canada, and understandably so: high profile attacks in the U.S. have weakened confidence in U.S.- based cloud providers. As the availability of Canadian cloud providers grows, more SMBs are expected to start taking advantage of cloud technologies.

2. The Internet of Things will proliferate, creating business opportunities
IDC predicts that by the end of 2018 Canadian workplaces will be home to more than 114 million smart connected devices. These devices, ranging from auto-usage sensors for insurance companies to smart gas meters will enable businesses to accurately price services based on usage.

3. Computing Everywhere
As the communications infrastructure evolves to 100% IP-based and wireless systems, the mobile workforce grows. Two-thirds of Canadian businesses are using an IP-based VoIP telephony system as their primary telephone system, while 90 per cent of Canadian businesses use smartphones. Gartner refers to this as “computing everywhere”, providing employees with seamless access to all their business applications across all their devices.

4. The BYOD trend will expand
The study also revealed that 73 per cent of Canadian executives support a BYOD smartphone program and 58 per cent support BYOD tablets. This will expand to additional devices and apps, particularly as wearable and IoT technology proliferate.

5. The security challenge will increase
The growth of trends in cloud, IoT and BYOD have created needs for enhanced data security in transit and at rest. The explosion in data being generated and stored across a wide array of devices provides cyber thieves with more ways to hack into networks, making security one of the largest areas of spending growth in 2015.

6. Migration from legacy skills and systems
As the profound benefits of third platform computing begin to outweigh the risks, Canadian businesses will be investing in new skills and systems while aggressively shutting down legacy technologies.

Advance Micro Solutions helps Vancouver area businesses capitalize on emerging technologies and optimize for growth. For a free technology assessment, contact Advance Micro Solutions today.

21 Jan

Insurance Industry Challenges and IT Solutions

The challenges facing the insurance industry and Canadian brokerages can be daunting. The manner in which insurers address many of these challenges depends to a large degree on the ability of the firm’s IT infrastructure to scale, adapt, and otherwise adjust to the changing landscape.

Earlier this year, insurance firm Stikeman Elliot listed what they viewed as the top ten challenges facing Canadian insurance brokers. While all of these developments have an impact on a firm’s IT strategy, some being impactful than others. Here are some that have a direct impact on the IT department.

The 2014 ORSA (Own Risk and Solvency Assessment) Guideline came into effect at the beginning of the year, burdening IT with unforeseen data management demands. Firms with old, inflexible data storage systems may have struggled to comply by the March deadline.
Compliance with new regulations almost always has an impact on data management. Intelligent tiering of technologies for backup and recovery and more powerful analytics is critical for compliance.
Capital requirements are forcing firms to look for cost savings, much of which can be found in the data center. Technologies and solutions, such as virtualization and cloud, can reduce physical data center footprints by requiring fewer servers and related appliances, less office space, lower energy consumption, and fewer management hours.
Mitigating security threats, especially in mobile environments like insurance sales, can be expensive and time-consuming. The OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) cyber security self-assessment guidance lists many preparatory measures that require additional IT focus and expense.
Emerging technologies will continue to reshape Property and Casualty personal lines business. The potential of telematics will become clearer, big data will get bigger, and internet-based distribution will continue to gain market share.

One local insurance firm with 6 branches and 40 employees addressed these challenges by turning to Advance Micro Solutions, whose team of experts implemented a solution that continues to help control costs and increase flexibility, reliability, and efficiency.

The solutions consisted of:

x3550 M4 server with 32G memory,
2 x 900G hard drives with Raid 1 mirroring
Windows 2008 R2 server standard
Microsoft remote desktop service

The insurance firm received a scalable global solution with a highly secure and internally controlled data center that their existing IT staff could monitor, update, and operate remotely. There was no new need for additional internal employees to support the server since everything was set up and customized by Advance Micro Solutions based on the insurance firm’s specifications.

If you are looking for ways to control IT costs in a dynamic, highly regulated industry like insurance, reach out to the experts at Advance Micro Solutions for a free technology consultation.

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0

06 Jan

How an International Valve Manufacturer Gained Remote IT Capabilities With an In-House Server Solution

International manufacturers have a lot to worry about. Production regulations are different country to country, which requires constant awareness of. Once products get into a country, the business needs to monitor and keep the items flowing through the many avenues of distribution. Product cost must be minimized, but should be balanced with the business needs and marketplace competition. And these are just a few of the larger struggles facing these corporations.

Sometimes when one is so wrapped up in the big problems, it helps to take a giant step back and look at the business like a large tree with large branches. If the structure of the tree is nourished and the roots are given attention and can grow strong, then the tree’s chances of longevity are increased. In an organization, we can view the roots and structure as the internal components that keep the business running smoothly and optimized.

Nurture the roots and build that strong foundation

Let’s explore what happened when a world class manufacturer of valves, with offices in Taiwan, China, United States, and Canada decided to take a giant step back and figure out one way to strengthen their roots, starting with the way they handled email.
But why start with email? Have you heard the claim by the consulting firm Ponemon Institute that the cost per square foot of data center outages now ranges from $45 to $95. Or, a minimum cost of $74,223 to a maximum of $1,734,433 per organization The valve manufacturer wanted to start at the very roots that held their company together: their communication through email.

The challenge was chosen: In-house vs. hosted

What would be the most cost-effective way to handle email communications to ensure optimal performance and control? Would it be through paying a third party company to build, host, and maintain servers that this business could use for a higher annual fee? Or would it pay a higher upfront cost to hire a company to build out an in-house server solution that the valve company would own and control?

After much research, this international valve manufacturer decided to make an investment for an in-house solution, which included the following:

There is less of a risk of downtime with an in-house exchange server solution because the organization has control over the physical equipment and can potentially bring the server back online faster by having their own IT fix the issue immediately.
An in-house exchange server is more secure and offers better privacy then a hosted solution.
An in-house exchange server solution offers more control for the core IT team of the business.
There is more functionality and custom integration options with an in-house solution since the organization can have the system build for their needs and to integrate with their internal systems out of the box.

The valve manufacturer reached out to Advance Micro Solutions to offer an in-house solution that would service the many locations of the business. Through several rounds of consultation, it was decided that Advance Micro Solutions would build an exchange server in Vancouver, BC to host all of the company’s global email accounts.

The solution and the equipment used to build it

With three pieces of IBM hardware, IBM x3530 M4 server with 64G memory, 4 x 1 TB hard drives, and one additional gigabit Ethernet dual-port server adapter, Advance Micro Solutions was able to build out an in-house exchange server solution that could be remotely managed and updated by the valve manufacturer’s already established IT staff in Taiwan.

The outcome

The valve manufacturer received a scalable global solution with a highly secure and internally controlled exchange server that their existing IT staff could monitor, update, and operate remotely. There was no new need for additional internal employees to support the server since everything was set up and customized by Advance Micro Solutions based on the valve manufacturer’s specifications.

The manufacturer gained peace of mind knowing that if they needed any future support or help with the newly implemented system, Advance Micro Solutions would be there to assist.

If you are asking yourself if having a hosted or in-house server solution is right for you and want to start with a consultation about your needs, reach out to the experts at Advance Micro Solutions.