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All About Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

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The pros and cons of VDI. Is it right for your business?

First things first, let’s talk about VDI basics. An acronym that stands for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, VDI is a functional outflow of the client/server computing model. When enabled on a network, programs and applications on multiple computers connected to the private network deploy from the same central server.

VDI allows remote workers to access the virtualized corporate desktop from their own PC, laptop or mobile device as if they were working in-office.

BCS works with industry leader VMware to provide VDI services to our clients. This partnership puts clients at an advantage because VMware helped pioneer VDI as we know it today (they even coined the term!)

Here are the Top 4 pros and cons of VDI:

1. Pro: Supports Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) with less security risk than the traditional computing model.

Con: Requires the acquiring of new skills and knowledge on the part of the existing IT department or outsourcing to a VDI vendor.

2. Pro: Facilitates greater control of employee desktops while allowing for limited personalization on the employee’s part.

Con: Tasks IT staff with the sometimes difficult task of managing a hybrid desktop environment.

3. Pro: Greener and more efficient than traditional computing models. VDI preserves the life of hardware while simultaneously allowing hardware upgrades that are independent of the desktop image.

Con: Efficiency depends on skilled deployment of VDI and close monitoring.

4. Pro: Easy to make network-wide software updates. Instead of updating each physical desktop one-by-one, VDI allows IT staff to make software changes across the network with the click of a mouse.

Con: Because of the uniform nature of the desktop image, the user-experience may feel impersonal.

Most all of the “cons” associated with VDI deployment can be avoided by trusting a virtualization specialist like BCS Voice and Data Solutions to manage the service. Call or contact us today to learn more about VDI and other VMware virtualization solutions.

Images courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net

A Data Backup Strategy is Your Best Defense

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With the next destructive natural disaster seemingly always around the corner and “big data” getting bigger every day, small companies have to stay on top of protecting their business’ critical information with a solid backup strategy. Part of this task involves regularly, if not constantly, backing up important data.  Businesses that don’t back up their data consistently and reliably put themselves at risk for costly recovery downtime, not to mention the loss of customer trust that comes with any kind of data or security breach.

Some businesses approach the issue like a teenager behind the wheel and feel invincible, but no one is immune to the eventuality of data-loss events. Be prepared. How? If you don’t already have a backup strategy in place, follow these three steps to keep your business-critical information safe, secure, and enduring:

Pinpoint business-critical data

Especially if you are a very small business, it may not be necessary to have 2 or 3 copies of every single file, image, or video you have ever handled.  Larger companies with bulkier databases would do well to use less discretion. It’s all about using your best judgment. A good rule of thumb to use is to ask yourself, “Can I do business without this?” If not, you have your answer.

Choose an external backup system

Once you decide on the most important data, you must then decide on the ideal backup medium. What you choose depends largely on the size of your company and the volume of business-critical data that you handle.  Your options include (but are certainly not limited to) placing multiple copies of your information on CDs, storing them on a basic external hard drive or tape drive, or storing your backups offsite in a virtual environment.

BCS recommends combining onsite backup storage on a hard drive or tape drive with offsite virtual backup, as this will keep your data most secure in the event that a natural disaster destroys onsite copies. We work with the company VMware to provide our clients with dynamic virtualization solutions. Along with virtualization, we offer VMware’s top-of-the-line data protection that enables “fast and efficient backups to disk and, more importantly, fast and reliable recovery.” Technology like this allows a growing company to safely store their data in the cloud without worrying excessively over corruptible hardcopies. (Although it is wise to still keep those on hand.)

Backup regularly

Like we mentioned before, part of a solid backup strategy is consistency. If you only backup once a year, you are doing yourself a big disservice.  Perform a manual backup at least once a month, but if you prefer (and your backup medium can perform the function) it, you can schedule automated backups daily. The second option is the better one because not only does it make routine data backup one less thing to think about, it is also extremely thorough.

When you work with BCS to protect your data offsite, we make sure that nothing you need is ever lost and that it remains easily accessible to you and your team at a moment’s notice.  If you have any questions about your data backup strategy, call or contact BCS Voice and Data Solutions today. We are excited to help.