Recent Election Results & IT

Posted on November 7, 2012 by CeraNet

Yesterday marked the Presidential Election.  Luckily, it also means the end of nonstop commercials, mailboxes stuffed with propaganda, and everything else related.  I don’t think much will change with the economy nor constant bickering.

However, it will mean an accelerated push for electronic medical records (including HIPAA associated compliance issues).   There is no looking back now.   We offer a hybrid approach to providing cloud servers with a hardware based individual hosted firewall/ secure VPN service.  This gives the power and flexibility of cloud servers with the security to insure your patient data is protected.  Email info@cera.net to find out how we can help.

Also, with the economy the way it is, IT professionals are often tasked with getting the most for their money.  Take a look at cloud services that offer flexibility and power to instantly control resources.  Cloud computing offers you the ability to only pay for what you need and use + instant on / off.  This is great for testing, development, and scalable production servers.

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Cloud Computing IS / IS NOT Outsourcing

Posted on October 30, 2012 by CeraNet

A recent conversation with a prospective client brought up another problem with the ‘cloud computing’ marketing hype.  Their understanding of cloud computing was that it was essentially ‘outsourcing’ their server functionality.  While I could see how they would interpret using resources outside their office as ‘outsourcing’, it only served to stir the muddy waters.

This is how I responded:  functionally, you are correct.  You can set up a CeraNet cloud server that will look and feel like the server you have in your office, (start sales pitch) plus giving you more ‘remote access’ infrastructure, agility to start and stop the server + only pay for what you use, and an almost unlimited resource pool that you cannot get on your server, etc. etc. etc. (end sales pitch).  So yes, it is very similar to finding less expensive manufacturing operations down the road vs building your own machine shop.

However, cloud computing is not outsourcing.  It is a different way of doing things.  It’s more like ‘shared manufacturing operations’ with several other businesses that use the same tools as you, but not at the same time.  Isn’t it more cost-effective to share the costs for the lights, heat, expensive tools and only pay for what you use?   I would think if you combine the resources of 10 companies you can get bigger and better tools than if you do it yourself.   Cloud computing works similar to this scenario because almost all servers only work 10-15% of the time and companies, like ours, have found a way to give you a safe and secure way of sharing those resources.

We’ll see.    Let me know what you think — info@cera.net

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SMB Cloud based Windows Hosted Server FAQs

Posted on October 18, 2012 by CeraNet
  1. Do you or your IT guy/girl spend a lot of time managing the servers at your site?
    - Moving to Windows Server in the cloud eliminates the need to manage your physical servers. CeraNet can handle everything, including monitoring, updates, and ongoing support so you can focus on running your business.
  2. Are you looking at having to upgrade your server within the next 6-12 months?
    - Save money and time by moving your Microsoft Windows Server to the cloud and eliminate the need to purchase your new server.  You can also upgrade / increase your resources (processors, memory, and storage) as needed + you only pay for what you use, when you need it.
  3. Are email volumes and file sizes growing fast, forcing you to invest in more storage?
    - Moving your file storage to CeraNet Cloud Servers running Window or Linux allows you to automatically and cost-effectively add more storage as your needs grow. You don’t need to buy more hardware.
  4. Do you or your employees need remote access to applications, including some of your older very important ones (like accounting)?
    - Moving your applications to our cloud computing services can give your employees with greater access on a wider variety of devices (laptops, tablets, smart phones, iPad, iPhones, etc.) with easy to use remote desktop functions and apps from the app store.
  5. Would you like to be able to easily add more applications as your business needs evolve?
    - You can add new applications in minutes using our control panel to install apps like WordPress, Drupal, SugarCRM, and more.  We can also provide Microsoft (and other vendors) software without large upfront licensing costs, and only pay for those using the software using our Service Providers Licensing Agreement.  We also offer membership to WebsiteSpark, BizSpark, and other programs that give you access to free license.   Email info@cera.net to get started.
  6. Are you lacking a formalized back-up and disaster recovery plan and process?
    - Backing up your data at our data center in the event of fire, flood, or earthquake helps keep it safe.  All of our cloud servers and your data are fully backed up every night and we offer specialized backup services to get access to your files & databases running back 10 days or more.

Have additional questions or need help — email info@cera.net

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Why Cloud Computing?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by CeraNet
  1. You can instantly create development and testing environments for each individual development teams.   Keep the dev and testing servers running for as long as you need them and then bring them down when you are done.  This provides tremendous savings and benefits including:
    1. Instant resources without the capital costs of making these resources available.
    2. Less costly support and infrastructure resources – fewer servers in your data center equals less staff, power, HVAC, rack space, and networking requirements
    3. JIT computing (just in time servers) — something rarely achieved by companies (even global multi-billion dollar corporations)
    4. 100% uptime SLA — if you go with a proven provider like CeraNet
    5. More – email sales@cera.net for more info
  2. You get access to enterprise IT security and computing power and resources at a fraction of the cost of doing it yourself (DYI data center is almost never the most economical choice).  Our engineers have vast practical experience and resources available to help you with security, regulatory compliance (PCI, HIPAA, FERPA, etc.), database administration (DBA), application development, VOIP, and other specific solutions.
  3. Why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for costly capital expenses and ongoing maintenance that you will use 25% of the time at most.  Use a professional data center partner that offers a 100% uptime guarantee, offers services that you only pay for when you use them, upgrades their equipment and software behind the scenes to make sure you are always protected and using the best available solution, and more.  The bottom line is using someone else’s resources and only paying for what you use is almost always the better decision.

    When you need gas for your car, do you search for oil in your backyard, setup an oil derrick, figure out how to get the oil out of the ground, figure out how to convert raw oil into gas, setup a refinery, and pump the gas straight into your car???  Of course not.  Then why would you want to have your own data center?

  4. While setting a network, servers, installing software, configuring everything, and locking the server and software down with the latest security procedures is not impossible, why would you want to do that when you should be taking the kids to the park or spending the time building your business?   I’m sure you are proud of your accomplishments in growing and building your business.  Stick to what you are good at and let the professionals take care of what they are good at.  I wouldn’t want to create my logo shirts and hats, I leave that to companies that specialize in that business.

Email me to find out how we can help you – info@cera.net

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CeraNet Cloud Control (panel)

Posted on October 4, 2012 by CeraNet

Here are some of the things we offer to help you control your hosting environment:

  • Hosting based on Cloud Technology backend for ultimate uptime and reliability
  • Internal Backups for ultimate data protection – in addition to cloud storage platform
  • Control Panel based hosting for full end-user control – backed by 24/7/365 live phone and email support from CeraNet
  • Windows/Linux Hybrid platform with full support for both technologies without switching between hosting plans
  • Some of the Supported Technologies
        • MySQL
        • MS SQL Server
        • PHP 5
        • .NET 1.1, 2.0, 4.0
        • Classic ASP
        • Smarter Tools SmarterMail
        • Smarter Tools SmarterStats
        • Supports 32-bit and 64-bit software applications
        • Supports all Apache major Apache modules (.htaccess, mod_rewrite, mod_cache, etc.)
        • Supports all IIS 7.5 features
  • Control Panel Features (there are more — this is just a starter list)
      • Add and Manage Unlimited Domain Names in the DNS (buy domains from CeraNet or any other provider)
      • Create multiple Web Sites (Shared and Dedicated IP Options)
      • Install SSL certificates (buy from CeraNet or any other provider)
      • Manage Website Security and other features (file level permissions + file manager)
      • Create and Manage Virtual Directories
      • Manage Programming Languages (easily enable/disable PHP, .NET, etc.)
      • Enable/Disable Apache Modules (use .htaccess, mod_rewrite, etc.)
      • Create custom error handlers, manage headers, manage MIME Types, etc.
      • Start/Stop web sites and other services as needed
      • Create and manage FTP accounts (manage usernames/passwords and paths to control access to certain areas)
      • Create file storage areas outside of the scope of the web site
      • Access to raw log files
      • Deploy email accounts and manage email services (Access with clients such as Outlook, Web mail, iPad, Android and iPhone)
      • Create stand-alone SMTP service to deliver email
      • Create and manage MySQL databases and users (One-click backups and access to PHPMyAdmin)
      • Create and manage Microsoft SQL Server databases and users (One Click backup and access with SQL Studio Management)
      • Advanced Web Statistics with professional reporting tools and SEO campaign management
      • Disk space and Bandwidth utilization reports
      • Full featured web-based File Manager with ZIP utilities
      • Create and manage scheduled tasks
      • Application Gallery with lots of popular applications that can be installed in just a few minutes. A few of them are as follows:
            • WordPress
            • Drupal
            • Joomla
            • BlogEngine
            • CoreEcommerce
            • DashCommerce
            • DotNetNuke
            • DropThings
            • mojoPortal
            • MonoX
            • Orchard CMS
            • phpBB
            • SugarCRM
            • Moodle

There is more — email sales@cera.net for more info.

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