Not a problem if you’re running Small Business Server 2008 (Exchange 2007), or SBS 2011 (Exchange 2010) but if you’re running SBS2003 then you need to contact us to discuss the options for migrating away from this operating system. If you have a PC fail, and need a replacement, or a new starter who needs a new PC you may be stuck as to how to install Microsoft Office for them.

Even if you don’t use Exchange, and you have POP3 mailboxes, or perhaps you use gmail or even a btconnect account?  Now is the time to take advantage of the wealth of opportunity presented with Office 365.

But which of the licensing options is best for you?

Well, if you have less than 25 employees and aren’t planning on going over this number for the foreseeable future then one of the Small Business Plans is right for you.

Next you need to ask what version of Office are you currently running on your PCs? plus do you have any Windows XP machines that need replacing?

If you’re already running Office 2007 or Office 2010, or maybe even Office 2013 then these are compatible with Office 365 so you would need either Email Only, or Office 365 Small Business if you also wanted document storage, collaboration and SharePoint.

If you’re not, and you need to either replace PCs. or upgrade Office, then SMB Premium is the one for you which includes a desktop copy of Office 2013.  Bear in mind that this will not install on XP, and also the good news is you can mix and match the licensing between any of the Small Business packages so suit your needs.

If you have over 25 employees, or may well do in the foreseeable future, then the Enterprise packages are the ones to go for, again you can mix and match so take a look at what versions of Office you’re running, and perhaps how many PCs need replacing (XP!) and make a decision based on that.  E1 doesn’t include the desktop version of Office, but Office 365 Midsize Business does – up to 300 accounts.

Once you’ve decided on licensing – give us a call on 01823 478515 and we can set this up for you – you can have a 30 day trial for free.

We look forward to hearing from you…

When most people hear “Office 365”, they only hear “Office” and think “Word, PowerPoint, Excel”. And when they hear “cloud“, they think web apps only, thinking this is only a browser-based version of Office, similar to Google Apps.

Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based service hosted by Microsoft. It brings together familiar Microsoft Office desktop applications with cloud-based business email, shared calendars, instant messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing.
It’s designed to work with the Office you already know so you can get things done faster from virtually anywhere. It provides enterprise-grade tools for a predictable monthly cost and no upfront infrastructure investments, backed by robust security and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Transitioning to the cloud also helps open new opportunities to better integrate with business applications. Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online together can help your sales, service, and marketing staff collaborate more effectively to better serve your customers and grow your business.

What’s unique with Office 365 too is that it is designed to help you work seamlessly online or offline. If you‘re working on a proposal and want to get feedback from your partner or customer, you can start working on it on your own computer, share it securely [using SharePoint Online] with partners or customers for feedback so they can access the documents and work on it with you online instead of emailing different versions back and forth. If you go offline, you can still access the documents and work on it offline [using SharePoint Workspace], and it’ll automatically prompt you to upload as soon as you have connections again.

What’s also great with that scenario is that when you share a document using Office 365, you can access that [using Office Web Apps] from anywhere using any major browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome). When you open or edit a file with the browser, you can be sure that it will not have messed up the formatting you spent hours perfecting. Which is not the case with other collaboration tools.

Another thing unique to Office 365 is that these are all business-grade services designed to give you the reliability and security you expect. Microsoft say they do not violate your privacy or confidentiality requirements by reading your emails for targeted advertising, unlike some other providers.

For SMBs managing IT costs and the fact that Cloud-based data is always backed-up are two of the most important benefits to Office 365, followed closely by security against viruses and spam.

There are a number of different plans ranging from individual packages for Exchange, Dynamics and Sharepoint, through the Small Business P1 package to larger corporate, or just because of the excellent offering, E1 and E3 packages.

For more information click here https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/office365/compare-plans.aspx

With the main packages you get:

Office 2010 Professional Plus (E3 plan)
• Seamlessly connected and delivered with cloud services – for the best productivity experience across the PC, Mac, Phone and Browser. (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome).
• Pay-as-you-go, per-user licensing
• The complete, familiar Office experience with services integration in Office 365
• A simplified user setup to preconfigure services
• Always the latest version of the Office apps, including Office Web Apps
• ODF support: View and edit ODF documents in Office Web Apps.
• New Browser support: Use Office Web Apps with Chrome and IE9 in native mode.
Business email – Exchange Online
• Cloud-based email, calendar and contacts with protection from viruses and spam that’s always up to date.
• 25 GB Mailbox
• Outlook and Outlook Web Access
• Premium antivirus/anti-spam (Forefront)
• Shared calendars, contacts and tasks
• Mobile email for most mobile devices including BlackBerry, iPhone, Nokia, Windows Phone
• Email archiving and compliance capabilities
• High-quality Office document attachment previewing with Outlook Web App and Office Web Apps integration
Document sharing – SharePoint Online
• Central online content storage and management: Faster and easier access to content, easier file sharing with customers
• People search (SharePoint Online): Faster access to internal subject matter experts
• Post, view, share and edit important documents, insights and statuses with colleagues from almost anywhere
• Keep teams in sync and manage important projects
• Upload docs to the Team Site in a few simple steps.
• Find important documents and people easily
• Stay up to date with company information and news
• Grant access to Team Sites and set permissions
• 10 GB per tenant + 500 MB per user
• External sharing and collaboration through Windows LiveID support for SharePoint Partner Access
• SharePoint Online addition of Business Connectivity Services (BCS) via WCF endpoint
• Site scalability up to 100,000 users
• Ability to connect to lists and document libraries with the Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” update

Web conferencing – Lync Online
• Cloud-based instant messaging, presence and online meeting experiences with PC-audio, video conferencing and screen sharing.
• Instant messaging and presence – quickly communicate or check someone’s availability.
• PC-to-PC audio and video calling – invite colleagues, customers and partners to Lync Online presentations and virtual meetings that include PC-audio, video and web conferencing.
• Click-to-communicate from Outlook, SharePoint and other Office Applications
• Online meetings with PC-audio, video conferencing and screen sharing – easily schedule online meetings in just a few clicks
• Single-click meeting creation and join from Outlook – External participants can also join via a web browser to view meeting content
• Calendar integration with Outlook and Exchange
• On-the-go communication and conferencing via Lync mobile clients across multiple platforms
• Apple-device integration with Lync for Mac client and iPad access

So, if you’re thinking of moving to the cloud and you’d like to know more about how Office 365 can work for you, and how CJ Systems can help you plan, implement and support Office 365 contact us on 01823 478515 or email info@cjsystems.co.uk today.

“The Cisco Small Business Specialization was created in response to customer demand for channel partners capable of designing and implementing Cisco solutions purpose-built for the small business,” said Andrew Sage, vice president of Worldwide Small Business Sales, Cisco. “With the Small Business Specialization, CJ Systems has made an investment in obtaining the training, skills and knowledge necessary to play a pivotal role in meeting this growing demand.”

To earn the Small Business Specialization we have fulfilled Cisco training and exam requirements and also met the personnel, training, and post-sales support requirements set forth by Cisco.

The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides a framework for channel partners to build the sales, technical and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills required to deliver Cisco solutions to end customers. Through the program’s specializations and certifications, Cisco recognizes a channel partner’s expertise in deploying solutions based on Cisco advanced technologies and services. Using a third-party audit process, the program validates channel partner qualifications such as technology skills, business best practices, customer satisfaction, and pre-sales and post-sales support capabilities — critical factors for customers choosing a trusted channel partner.

With the extension of the Cisco Easy-Lease deal, offering 3 years 0% Finance on Cisco networking equipment spend over £1000, combined with our experience in the SMB marketplace we look forward to working closely with Cisco in the future.

In tradition with our transparent approach the results are in…

Q1 – We’d like to ask you about your overall satisfaction with CJ Systems.  Considering everything you know about us, our relationship with you and our technology products, services and/or support would you say you are

Q2 – Based on your experience, how likely would you be to recommend CJ Systems to a friend or colleague looking for technology products, services, and/or support?

Q3 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[Overall performance of CJ Systems]

Q4 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[Ease of doing business with CJ Systems]

Q5 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[Quality of communications with your company]

Q6 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[Quality of support]

Q7 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[Speed of response]

Q8 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[Value received relative to quality (of products, services and/or support)]

Q9 – Please evaluate the following based on your overall experience with CJ Systems, where 1 is Outstanding and 5 is Poor.
[CJ Systems's ability to meet your specific business needs]

* This survey was sent to 50 random customers of CJ Systems Limited in February 2012.

Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Akamai and Limelight Networks will be amongst some of the major organisations offering their content over IPv6 for a 24-hour period. The aim is to motivate organizations across the industry – Internet service providers, hardware manufacturers, operating system vendors and web companies – to prepare their services for IPv6 to ensure a successful transition as IPv4 addresses run out.

IPv4 was conceived in the early 1980s as a way of identifying individual connections to a computer network.  It is what 99% of us use at the moment whether it be to connect an internal network (private addressing), or to connect to the internet with a public IP address.

It is typically made up of 32 bits, written as 12 digits, e.g. 112.233.189.123.

That gives a maximum of around 4.3bn addresses.

You can find out your public IP address here http://www.whatsmyip.org/

However, the rapid growth in PCs, smartphones and other internet connected devices means those addresses are close to being used up, with an estimated 80 million still to be allocated.

IPv6 is a 128bit system, written in hexadecimal (base 16 counting using numbers and letters), e.g. 21DA:00D3:0000:2F3B:02AA:00FF:FE28:9C5A.  It is basically a combination of a MAC address (unique to each individual device) and a TCP/IP network address.

The system gives a maximum of 340 undecillion possible addresses (1 undecillion = 10 followed by 35 zeros in the British numbering system).

The additional capacity, argue proponents of IPv6, will be needed to cater to the so-called “internet of things” where devices such as TVs, fridges and home heating systems are connected to the net.

THE NEW DESIGN: SNAZZY!

Of course, the first thing you’ll notice when starting up Internet Explorer 9 for the first time is that it looks… different. Just different. Gone are the lots of toolbars and too many buttons to count. In fact, Internet Explorer 9 is the one with the least browser chrome of the big three:

The way Internet Explorer manages to do this while maintaining large buttons is to put all the tools on one line:

(If you don’t like the small amount of space for the URL bar, you can simply drag the right side to make it bigger.)

PINNED SITES: INTEGRATE WEBAPPS WITH WINDOWS

If you use Windows 7, you’ve surely come across jump lists.  These are the little boxes that pop up when you right click on a task bar item.  Microsoft has decided to take it one step further and not only allow you to pin sites as webapps, but to actually allow them to create items on their jump lists:

These lists can allow for quick task jumping and make it easier to access things you want.

THE ALL-NEW DOWNLOAD MANAGER: MINIMAL AND USEFUL

If you’ve been using Internet Explorer for all these years, another thing you’ve had to put up with the lack of a download manager. Luckily for you, Internet Explorer 9 comes with a download manager that actively informs you about the percentage done, the status, and the size of each download:

One unique feature of this new download manager is Microsoft’s SmartScreen technology which uses a URL blacklist to determine how safe a download is, and to show an appropriate warning. It also performs some basic scanning, like Firefox and Chrome.

WEB STANDARDS SUPPORT: CODE FOR ONE, PUBLISH FOR ALL

One of the most amazing parts about Internet Explorer 9 is that it’s actually fairly close to being compatible with most current web standards.  It still lacks things like form types and user interaction events, but Internet Explorer 9 is a leap towards actually working well with the rest of the world.

IT’S FAST(ER).

Internet Explorer 9 has tried to resolve another major problem with Internet Explorer: it’s slow.  While Microsoft’s test sites are heavily biased, they’re still a good example of how much its javascript performance has improved. Here’s my average computer rendering a thousand fish in a virtual fish tank:

IT’S MORE SECURE.

Internet Explorer has often borne the title of least secure browser due to its many security flaws and large numbers of exploits.  However, Microsoft has tried to get it better this time, and has introduced many new security features.  There is, for instance, the scanning now used when downloading files.  There are also several more technical aspects in Internet Explorer 9 that allow for less hacking and better security, including several techniques involving memory randomization.

Supported OS: Windows Vista/7Version

With a customizable platform and price advantages for volume purchasing, Open programs provide a simple, cost effective way to acquire the latest Microsoft technology:

Open Value

Optimal for organisations that want to standardize their IT infrastructure, customize their platform, and maximize their investment with Software Assurance. You can also upgrade at any time—no need to track versions or open new agreements. Recommended for small and midsize organisations.

With the single platform option, your organization can choose components from the Windows client, Microsoft Office 2010, and Client Access Licenses (CALs) rather than having to choose between the Small Business or Desktop Professional platforms.

If your organization requires Microsoft enterprise solutions, Microsoft Office Enterprise, Enterprise CAL, and Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack are now available.

Open Value Subscription

Get the benefits of Open Value with lower up-front costs and the ability to increase or decrease license count on an annual basis to accommodate changes in desktop PC count. Recommended for small and midsize organisations.

Your organization and qualified affiliates use a single identification number during the entire two-year agreement. And the pay-as-you-go model eliminates the need to forecast license purchases over the term of the agreement.

Open License

Entry-level program that allows you to start using software immediately and pay as you go. Recommended for small organisations.

Your organization and qualified affiliates use a single identification number during the entire two-year agreement. And the pay-as-you-go model eliminates the need to forecast license purchases over the term of the agreement.

With an initial purchase of five or more licenses, you can acquire products as you need them over the term of your agreement.

In addition to commercial business, Microsoft offers Open programs for the following industries:

• Government organisations
• Health organisations
• Educational institutions
• Qualifying non-profit organisations
• Multinational organisations

• Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2011
• Everything comes to an end, sorry XP!
• Citrix gets a facelift, from the core up

Microsoft Small Business Server 2011

Microsoft gets ready to release the latest editions of its market leading small business server operating system. SBS 2011 will be available early 2011 in two main formats: Essentials and Standard.

Essentials is ideal as a first server for businesses with up to 25 users. It includes daily backup of servers and computers to help protect data; centralised data storage; you can organize and access business documents from virtually anywhere; and it includes technologies such as Active Directory Federation Services to enable simple, single sign-on experiences with cloud-based services such as e-mail, collaboration and line of business applications which means the server can grow with your business.

What’s also great is that Microsoft have done away with the idea of Client Access Licenses for this entry level server and included 25 users in the basic Operating System license…a step forward we say!

SBS 2001 Standard is designed for businesses with up to 75 users. It includes enterprise class technologies such as Exchange 2010, Sharepoint 2010; new improved Remote Web Workplace so you can access your organisations resources from any internet-connected PC. The Premium Add-On provides the ability to install Windows Server 2008R2 on an additional server, with SQL 2008 for line of business applications.

Everything comes to an end, sorry XP!

The official deadline for organisations to migrate to Windows 7 from Windows XP is April 2014, when Microsoft will end extended support, leaving the operating system without security fixes or any other form of support. Most organisations’ migrations should be well under way before April 2014 to minimise the potential for problems resulting from third parties such as software vendors terminating support for XP (expected during 2013) and to leave a buffer zone in which to handle any complications that arise.

CJ Systems highly recommend that organisations are completely free of Windows XP by 2013, which means migration considerations need to be made during 2011 and carried out during 2011 and 2012.

There are many ways to migrate including:

• Accelerate your PC replacement plan to coincide with the 2014 deadline
• Upgrade Installed PCs
• Evaluate Partial Migration
• Explore alternative environments such as virtualised desktops and cloud computing.

CJ Systems are happy to discuss these issues with you, the impact upon your business and how to mitigate the risks of migration for your business. Please contact us via your preferred method.

Citrix gets a facelift, from the core up

Citrix will kick off the long list of updates with its XenServer technology that offers improvements for virtual desktop technology and clouds.

The XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack, for instance, offers new Intelli-cache-technology that optimises storage for VDI implementations.  Storage Area Network (SAN) requirements often increase the cost of VDI.  Citrix’s new technology is said to allow for back and forth rewrites of XenDesktop and Server to local storage devices and other less expensive storage options.  On the cloud front, XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack will feature a fully integrated virtual switch and self-service web administration.

There are two other new cloud products coming from Citrix in the first quarter 2011: Citrix OpenCloud Access and Citrix OpenCloud Bridge.  Both are optional modules to Citrix’s NetScaler product.

OpenCloud Access, which is already available offers integrated security capabilities.  Citrix have said it:

“leverages a network-based approach that coordinates credentials and makes a user’s identity borderless.  It gives easy single sign-on access to all popular SaaS applications , enterprise web applications on hosted IaaS or private cloud platforms, and internal web and Windows applications – just as if they were any other enterprise application. “

OpenCloud Bridge, which is due in the first quarter of 2011:”

“makes it easy for enterprise customers to connect to networks in external clouds, and to access and manage cloud-based resources as a seamless extension of their own network at high speed.  By securely and transparently extending the enterprise demilitarized zone (DMZ) into the premise of the cloud, OpenCloud Bridge makes the service provider environment appear as part of a single secure network, eliminating the need to modify network, security and access configurations when applications migrate from the enterprise datacenter to an external cloud environment – or vice versa.”

It is set to be an exciting year for developing Citrix technologies which we feel will only help organisations embrace the continual change in IT.  With the many imposed software changes by Microsoft approaching fast, 2011 is going to be a pivotal year for many organisation in the planning of their IT infrastructure for the future!

Sometimes old, damaged or poor cabling behind the scenes can be the cause of data loss, system hangs, software crashes and loss of productivity.

You may be purchasing new computers with gigabit network adapters – capable of running ten times faster over the network than older 100mb adapters, but problems such as old cabling, damaged wall ports or slower hardware along the route can cause bottlenecks.

CJ Systems are currently offering the opportunity to have your whole office tested for just £495!

Up to 180 ports can be tested in one visit (more by prior arrangement).  Each port will be tested for connectivity and line speed. You will presented a few days later with a report that outlines any major issues found, together with advice of how you can improve your internal network connectivity and increase LAN speed up to ten times faster into a gigabit network. Any minor repairs can be done there and then as part of the job.

To avoid any disruption the testing is best done outside of normal working hours.

For more information and to book a job please contact us today on 01823 478515 or visit www.cjsystems.co.uk and click on Contact Us to send us a message.

Business Intelligence is all about making better decisions and improving your business by sharing the results of your analysis with others.  Bi is the process of finding, transferring, formatting and studying business data, and includes the processes you use to make your results available to others.

A BI solution should do more than give you better access to data. It should specifically support your decision-making efforts. A BI solution should help you assess and respond to business conditions, whether you require an all-encompassing view of the entire organization or a narrow perspective of a department, workgroup, or even a team of one.

The goal of a BI solution is to let you spend your time analyzing the data and finding answers to questions rather than tracking down, consolidating, reformatting and reconciling the data itself.

The development of a BI solution goes more smoothly when you have a specific business problem to solve and approach the design by first considering how people need to interact with information.

The Microsoft Solution

SQL Server 2008 is the foundation of Microsoft’s BI stack; as the data platform hosting the data. SQL Server 2008 includes three key BI components: Integration Services (SSIS), Analysis Services (SSAS), and Reporting Services (SSRS). The best way to start learning about the Microsoft BI stack is to build a simple solution using SSIS, SSAS and SSRS.

Once you have an initial design you begin by creating and populating the BI solution’s data structures using SSIS. Once the data is in place, you continue to the next step by building a cube. After your development is complete, you process the cube to load it with data. You then use SSRS to develop a report that queries the cube and displays the query results in a report.

Adding an SSAS database to your BI solution allows you to support more sophisticated, high-performing interactive queries. You use SSAS to copy your relational data into a multidimensional database structure called a cube.

Whether you’re storing your data in a SQL Server data mart or an SSAS cube, you can add SSRS to your solution architecture to make the data available to users. SSRS is a reporting platform that includes tools to develop reports, to secure and manage published reports using a centralized administrative infrastructure and to support user access to reports.  Sharepoint Server and Office 2010 can be used to view and analyze the data in a user friendly, familiar environment.

In summary the new Microsoft Technologies stack-up like so:

Data Storage and Management – SQL Server 2008

Information Delivery – Sharepoint Server

Query, Reporting and Analysis – SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft Office 2010

Download trial software from Microsoft today http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/trial-software.aspx

Once you start using BI, you’ll probably never look at data in quite the same way again.

CJ Systems is an I.T. Consultancy and Managed Service Provider based in Taunton, Somerset.  For more information visit our website www.cjsystems.co.uk, contact us on 01823 478515 or email info@cjsystems.co.uk