Month: June 2011

Cisco’s much anticipated business tablet, the Cius, has been orderable for a month or so now. As any diligent technology evangelist would do, I made sure we submitted an order right away. A pair will be for customer demonstrations in the TBL office, of course, but I was also excited about the idea of being the trial user for the tablet at TBL Networks. I am a pretty mobile user, with several different use cases that would put the Cius to the test – and I wouldn’t feel right about making anyone else at TBL the guinea pig other than myself. What better way to chronicle the adoption of such a revolutionary new device than to keep a regular diary of my use of it on the blog.

So, Part I: The Wait. As with any new piece of technology, supply and demand kicks in and I anxiously await the delivery of the Cius tablets. So while we wait, let’s review the stats. It’s got a 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivering an elegant, intuitive user experience, HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for life-like video communication with the simplicity of a phone call, HD audio with wideband support, and Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) support with Bluetooth 3.0 to help employees stay connected and mobile. Loaded it with software to make it most effective, the Cius runs the Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications, and has virtual desktop clients to enable highly secure access to cloud-based business applications, collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Presence, IM and integrated, one-click access to WebEx Meeting Center, and of course, HD video as a Cisco TelePresence endpoint. With a detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work and a HD media station dock that supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity, a monitor, mouse and keyboard, and a telephone handset, the Cius is the ultimate device for the user at their desk or on the road.

I look forward to reporting more on how the Cius effects my life.

Harley Stagner led off TBL’s Lunch and Learn series with a discussion on virtual desktop infrastructure and how it relates to Windows 7 migration.  As TBL Networks’ lead virtualization engineer (and only VCDX in Virginia)  Harley arrived at the events in Richmond and Virginia Beach armed with a whiteboard, laptop and the promise (which he kept) of no PowerPoint!

Harley began by reviewing the three distinct components of the desktop – the OS, applications and user data.  From there, he discussed how operational efficiencies can be gained by separating these individual components in a virtual desktop environment.  Finally, Harley provided a live demo of entitling VMware ThinApp packages to a desktop pool using VMware View 4.6.

Thank you to everyone in Richmond and Hampton Roads who came out for our June discussion.  We had a lot of great audience participation and some very insightful questions.  Our July Lunch & Learn topic is “Business Video – Not Just For Teleconferencing,” and the discussion will be led by TBL’s Patrick Tredway.  To learn more and to reserve your spot for either the Richmond or Hampton Roads date, please go to TBL’s Eventbrite site at  http://tblnetworks.eventbrite.com/.

It’s no great secret that server virtualization can save a company money. The statement, while the topic of many a blog post 5 years ago as a theorem, is accepted as a law today. This industry “given” has created a great deal of complacency in IT directors and financial officers alike. The simple concept of serving the same user base with the same level of computing using less physical hardware almost proves lower cost just in the statement alone, right?  Only if you believe that the only change in costs between the two scenarios (non-virtualized vs. virtualized) is in the cost of the hardware… and even then, aren’t you investing in more hardware for lager, higher-capacity servers at the very beginning of the virtualization project? Surely, as with any major change in technology, other devices, systems, processes, and administration are affected. This would surely suggest that the costs of these areas are affected as well.

Computer Associated performed a study of 800 organizations who had undergone a virtualization project. 44% of respondents who said they had deployed server virtualization were unable to declare their deployment a success. A key factor in their reluctance to claim positive results was their inability to quantify the ROI. These were companies who believe the theorem as a law, and trudged ahead believing cost savings would just materialize as soon as they started consolidating servers. Poorly planned virtualization projects with repeated surprises and adjustments, along with poorly executed virtualization plans can make any IT organization feel like they may not be getting the promised results from their investment.

With any scientific endeavor, the quantifying of investment savings being no different, a clear baseline measurement to measure against is a necessity. How can you say how much was saved if you can’t accurately compare it to how much you were spending before. And as discussed above, this has to include more than just the cost of server hardware. Additionally, a clear plan of consolidation by someone experienced in virtualization practices will provide the best opportunity to capture all the savings virtualization has to offer. A project that only implements part of the features of virtualization will only recognize a portion of the cost savings. Will that be enough to tip the scales to a positive ROI?

Don’t gamble with your IT budget and hope that virtualization it a sure bet. Ask us how TBL can perform a Virtualization Financial Impact Analysis on your server infrastructure and provide a plan for a project that delivers the technology and the cost savings.

It’s no secret that WebEx clients have existed on the iOS and Andriod platforms for quite some time. Having said that, the release of the iPad2 and the latest WebEx Meeting Center release…things have gotten pretty cool! At last, the usability of the tablet device in a WebEx session feels comparable to sitting at a desktop. From the high quality view of shared content, native VoIP integration for the audio call path, the tight integration with the built in cameras, there’s not a whole lot you will find missing.

With the Cisco Cius just becoming orderable at the end of May 2011, we eagerly awaiting our new tablets to see how they compare. Even Cameron seems excited…see below!