According to Microsoft, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services – including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and intelligence – over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources and economies of scale. 

Source: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/ 

 

What types of cloud are there? 

There are three key cloud deployment models which depending on your business’s needs will determine what model would best suit you.  

The three types of cloud include:  

• Private Cloud: A private cloud is a cloud environment that has been exclusively created and owned by a business. You’ll have the option to locate your private cloud in the businesses on-site data centre, or even ask a third-party to host it for you. All private clouds infrastructure and services are managed on a private network.  
• Public Cloud: On the other hand, public clouds are operated by third-party cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure. The third-party provider will offer their services e.g. storage over the internet, and management of all your hardware, software and other supporting infrastructure. You’ll have the ability to manage your services through your web browser.  
• Hybrid Cloud: Hybrid clouds are a perfect combination of public and private clouds that are brought together by technology, allowing your applications and data to be shared between the two. A hybrid cloud environment provides your business with more flexibility and will help optimise your current infrastructure, security and compliance. Meaning you’ll get the best of both worlds.  

 

What types of cloud services are available?  

The possibilities on the cloud are endless. There are three main cloud computing services, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). But what are these services and how are they different from each other? 

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the core category of cloud services. IaaS is rented IT infrastructure from a third-party cloud provider. Within your IT infrastructure, you will be able to rent servers, network, storage, virtual machines and more. 
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers an environment for you to develop, test, deliver and manage your software applications with ease. With PaaS, it has never been easier for developers to create applications without having to worry about the setup of your underlying IaaS, storage, network and databases needed for development. 
• Software as a Service (SaaS) is a method for delivering your software applications over the internet. This would be offered as an on–demand service on a subscription basis. Your cloud provider will host and manage the software application and infrastructure. They will also take care of any maintenance e.g. software upgrades or any security patching that’s needed. You can connect to the applications over the Internet via your browser on your PC, phone or tablet. 

 

What can cloud computing be used for? 

The cloud is more powerful than ever, and it’s quickly become a part of our daily lives. It allows you to access data, services, emails and documents from any location on any device. The first cloud computing services are barely a decade old, and businesses across all industries and sizes are embracing the cloud for different reasons. Some of these include:   

• Ability to create new apps. The cloud provides you with the opportunity to build, deploy and scale applications with ease, whether they’re for web or mobile.  
• Store and recover data. The cloud will help you protect your data at a more cost–effective price whilst keeping it accessible from any location and device. It will simply transfer your data from the internet to an offsite cloud storage system.  
• Software as a service (SaaS) allows you to provide customers with your latest software updates no matter where they are.  
• Test and build applications in the cloud. This will allow you to easily scale your applications up or down using your cloud infrastructure.  
• Analyse your data across the different teams and locations within the cloud. You can make the most of machine learning and AI in the cloud to help you gain new insights to make smart decisions.   

And the list goes on. The possibilities are endless with the cloud.  

 

Benefits of cloud computing  

41.9% of UK companies have adopted some form of cloud service. And this percentage is still rising. Why? Because there are many benefits of using cloud computing in an organisation. Here are six reasons why companies like yours are using the cloud.  

• Cost effective. Cloud computing will eliminate the cost of purchasing hardware, software and running on-site data centres. Moving your IT to the cloud will not only be more efficient but will allow you to save on the costs.  
• Scalability. Using cloud computing in your organisation will allow your business to achieve fearless growth. You’ll have the ability to scale your business on a global scale by adjusting your resources as and when you need it.  
• Tightened security. Many cloud providers offer a set of policies that can keep your data, apps and infrastructure from any security threats.  
• Speed. Most cloud services are provided over the internet as an on–demand self–service. Resulting in you having the ability to access your resources in a few mouse clicks. 
• Increased productivity. On-site data centres need a lot of looking after with all the hardware setup and software patching. Cloud computing removes a lot of these tasks, allowing your IT team to focus on achieving your business goals. 
• Reliability. Data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity are made easier with cloud computing. 

“We’ve taken a big step forward in terms of flexibility with the Microsoft Cloud. Our staff can access our applications from any site or location. Whenever we need to provide access for any other site, the process is seamless.”

Jason Moon, Head of IT, Simarco

Cloud providers 

There are plenty of Cloud providers out there. But it’s important you partner up with a provider that’s aligned with your business’s needs. So, are you thinking of migrating to the cloud, but unsure of what cloud provider to go with? Microsoft Azure is one of the biggest cloud providers in the UK and will help your business unlock its full potential. If you would like to discover the power of the cloud, then sign up to one of our Azure Roadshows.  

Cloud Direct was born in the cloud, and we’ve helped over numerous companies migrate to the cloud, so it’s safe to say we know a thing or two. We have a team of cloud experts that can provide you with more information on the cloud.  Simply get in contact today and a member of our team will get in touch with you shortly.  

 

Migrating to the cloud is a big investment, so it’s important you choose the right provider for your business. And really, it comes down to options – Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Let’s explore these two big players so you can decide which cloud provider best suits your business needs.  

 

What is Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a set of cloud services that can help your business achieve fearless growth. No matter how big or small your company, Azure can provide you with the freedom to build, manage and deploy apps using your favourite tools and frameworks. Azure offers a range of functionalities including, analytics, storage, computing, networking and more – all of which integrates with your cloud environment to help you achieve fearless growth.  

Benefits of Azure: 

• Create a hybrid cloud environment with ease  
• It has a comprehensive set of compliance offerings 
• Covers more global regions than any other cloud provider 

 

What is AWS? 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has over one million customers and has been around for over 13 years. You’ll have the ability to scale your business through their services, including compute, storage and delivery.  

Benefits of AWS: 

• It’s one of the longest standing cloud solutions 
• Easy to use application hosting 
• Can use Amazon’s identity and security services 

 

Azure VS AWS: Features 

Azure and AWS have very similar features. However, Azure has some remarkable features that AWS simply doesn’t. These include; Azure Visual Studio Online, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Event Hubs and Azure Scheduler. Microsoft Azure offers a more advanced Hybrid Cloud with its integrated cloud service with multiple deployment options, allowing you to better manage your private and public cloud as one.  

AWS offers a wide range of IaaS solutions, including; Compute, Storage and CDN, Database and Networking. But AWS doesn’t offer as comprehensive hybrid cloud option as Microsoft does.  

Depending on what you’re looking to do in your cloud environment will help determine whether your company would benefit from Azure or AWS. If you decide Azure is the way for you or just want to find out a bit more, then our experts know a thing or two about Azure and will help you identify whether it will provide your business with the cloud environment you’re looking for. 

 

Azure VS AWS: Global coverage  

Having a cloud provider with a global infrastructure will allow you sustainably scale your business across the world. Now, who doesn’t want that? Azure and AWS both have a global footprint and operates in different regions across the world. But who has the most coverage?

AWS has 66 availability zones within 21 graphic regions and has plans to open in four more regions, including Bahrain, Cape Town, Jakarta and Milan. 

Microsoft Azure infrastructure is in 54 regions and is available in 140 countries, with six more announced. That’s more than any other cloud provider. Azure provides you with the infrastructure you need to take your application to a global scale.  

 

Azure VS AWS: Deploying Apps  

Cloud computing can make deploying an application a walk in the park. But what cloud provider offers the best tools for deploying your applications?  

Microsoft Azure provides you with the tools you need to not only deploy your app but scale it to your business’s needs. Azure has multiple application deployment options to ensure you have a smooth deployment process, including; cloud services, container service, batch and application services. 

AWS has similar solutions with Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk and container services. However, Amazon does not offer as many application hosting features as Azure.  

 

Azure VS AWS: Security 

Security is a big concern to many businesses, especially in the cloud. Azure and AWS are two of the biggest cloud providers, and both have the capabilities of making sure your cloud environment is secure. 

Microsoft has created their own version of role-based access control (RBAC) called Azure Directory. RBAC will help you enhance and simplify security as you control users’ permissions. Thanks to Microsoft background on networking, they’ve been able to develop a complex and strong security feature that will allow you to manage users access successfully.  

AWS has also developed its own RBAC, called Identity and Access Management (IAM). It doesn’t have as complex security services as Azure, but it does offer additional services such as GuardDuty and DDoS. 

 

Azure VS AWS: Pricing   

AWS is five times more expensive than Azure for Windows Server and SQL Server. You could save up to 71% on your Windows Virtual Machines with Azure compared to AWS EC2.  

Here at Cloud Direct, we’ve created our own portal to allow you to monitor your Azure spend and usage called PROVIDE. This will help you get a better understanding of your current and future costs in Azure.  

Both AWS and Azure follow a pay as you go model allowing you to only pay for what you use. With Azure you pay by the hour, whereas with AWS you pay by the minute which is a more precise pricing model.  

The good news is, Azure and AWS both offer a free trial of their services – meaning you can try before you buy.  

Depending on what you’re using the cloud for will determine which provider will be more cost-effective for your business. Our experts are happy to help you understand how much you could save in Azure. 

  

Azure vs AWS: Partners 

Working with a partner when migrating to the cloud can make a huge difference. A partner can provide added value to your cloud environment. And if you’re looking to make the most of your cloud, then it’s important you’re choosing the provider that has partners to help you have a seamless migration. 

AWS has over 100,000 partners that can help add value to your business. They have partners that specialise by industry, including; government, education, non-profit and more.  

Azure has slightly fewer partners, with a total of 68,000 MSP partners. But it’s all about quality, not quantity – right? Azure has recently launched the Azure Expert MSP programme to ensure you’re getting the best partners for your cloud migration. This is made up of around 35 Azure Expert MSPs around the world. And we’re proud to be one of them.   

 

More than 95% of Fortune 500 companies use Azure. Why? Microsoft has over three decades of experience, with over 68,000+ partners and over 90 certifications – the most comprehensive set of compliance offerings any cloud service provider has to offer.  

If you would like to find out how Microsoft Azure could support your business, then please get in touch with one of our experts.

We also hold regular Azure Roadshows across the country. If you would like to discover the power of Azure, then visit our events page to find an Azure Roadshow near you.  

 

Tom Duckett works in our Information Systems Team in our Bath, UK office. He joined the Cloud Direct family as part of his placement year and has been here ever since! We managed to ask Tom some questions about his time with Cloud Direct so far. Find out more about Toms journey from joining during his placement year to becoming a Junior Full Stack Developer.

 

What’s your role in Cloud Direct, and how long have you been here?

I am currently a Junior Full Stack Developer.

I joined Cloud Direct back in 2017 as a Junior Developer / Data Analyst for two years. I spent 15 months working full time, and another nine working part-time as I focused on completing my degree at the University of the West of England. Cloud Direct was always happy to support my studies and gave me the time I needed to complete my assignments and exams. Upon completing my Computer Science degree, I recently moved into a new role, Junior Full Stack Developer.

My role involves end-to-end development of our bespoke web applications, such as our PROVIDE portal.

 

What brought you to Cloud Direct, and how did you get here?

I found Cloud Direct through a friend who still currently works here. At the time I was applying for year-long placement opportunities as part of my degree. I was fortunate enough to get a placement year here and was offered a permanent job completing my placement alongside my degree.

Prior to this, I had no experience working in the industry. Both of my previous roles were small part-time jobs to get me by during school and the first couple of years of my degree.

I joined with only the knowledge of my first two years at university and, and the skills I picked up in my own time. I knew I had a passion for software development, and that was what pushed me to work at Cloud Direct alongside my degree.

 

What does your average day look like?

I work closely with Rob, our experienced Full Stack Developer. He’s currently teaching me everything I need to know to be successful in this role. He’s been a huge support to me as I’ve changed roles and made it a seamless transition.

Currently, my daily duties include maintaining our bespoke web applications, working on the end-to-end design and development of new features and enhancements, and fixing any problems that may occur.

 

What do you enjoy the most about your job and working for Cloud Direct?

I enjoy any new challenge that gets thrown my way. It allows me to learn new skills and adapt my current knowledge for any future tasks. This role allows me to work on both team and solo projects that put my current knowledge and skills to practise. I enjoy the team I work with – when things get tough, we provide each other with the support we need and manage to pull through.

Working for Cloud Direct is unlike any job I’ve previously had. They’ve provided me with the opportunities to really expand my learning and experiences.

 

What project have you worked on that you’re most proud of?

During the last two years, my team and I have successfully integrated several acquisitions into our business systems. I have been responsible for developing system enhancements and data import routines during each of these projects.

It takes a few months of development and preparation, and then only a day or two over the weekend to execute everything and transform our live environment into a system that provides all the functionality and data needed to continue supporting our newly acquired customers. Seeing the result at the end is very rewarding!

 

How has Cloud Direct supported your career?

Cloud Direct has allowed me to kick-start my career as a Developer with no previous experience and provided the resources and support I needed to progress to the role I’ve dreamed of.

Before going to university, I set myself the goal of becoming a Full Stack Developer – something I had thought would take a long time to achieve after graduating. However, since finishing my degree, Cloud Direct has given me the opportunity to start working my way into this role much sooner than I had ever expected. My manager knew this was a goal of mine and went out of his way to make it a reality.

 

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I’m passionate about motorcycles and classic cars, and I’m currently attempting to restore a classic mini cooper in my spare time. I also enjoy listening to and playing music. A few years ago, I decided to teach myself how to play the guitar and have been learning new songs ever since.

To help my career, I often continue developing software outside of work and learning about new technologies and practises that may aid both my professional and personal projects.

 

Want to join the team?

We are always looking for the brightest and most curious minds to join our ever-growing team. If you think you have something to offer, or would like to see what job openings we currently have, then visit our careers page.

91% of the Fortune 100 use Microsoft Teams, so why not join them?

Back in September 2017, Microsoft announced that Teams will build on the capabilities of Skype for Business. Microsoft Teams will bring together chats, meetings, calling, collaboration, app integration and file storage into one system. Skype for Business is now coming to End of Life on 31st July 2021, so it’s time to plan out how you’ll upgrade to Microsoft Teams. 

To start benefiting from the capabilities of Microsoft Teams immediately, we’ve put together this guide to help ensure you have a smooth migration from Skype for Business to Teams.

Five steps to a seamless Microsoft Teams upgrade

Ensuring a successful transition is not just about changing the technology you use. It’s about changing your behaviour and empowering your employees to become Teams gurus. In this simple five-step guide we will show you how to do just that and seamlessly transition from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams.

1. Spread the word

Before upgrading from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams you need to make everyone aware of the change. The first step to change is getting your stakeholders onboard. Once your stakeholders are excited about Microsoft Teams, it will be easier to engage other employees about the change.

Sending an email announcement is a good starting point. But, why not follow up with an internal webinar to help get everyone on board? This is the perfect opportunity for employees to ask any questions they may have.

2. Prepare your team for Teams

Do you have any Skype for Business advocates in your organisation? They may need a little more persuading than others in adopting Microsoft Teams. Now’s your chance to share the benefits of Microsoft Teams with the rest of your employees.

Reassure them that things are only going to get better. Microsoft Teams has built on Skype for Business capabilities, meaning your employees won’t be missing out on any features they’ve previously been using. Microsoft has improved the way group chats, online meetings and conference calls take place. With Microsoft Teams, it has never been easier for employees to collaborate with Office 365 apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint.

They’ll be able to make their very own modern workplace. With the addition of third-party integrations to increase productivity. You can see a full list of the Microsoft Teams apps and integrations here.

No need to worry about governance in Microsoft Teams. The built-in security features of Office 365 extend to Teams, delivering the advanced security and compliance your business expects.

3. Activate the user upgrade notification

The truth is, everyone forgets things from time to time. Your employees will be busy with their daily duties, so it’s important to keep them updated with the progress of the upgrade. Otherwise, they may forget.

In Skype for Business, you can provide a visual alert to ensure employees are reminded of the upcoming upgrade to Teams. Microsoft has put together a simple guide on how you can enable these upgrade notifications.  

4. Upgrade users to Teams

Today’s the day – your business is ready to upgrade from Skype for business to Microsoft Teams. Everyone’s excited about the new communication and collaboration solution to help them get more done.

Here are the instructions given by Microsoft to upgrade to Microsoft Teams:

In the Microsoft Teams admin centre, activate the upgrade switch by setting the coexistence mode to Teams Only. (In the admin centre, go to Org-wide Settings > Teams Upgrade.) Users will receive a notification in their Skype for Business client that they’ve been upgraded to Teams.

Once you’re all upgraded, Microsoft suggests you send an email to your employees and encourage them to start using Microsoft Teams. Highlighting a key point of contact is vital at this point for employees to ask any questions they have and remind them of any resources available to support the transition from Skype for Business to Teams.

5. Maximise user adoption

Microsoft Teams is in place. Employees have started using it. Now’s your chance to maximise user adoption. We have three suggestions to help you to make the most of your upgrade to Microsoft Teams.

Have a launch event. Why not celebrate your upgrade to Microsoft Teams with a launch event? Whether this is a quick ten minute get together in the meeting room or office lunch, it’s worth getting employees excited about the upgrade. If employees are engaged, they’ll be more willing to fully adopt their new collaboration system.
Understand who’s using what. Teams generate several reports to help you understand who is using the app and how it’s being used. Below is just a small sample  of a few reports that can be generated:

 

Image source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-analytics-and-reports/teams-reporting-reference

It’s important to put time aside to analyse these reports, especially in the first few months of upgrading to Teams. Analysing these reports will help you identify any usage gaps for you to try and close and check to see if users are fully adopting their new collaboration tool. Still seeing a skills gap? Our year of complimentary training with Mandarine Academy will educate your employees on the Microsoft Teams features they aren’t yet utilising.

Offering training to your employees will allow them to fully utilise all Teams has to offer. Once they know how to integrate Teams into their work, they will start to reap all the benefits of the collaboration system.

 

Microsoft Teams is on course to become the top business chat app by 2020. So why not stay ahead of the crowd and start using Teams today? Our experts know everything about Microsoft Teams and are waiting to share their knowledge with you. Get in contact with us today to find out how Teams can support your business.   

Futurist Ray Kurzweil has a lot of faith in the future of AI. If his prediction is correct, the impact on the way everyone does business will be huge: 

‘Artificial intelligence will reach human levels by 2029. Follow that out further…and we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilization a billion-fold.’

It’s fair to say that Kurzweil is bullish about AI, its capabilities in the coming years, and the role it will play in our lives. But what are the facts behind the AI hyperbole? Why does your business need to be ready for it? 

We recently conducted a survey that asked organisations if they’re prepared to implement AI and machine learning. Here’s what we found out, and why the results are significant. 

Businesses see AI saving them money – and making it

The applications of AI are countless and are only limited by an organisation’s ability to implement them. As AI moves beyond cost efficiency, expect to see a rise in revenue generated by automation.  

Most of our respondents saw cost efficiency and customer service as the major areas that AI would positively impact for them. Which isn’t surprising. AI automates busy-work and increases productivity(especially when it comes to compliance-related tasks). It makes use of data to benefit operational efficiency and improves customer relations by effectively managing customer service. It does these things already, and does them very well.  

What could you gain?

There is, however, a definite shift taking place. 21% our respondents saw the potential to change their go-to-market strategy. MIT’s investigation of organisations further along in their AI journey found that a significant number of them are ‘prioritising revenue-generating AI applications over cost-saving ones.’ This suggests that AI is poised to not only save these businesses money, but start making them significant amounts, too.

How, though? AI requires a solid infrastructure, as mentioned before, but it also requires machine learning to vastly improve inefficiencies in products and processes. Making use of the technology’s processing power during ideation and market research puts a near-boundless amount of flexible, customisable knowledge at your disposable. While real-time data analysis allows for minute refinements in the production or service-provisioning process.

The ability to manage customer relations is a major part of the money-making puzzle. Developments in machine learning capabilities could lead to applications intelligent enough to successfully handle the sales process from start to finish, with data collection and analysis leading to decision making, product refinement and customer service delivery.

How can you get ready?

Widen your scope. Don’t just think about areas in which AI can help you save money or send the right email to the right lead and start thinking about ways in which it could help you improve your product or service further down the line.

Be imaginative, optimistic and aspirational, and take a wish-list to the experts. They’ll know what you need to reach your AI goals.  

 

Half of businesses have the infrastructure and skills they need to take advantage of AI

Around half of the businesses we spoke to already have the infrastructure and skills they need to make use of AI.Half didn’t.

Investing in infrastructure – in this case, the kind of cloud processing power you’ll need to implement a business-changing AI program – is a necessity. 

A global survey of CIOs across a broad range of industries revealed that 72% of those working in digital-forward organisations – and 58% of those in ‘baseline organisation’s – saw AI and machine learning as a priority in terms of investment in the next three years. 

What could you gain?

Why are these CIOs so interested in AI? Because they know it’s the future of efficient data analysis, decision making and business growth. According to analytics expert Thomas H. Davenport’s The AI Advantage, there are three stages to an organisation’s AI adoption: 

• Assisted intelligence makes use of data on a far greater scale than we’ve ever seen;
• Machine learning mimics human cognitive skills to produce informed analysis of data; 
• And finally, autonomous intelligence brings decision-making into the mix. 

The future of AI for business is bright. Davenport’s three stages point to a future in which AI is making the kinds of business decisions that the C-suite usually managesand is doing so based on an in-depth knowledge of regulations, industry processes and tailored data analysis. Who knows, business decision-making in the future could approach a kind of logical perfection! The C-suite won’t be replaced, but they’ll have an assistant with superhuman brain-power by their side. 

How can you get ready? 

Again, you’ll want to take an inventory of what you already have. Is there a solid foundation to build on, or do you need a ground-up cloud solution to refresh your infrastructure and make room for AI? Consult with your IT department and involve them in the decision-making process, then open lines of communication with an MSP that can take stock of your situation and make structural recommendations.

The same goes for your staff. 80 percent of respondents to an EY survey on AI cited a lack of skills as the biggest hurdle to implementing a successful AI strategy. Make sure you’re training existing staff, hiring strategically and fostering relationships with MSPs to fill in knowledge gaps. Without the skills necessary to make the most of AI technologies, you’ll doubtless miss out on some of its most significant capabilities.  

Only 32% of businesses have a fully mapped-out AI strategy

The majority of businesses aren’t yet ready to implement AI and make use of its benefits.  When we asked whether people were strategising for AI, most respondents either completely lacked a strategy or didn’t yet have a fully thought-through plan.

What could you gain?

The respondents in the not-so-prepared camp need to rectify this. Why? From a positive perspective, AI and automation has the potential to massively benefit organisations no matter the industry they’re in.

A recent study from McKinsey found that businesses in industries such as insurance and travel will see tens of billions of dollars in positive impact with the arrival of advanced automation and machine learning. In fact, an article written earlier this year by analysts at Deloitte began by arguing that: 

‘As AI technologies standardise across industries, becoming an AI-fueled organisation will likely be table stakes for survival.’

How can you get ready?

Essentially, if your organisation isn’t prepared to make use of automation, it’ll be missing out on the two percent year-on-year productivity growth that it creates. Building out a full AI strategy is the first step. Ask yourself whether you’ve got the infrastructure, in-house expertise and budget set aside to make the most of what’s to come. Look for resources on automation and AI infrastructure, and where it might positively impact your existing business model.

If you’re involved in production, for example, installing sensors along the production line will gather masses of data that can save huge amounts of time and money by recommending proactive maintenance and cutting production inefficiencies. Machine learning then makes use of the huge amounts of data that these sensors generate, and are the backbone of the ‘smart factories’ forecast to generate trillions of pounds in the next few years. This will funnel data into an AI platform that can point out inefficiencies, saving you money where it was wasted before. Once you’ve gotten as far as you can with the knowledge you already have, it’s time to bring in the experts.

What we’ve learned

The results of our survey, which gathered 100 responses from participants in a variety of industries, have given us several valuable insights. The key takeaway, however, is that:  

Getting ready for AI – whether that means training and hiring staff, building your infrastructure or even preparing a basic strategy – is a necessity. 

Almost a third of our respondents already have an AI strategy, and a further third have begun the work. AI readiness is no longer an option; it’s a necessity if you want your organisation to remain competitive and continue to grow. 

There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to AI’s future in your business. Starting out on the right foot in terms of infrastructure and strategy means you’ll avoid any obstacles that might get in the way of the benefits that the technology promises.To find out more about how your business can build the foundations of automation and get ready for AI, speak with an expert today.

 

If you’re thinking about organising anything in 2019, it pays to consult the newly-crowned queen of tidying, Marie Kondo, for advice:

‘Once you learn to choose your belongings properly, you will be left with only the amount that fits perfectly in the space you own.’ 

While Marie Kondo may specialise in tidying up houses, her advice can also be applied to Azure governance and cost management. The public cloud requires careful management and systematic organisation before you can realise its full benefits for your organisation.  

Azure is an empowering, growth-enabling tool, but if you’re not organised in your approach to using it you risk losing control of your cloud spend. Azure costs can mount and fly under the radar if you don’t have a thought-through cost management plan and governance framework in place. Proper organisation is the key to an efficient, cost-effective Azure experience.  Don’t let the tool’s costs outweigh its benefits.  

Here’s what Marie Kondo would do if she was cost-managing her Enterprise Azure profile. 

Make the most of groups

It doesn’t make sense to deploy an entire program of subscriptions in Azure if you’re not going to keep track of the resources involved. A tool that is designed to save or even make you money can end up costing you quite a lot if you’re paying for things you don’t need, or that aren’t delivering the kind of ROI you expect. 

The Azure Scaffold exists to ensure that your subscriptions are effectively cost- and compliance-managed, and its grouping system plays a big part in making that happen. Management groups are a useful feature within Azure, allowing you to group subscriptions together in ways that make sense for your business. Governance features such as Azure Policies and Role Based Access Control (RBAC) can then be assigned to the Management Groups, providing a consistent and secure standard across the organisation. These groups can be crafted to reflect your internal structure, making it easy to ensure the right department has access to the right Azure subscriptions, and those that don’t need access are kept out. 

Resource groups go into more granular detail, and can be structured in an organised way to ensure all resources are easily identified. If you’re looking to cap your spending on an individual project, you can apply a spend limit to the resource group instead of hoping that someone’s remembered to do it for each individual subscription. 

Naming conventions 

One of the simplest and most effective steps you can take to organise your Azure costs is to ensure that you’ve got a naming convention that everyone follows. Creating and tagging resource groups is much more useful if this is done consistently across your business. If no naming convention is followed, specific resources will be harder to find, and groups of resources or subscriptions could potentially fall by the wayside and continue to accrue costs without your knowledge. 

Naming conventions can be tailored to the specific character of your organisation, reflectingyour internal structure to make finding resources in Azure an intuitive process. Removing barriers to checking up on your subscriptions and resource spending is a crucial step towards ensuring that you’ve got a detailed overview of where your money is being spent. 

Monitoring and management

The transition from budgeting for hardware to budgeting for services – from CAPEX to OPEX – has the potential to be a confusing one. If your subscriptions are disorganised, it’s difficult to take advantage of what’s great about OPEX spending: the ability to scale costs up and down according to your changing business needs. 

If you’ve named, tagged and grouped your resources effectively, they should be easy to find using Azure’s cost-management tools and turned off when you don’t need them. Say you’ve completed work on a web app that you’re no longer using. If you haven’t organised the resources that it used properly, you might end up paying for some of them long after the project finishes because they didn’t show up where you thought they’d be in the Azure portal.

Azure Monitor constantly gathers data from all your subscriptions to show you what’s working and what isn’t. While Azure Advisor crunches the numbers and offers cost-management recommendations to ensure you’re paying for what you truly use.. With this knowledge, you can set workloads on timed schedules to maximise efficiency and unused workloads can be properly terminated, which can add up to significant savings. Switching off a virtual machine for just four hours a day can save 15 percent of its cost. Without proper Azure cost-management organisation you’d never get that insight.  

Work with the experts

Azure Expert Managed Service Providers (MSPs) like Cloud Direct can provide consultancy services,simplified portals and budget tracking to ensure that users at all levels of IT skill can understand and act on the data Azure’s monitoring tools provide. 

The My Azure section of Cloud Direct’s PROVIDE portal, for example, does just this. Behaving like a smart energy meter, it creates a granular breakdown of your spending, allowing you to respond accordingly. This opens the door for a significant increase in ROI. If, for example, one of your subscriptions isn’t performing as well as you’d like (or expected it to), you’ll see that straight away, and be able to make the necessary changes to your resource allocation. 

When this ability is given over to managers with specific knowledge of their department’s needs, it translates into real efficiency in your Azure environment and significant opportunities for savings. 

Automate what you can 

Automation goes even further in keeping those who manage spending abreast of the latest developments in your Enterprise Azure program. Azure’s Event Grid lets you create automatic processes when something happens in your portal. This means that any changes are easily flagged, and resources are easily deleted when a project comes to an end. 

Azure Automation gives users the ability to create runbooks that perform routine tasks, so you don’t have to, freeing up employee hours from busywork for more valuable projects.Autonomous tasks such as patching every month, can be automated with Azure automation. With the introduction of Azure Blueprints, Management Groups and Automation work together to provide a time-effective and consistent approach across your organisation. As Microsoft say, automation is ‘a full-time job’ and well worth the investment. 

Everyone is involved 

This isn’t a siloed job. Azure cost management organisation must come from the top down as part of a collaboration with each department, so that there’s consistency across the Azure environment. The effort will pay dividends when you don’t have to waste hours searching for a specific resource. When everything is tagged and named according to the same convention, you’ll know exactly what to look for, and where. Then when you’ve automated your Azure processes and learned how to use the monitoring tools, you’ll be making savings instead of wasting money. 

There you have it. The KonMari method applied to Azure cost-management. Apply this advice to your Azure environment, and you’ll ensure that you’ve got all the resources that ‘spark joy’ in your investors, and none of the ones that don’t. 

 

Collaboration can improve company productivity by 20 to 30%, according to McKinsey. But, increased communication and cross-pollination requires a more open-access approach to tools. Which can be cause for concern as it opens up the potential risks to governance of compliance, security, record-keeping and usability.

In this blog post, we’ll show how Citrix and Microsoft 365 will keep your data safe, your company compliant and, most importantly, your employees productive.

Deploying Citrix-on-Azure with Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is a clear favourite for businesses. With more than 120 million users worldwide, it’s a versatile solution for company communication and collaboration.

But, Microsoft 365 is only the beginning. The next logical step for any organisation looking to become more efficient is to partner your Microsoft 365 with Citrix-on-Azure. Citrix and Microsoft 365 go hand-in-hand to deliver secure productivity, simplified document-sharing and greater communication. 

In short, Citrix lets your employees load up their virtual desktops from any device at any location, while giving you governance over access management and security, direct from the source. It’s complete freedom for your employees, and absolute control for you.

Take advantage of Microsoft-level security

The reality is: most organisations use a combination of on-premises business applications and cloud-hosted applications. Consequently, employees struggle to access applications unless they’re within the secure network of the office.

Citrix Virtual Apps, however, opens up access to vital business applications without creating security weaknesses. Protected by Azure’s security centre, employers can:

• Retain access control;
• Deploy system updates direct to virtual machines,
• And, proactively shut down threats with enhanced machine learning threat protection.

For employees, it means the freedom to collaborate and share information without worrying about a data hack.

User experience 

Rewind a few years, and remote working was a company’s worst nightmare. Employees couldn’t access the tools they needed outside of the office, and if they did, employers still weren’t open to the idea.

Now, remote working is a necessity for any business to remain competitive. Consequently, employees need to access applications and systems via multiple devices quickly and efficiently. 

Citrix Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) on Azure gives employees the freedom to operate as if they’re at the office, but from any location. Whether it’s an airport lounge in Brussels; a coffee shop in Paris or even the doctor’s office in London, employees can get work done. And, employers can rest easy knowing their vital data is secured at the source within Azure, not on the localised device.

Governance 

Creating your governance framework early means that your cloud-based projects are delivered with less hassle for you. It also means avoiding some of the growing pains most commonly associated with rapid growth.

With Citrix, companies can take advantage of Azure governance, deploying compliant applications using Azure blueprints. As a result, your business can easily audit applications and remain as compliant and accountable as possible.

Building on what you know 

In Azure, user experience and governance are top of the agenda. But, Citrix and Microsoft 365’s enablement means communication and productivity are improved, too. For example, Teams (and other Microsoft 365 applications like Office 365) means employees can operate in a transparent, unified way, regardless of location. This makes for a more efficient, productive workplace.

Deploying Citrix-on-Azure can seem more complex than it is. Cloud Direct are on hand to advise you through the process, helping your business collaborate more efficiently and securely, all the while retaining control of your all-important data.

Contact an expert today to find out more.

When Vickii isn’t busy meeting with her accounts, then she’s off training for her next rugby match. We managed to interview her about her role as a Key Account Manager at Cloud Direct whilst being a newly professional Rugby player. Here’s what we found out! 👀

Vickii first picked up a rugby ball aged five, after her Dad took her siblings to Mini’s rugby at her hometown club, Portsmouth, and she hasn’t put it down since. In 2006, Vickii was selected into the England U20’s age group and won multiple Nations Cup titles, before making her debut in Women’s rugby with Richmond Women in 2008. Vickii currently plays in the Tyrells Premier 15s League for Harlequins Ladies. She also represents England at prop – meaning she’s right at the front of the scrums, in the centre of the action. We asked her what it was like playing for both her club and country. This is what she had to say:

“I’m very lucky to play for an elite team at Harlequins, so the transition between Club and Country is seamless and shows the progression of women’s rugby.”

When Vickii’s not on the rugby pitch, she’s busy at Cloud Direct as a Key Account Manager. She’s been with Cloud Direct for four years and “has enjoyed every minute of it”. Her role as a Key Account Manager involves finding new ways to delight her accounts and support their business growth – meaning she often travels across the country for meetings. Which suits her just fine as Vickii has never been one to sit behind a desk all day. Regular contact with her accounts has helped her build up strong relationships with them – most of which now support her on the pitch. Vickii said the reason for her success as a Key Account Manager at Cloud Direct is “because I’m always striving for excellence and pushing myself to be the best I can be.”

Every job comes with demands, and when you’re balancing two, you’re doubling the demands. Vickii looks at each role as if it’s a break from the other – this helps her to fully focus on what she’s currently doing. As a professional both on the pitch and in the workplace, she’s constantly growing in her roles. With a strong passion for both her clients and rugby, Vickii can’t see her life without either of them.

There’s no such thing as an average week in Vickii’s life. Every day is different, and she believes this is the reason for her development as a Key Account Manager and rugby player.

“If every day was the same, I would never be able to progress. It makes life very exciting when every day is different!”

Any successful athlete knows you need the combination of being out on the field and in the gym. As a full-time athlete, Vickii has weekly gym focusing on heavy lifting, mixed with speed and conditioning sessions, interspersed with rugby skills with her Harlequins teammates.

Vickii’s secret to managing her busy schedule? Preparation. Time management is key. Being successful both on and off the pitch is a real achievement, and Vickii makes it look easy. She’s always strict on herself and what she needs achieve, which has really helped her push herself during the 6 Nations.

“Cloud Direct has been very supportive of me becoming a professional athlete. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Women’s rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in England. Vickii feels honoured to be at the heart of the women game as it grows. World Rugby has seen a 60% increase in female participation globally and the sporting dynamic is changing – they’re making massive leaps and improving the environment for the next generation.

 “Women’s rugby has come into an elite league of its own.”

Want to watch Vickii Cornborough in action? England has one game left in the Six Nations, a doubleheader with England Men:

• 16^th March at Twickenham Stadium, Kick Off 19:40

So far, so good, with England Women on track for a Six Nations Grand Slam. Vickii says:

“We’ve done fantastically this season, and we’re always looking at the next game as the next challenge. If we carry on with the same performances that we’ve had this tournament, hopefully the result will take care of itself.”

You can watch England Women’s games on Sky Sports, but if you want to watch the Red Roses in action then come along to their games!

Harlequins Ladies will be playing against Gloucester Hartpury Women in The Game Changer, hoping to make history once again. They’re looking to break the record for the highest attended women’s premier league match.

Once the six nations are over, Vickii will be going straight back into the Tyrrells Premier 15s and has a big run of games coming up, in the hopes of winning the League with Harlequins Women.

Almost 30,000 companies operate on Windows Server 2008 today, with 140,000 still using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

But 2008 was more than a decade ago. Spotify and Airbnb had only just launched, and the iPhone was less than a year old. Sure, Windows Server and SQL Server 2008 provided a great foundation for businesses looking to deploy multiple technologies, but it’s outdated now. After all, how many people still use the first-generation iPhone?

For many organisations, it’s time to shake hands, say goodbye and modernise their business servers. One way or another, your business will have to update, or you’ll put your entire operation at risk.

Here’s what’ll happen if you don’t adapt.

Say goodbye to regular security updates

End-of-life support means an end to regular security updates, which will leave your business vulnerable to attacks. Considering there are an estimated 65,000 attempted cyber-attacks on businesses in the U.K. every day, you can’t ignore the ever-growing threat to personal data.

You certainly can’t operate without state-of-the-art measures to keep your data safe.

Say goodbye to compliance and governance

On the back of security updates is compliance. Without regular updates on Windows and SQL Server 2008, your business will quickly fall short of the new GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. And we all remember how much work it took to get compliant, don’t we?

Moving your workloads from on-premises to Azure and updating your servers will mean that your business can remain agile and compliant with regulations, regardless of how rigorous they become. And given that Microsoft is spending more than $1 billion a year on cybersecurity research, it’s safe to assume that there’s more regulation to come.

Say goodbye to all that efficiency

That’s right. With an end to support comes an end to effective performance, too. This change has a knock-on effect across your entire business. If you fail to update, there’s a good chance you’ll experience slower workloads, more glitches and, with time, broken technologies.

That’ll mean inefficient business processes, a slower time-to-market and a poor customer experience. Woof.

We won’t let you do it to yourself

Migrating your workloads to the cloud and onto an entirely new server is no easy feat. Although Windows Server 2008 support is due to end on 14^th January 2020, it’s important to get ahead of the race and plan your migration now.

Cloud Direct’s End of Support Assessment Package will give you the transparency you need to make an informed decision about your migration. We’ll review your existing 2008 Servers and explain the best way your business can handle a migration.

We’ll also help you achieve secure, scalable growth with Azure Scaffold, providing you with the framework to deploy Azure as effectively and efficiently as possible.

By modernising your IT systems and migrating to Azure, your business can unlock the potential it needs to remain competitive, increase its agility and ultimately, push forward with business growth.

Dates for your diary

SQL Server 2008/2008 R2 End of Support: 9th July 2019

Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 End of Support: 14th January 2020