Save Money with Technology Solutions

Save Money with Technology Solutions

Thinking outside the box takes new meaning as businesses turn to high-tech solutions to address information technology challenges.

In an article released on the 23rd Channel Web talks about the top technologies that can generate real savings for businesses in 2009. The technology solutions in this list provide for everything an IT professional might be concerned about in the day-to-day operation of a medium to enterprise business organization. The full list of it solution categories include:

• Data Center Automation
• Document Management
• Managed Services
• Open-Source Software
• Power Management
• Server Virtualization
• Software-as-a-Service
• Thin Client Computing
• Unified Communications
• Videoconferencing

Some companies mentioned in the article include:

• IBM
• Xerox
• Kaseya
• Citrix
• Microsoft

For the full text of the article, click here

What does this mean for you? In times of troubled economic conditions, anywhere you can save money is important. This depends somewhat on your existing technology set up, but any of the solutions provided by the companies in this article could potentially save your organizations a significant amount of money in the long-run. We recommend looking over the linked article and reviewing how solutions provided by some of the listed solution providers may be able to help you save money.

Businesses Embrace Google Apps as Cost-Effective Email and Collaboration Solution

In turbulent economic climate, companies save money with cloud solutions including Gmail

In a climate of economic downturn and general financial woes many companies are being hit with the prospect of dramatically reduced technology budgets in 2009. In this article SearchCIO-Midmarket.com reporter discusses Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. CIO Jerry Hodge, whose operating budget was slashed from $2.1 million to $700,000. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that email has become an integral component of virtually every level of business, across virtually every business type imaginable. As the ubiquity of email has grown, so has its cost. This is due in large part to the increase in spam and malware, and the expense of filters to catch them. In this atmosphere of decreasing economic stability and increasing demands on technology, some companies are finding a compromise, and savings, in the deployment of Google Apps Premier Edition, and making use of Google's web-based email solution, Gmail.

The savings are so significant that a recent article Ars Technica argues that the cost of deploying the Google Apps Premier Edition, including Gmail, is about one-third that of a traditional email server. These findings are based on a report from Forrester Research Inc., "Should Your e-mail Live In The Cloud? A Comparative Cost Analysis." This report included some surprising findings. Among those most shocking are:

• Some companies were paying over $25 per user, per month for their staff to have email accounts. By comparison, the cost of deploying the Google Apps Premier Edition and using Gmail as the office email service is around $8 per user, per month.
• Out of 53 IT workers surveyed at major enterprise companies, around 85 percent were evaluating Gmail as a solution for moving their email services off-site.
• Any company with under 15,000 employees would benefit from using some kind of off-site solution.
• Although Microsoft Exchange Online offers significant savings over its locally hosted relative for organizations up to 30,000, the cost of deploying Google Apps came in at around half that of competing services. This is due in large part to the fact that Google's client software is any web browser, most of which are free.

For the full text of the article in Ars Technica, click here.

What does this mean to you? Although not many medium or enterprise businesses have made the switch to hosted applications for their document needs, a growing number of businesses have switched to a hosted solution (including Google Apps and Gmail) to provide their email service. In most cases this has resulted in not only a significant savings, but also the ability to redistribute both budget and man hours for other strategic projects. While there may be something of an adjustment period for some people as they learn the ins-and-outs of managing their email in a web client, the benefits are clear. From a cost and administrative perspective it may be that the time has come to switch to a hosted solution.

Additional Reading:

• Searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com article "CIO's cost-cutting measures include move to Gmail", click here
• Ars Technica article "Report: Gmail about one-third as expensive as hosted e-mail", click here
• PC World article "Buy, Lease-or Move to Cloud Computing?" Click here

Google Sets User Account Limit on Standard Edition

Google has announced that starting today Google Apps Standard Edition will support a maximum of 50 users for new customers. 

This limit will not affect current Standard Edition account holders, nor will it impact non-profit or educational users.

Google Apps Standard Edition is the no-charge version of Google Apps.  While it supports many of the same features as Google's Premier Version for business clients, it has a number of limitations by comparison including far lower data and email storage size and no access to Google's rich set of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) which allow for the customization and integration many clients need. 

In addition to offering Google Apps deployment, integration and customization services for it's clients, SADA Systems, Inc. is now an official Google Apps Reseller.  By purchasing Google Apps Premier Edition accounts through SADA clients engage with one of the most experienced Google Apps Enterprise Partners in the world.  For more information on our reseller program please click here.

SADA Systems, Inc. Announces It Will Resell Google Apps

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- SADA Systems, Inc. today announced it has become an authorized reseller of the Google Apps™ suite of communication and collaboration tools. One of the first 10 Google Apps for Enterprise partners worldwide and initial contributor to the Google Apps Open Source provisioning tool kit, SADA Systems, Inc. has developed a proven track record in implementation of Google Apps solutions. SADA works with a diverse client base to create custom, leading edge solutions that strategically meet client business objectives.

"The Google Apps Reseller program will help us enhance the value of Google Apps for our small/medium business and enterprise clients," said Tony Safoian, President/CEO of SADA. "Google Apps Premier Edition offers a broad set of powerful APIs that enable us to really push the envelope in creating dynamic, mission critical client solutions that cover everything from provisioning to data migration to integration with our clients' other applications."

Google Apps brings simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools to organizations. With Google Apps, users can use applications such as Gmail™ webmail service, Google Talk™ instant messaging service, Google Calendar™ calendaring service, Google Docs™ program, Google Sites™ web application, and Google Video™ for business on their own domain to work together more effectively. Best of all, it's all hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software to download, install or maintain.

The Google Apps Reseller program includes resellers, consultants and independent software vendors that sell, service and customize Google Apps Premier Edition for their customers. SADA Systems, Inc. received training, support and deployment services from Google, as well as access to APIs for integrating Google Apps into their customers' business operations. SADA Systems, Inc. is able to retain a close relationship with their customers in order to provide additional service and support. The businesses receiving Google Apps will benefit from the additional attention to their specific needs. For more information on SADA Systems, Inc. program please visit http://www.sadasystems.com/ and to learn more about the Google Apps Reseller program, go to http://www.sadasystems.com/services-and-solutions/google-apps.

About SADA Systems Inc.

SADA Systems, Inc. is a privately held information technology consulting, outsourcing, and development firm founded in 2000. SADA works with its client base to develop innovative technology solutions to business challenges. SADA designs, delivers, deploys and supports a holistic, cutting-edge suite of best-of-breed technologies. This allows organizations to leverage Information Technology to achieve new levels of effectiveness, efficiency, and collaboration. SADA is headquartered in North Hollywood, CA, but participates in projects world-wide. For more information, visit http://www.sadasystems.com.

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Google, Google Apps, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites and Google Video are trademarks of Google Inc.

Microsoft May Offer Free Update to Windows 7 for Vista Users

Now may be the time to buy that new computer with a pre-loaded version of Microsoft's Windows Vista

TechARP and Softpedia posted articles yesterday about a potential Microsoft Windows 7 update program. This program would provide users who purchased computers running a version of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system with a comparable version of Windows 7. While Microsoft has not made an official statement about plans for an update program, making such a program available would be consistent with the company's Windows Vista launch strategy. When Windows Vista was released in January of 2007, Microsoft offered free updates to Vista for users who had purchased a computer running Windows XP within a specific window of time leading up to the launch. Microsoft's Windows 7 update plan would have similar restrictions. Specific limitations on the update program would include:

• This update is available only to personal users, not businesses.
• This update is available only to users who purchased a new computer with Windows Vista pre-loaded between certain months.
  

What does this mean to you? Given the abysmal launch of Windows Vista, you (like many others) may have been waiting to buy a new computer, with the thought that you can get everything done in Windows XP, and there's no compelling reason to switch. That may change with early reviews of the Windows 7 Beta release that indicate the new operating system is considerably better at handling real-world computing tasks than either Windows Vista or Windows XP.

While Windows 7 is still in beta it's generally accepted that software gets faster and more stable between the beta version and final release. This means that Windows 7 has the potential to be the most stable, best performing version of Microsoft's OS to date. If you've been waiting to upgrade your computer until Microsoft either "fixed" Windows Vista, or released a new version, now may be the time to purchase that Windows Vista computer so you can take advantage of the free update to Windows 7 when it is released.

For more information on the potential update program please see one of the links below:

• "The Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Program" on TechARP
• "Windows 7 Upgrade Program" on SoftPedia
• "Report: Microsoft Details Windows 7 Upgrade Program" on Technologizer

SADA Launches New Website Built Entirely on Google Sites

January 7, 2009-North Hollywood, CA:SADA Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce the beta release of the first major revision to their website in three years. The new website was in development for most of the last half of 2008. To streamline the website and make the content as immediately available to clients and website visitors as possible SADA elected to develop it entirely in Google Sites. Google Sites is a rich website creation solution that is part of the Google Apps suite of "software-as-service" products. Google Sites is a powerful, cloud-based communication and collaboration platform.

Building the site on the Google Sites platform provides SADA with the opportunity to explore the development of unique Google Gadgets some of which can currently be experienced on the website. It is SADA's intention that especially useful or practical gadgets developed for the website will be made available to the public in the future.

“Why would a company who has web designers and developers on staff use Google Sites for their own website," says Tony Safoian, president and CEO of SADA, "Simply because their time is better spent doing custom client work, and this new platform allows our marketing team to update our own website instantly and, without burning very expensive development hours." Safoian's comment refers to making the ability to update the website accessible to anybody within SADA's organization. Updates to content, images, even videos no longer have to go through a web designer to be applied. There is no code to edit, and no special knowledge is required. SADA hopes this will ultimately mean the website is constantly being updated with fresh content, and there will always be something new on the website that will keep website visitors coming back.

Google Sites provides a search box for all of their pages. This means that all content, on every page of SADA's new site is a searchable term. Visitors to SADA's website who are unsure how to find an article, or page, or specific content may enter search terms in the search box provided on the website. Google's own search engine then crawls the website and returns pages with content matching the visitor’s request. SADA hopes this will help make the new site easier to navigate, and more meaningful to website visitors.

SADA Goes Social with Facebook

Become a fan of SADA Systems, Inc. through our new page on Facebook.

In a list of all the major success stories in technology for the past five years it would be a serious error to overlook or ignore the growth and influence of social networking. The term social networking generally refers to an online community of individual users who share common interests, activities, or hobbies. The concept of social networking, namely providing an online space where people could share information with each other on a variety of topics goes back to the beginning of the Internet. Early bulletin board services provided a space where users could publish posts on a favorite interest, activity, or hobby. Over time these spaces evolved and became more sophisticated, as the Internet ceased to be a largely text-driven series of online bulletin boards, and became a highly visual and interactive experience. Now the bulletin boards of twenty years ago have given way to the social network services of today. Services in this category include:

• LinkedIn.com
  
• MySpace.com
  
• Facebook.com
• Orkut.com
  

SADA recently joined the ranks of users who share photos, opinions, interests, and more with one another using the online service, Facebook. SADA chose Facebook for its clean look, ease of use, customization features, and popularity. Our page on Facebook provides a place where our clients can meet, learn about each other, even start a potentially beneficial and lucrative relationship. Facebook provides a number of small web-based applications that customize the user experience on our page. We have configured our Facebook page to show video content created by SADA (most recently this was a video of the SADA team singing happy birthday to one of our own). Our blog is automatically fed to the page on Facebook through RSS. We even have a few albums of photos for our clients to peruse, and get to know the team at SADA a little better.

What does this mean to you? More and more applications like Facebook, like Google Apps, like Mint are taking the place of applications that have traditionally been run from the desktop. Facebook allows those of you with whom we may work on a regular basis, but have never met in person, to put a face with a name in an email, or a voice on the other end of a teleconference. Facebook provides our clients, friends, and fans with a new and unique means of contacting SADA.