www.thechannelstandard.ca
THE
FEBRUARY 2013
CHANNEL STANDARD
FIAAZ WALJI, WEBSENSE
Four steps for crafting a DLP strategy PAGE 9
BARNEY BALDWIN, RBC:
Big data knowledge will be a priority in 2013 PAGE 26
CRITICAL INSIGHT FOR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
CONNECTING WITH CHANGE: The Channel
Standard
BUILDING A VISION OF 2013 CHANNEL OPPORTUNITIES www.itincanada.ca
SMB-ready technology: storage Backing up mobile data – it’s a must
Standard Diverging paths in IT management DLP tips from Websense Slowdown in Special Bid Volume continues
Do your sales reps spend more time looking for special pricing approvals than talking to customers? Is your purchasing team struggling to keep up with requests to validate pricing and discounts?
Is your sales team aware of all your customers’ upcoming maintenance, support and warranty renewals? Are your client entitlements lapsing, leaving your customers exposed and your accounts vulnerable to your competitors?
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CONTENTS
13.01
FEATURED THIS ISSUE SMB-READY: SHIFTS IN STORAGE Kevin Priddle works with ten leading vendors to identify new trends in SMB storage offerings for 2013
CHANNEL COACH Fiaaz Walji of Websense offers up four steps for crafting an effective data loss prevention strategy
SMB READY STORAGE PRODUCTS Dell, NetApp, HP, NETGEAR, FalconStor, Buffalo, QNAP, Barracuda, Western Digital and Carbonite nominate their best SMB-ready data storage and backup solutions
IN THE MIDDLE
Six leaders from the Canadian channel offer up predictions and possibilities for what the channel should expect in 2013
DIVERGING PATHS IN IT MANAGEMENT ITMD’s Michael O’Neil connects with four IT leaders to examine how cost pressures are forcing CIOs – and the businesses they serve - to evaluate the strategic role of IT
SPECIAL BID PRICING
Tracker Networks’ Jason Doel identifies a continued slowdown in special bid volume but highlights growth in the use of bids as a pricing tool
12 09 13
4 CCO VIEW
Looking at the time (and reasons) for changing business perspectives
6 CANADIAN CHANNEL NEWS
Wasp plans Canadian channel expansion, Tech Data Canada announces a new deal to distribute Microsoft Volume Licensing, Data Centers Canada launches a new channel partner program, TUC releases Connected Office 5.0 managed services program, N-able Technologies posts record year of growth, and Tenzing partners with Sitecore to expand its E-commerce ecosystem
10 CONTRACT CRITICAL
David Gammon outlines five tips on how to successfully search for Independent Professionals
16 26 30
20 GLOBAL VIEWS: BACKING UP MOBILE DATA – IT’S A MUST
ChannelPro SMB’s James E. Gaskin talks about why your customers need data backup as a part of a complete mobile device management solution
24 GLOBAL NEWS FROM CHANNELPRO SMB
Epson targets higher education and K-12 verticals with new projectors, CA Technologies updates its ARCserve Backup and touts a new ‘MSP Zone’, Xerox rolls out ConnectKey software for its for it’s MFPs, and MSI Slider S20 pulls double duty as Ultrabook and tablet
Februar y 2013 | 3 | The Canadian Channel Standard
CCO VIEW
THE TIME FOR CHANGE
Volume 2, Issue 2 EDITORIAL Michael O’Neil | Chief Content Officer michael.oneil@itincanada.ca Kevin Priddle | Staff Writer kevin.priddle@itincanada.ca CONTRIBUTORS Jason Doel David Gammon James E. Gaskin Rachel Cericola
BY MICHAEL O’NEIL
I
attended an event recently, and was reminded of how valuable it can be to spend a few hours in the audience as speakers try to fill you up with their knowledge. I mean no disrespect to the speakers – heck, that’s often my role at these affairs! – but really, the biggest thing I got from the session was time – time to reflect on what they were saying and how it impacted my business, and time to simply put the pieces of the business “on the (figurative) table,” looking at how they come together, how they might fit differently, and at what is missing from, or at odds with, the evolving needs of our customers. In the end, I thought the session was very beneficial: it made me reflect on how my competitive and customer environments are changing, and how I, too, need to change, to free up the time needed to capitalize on new opportunities. I left with several good ideas, but actually, I would have considered it a success if I had left with just one or two insights, and a commitment to understanding how and why I might change behaviour to capitalize on them. I look at our annual forecast issue in the same light. Coming out as it does in the busiest part of the channel year, it’s bound to be read with eyes bleary from RFPs, specs and contract clauses – a period in which we are seized by what the trainer at another session once called “the tyranny of the immediate.” But the new year is a natural time to take stock of what has changed, what is emerging, and the ways in which new approaches might better align us with new possibilities. We’ve filled this issue with material that is designed to help our channel readers to contemplate opportunities for
new business. Our research feature uses input from four IT leaders to illuminate some of the ways that the CIO’s role – and the role of technology in customer operations – is changing. Kevin Priddle’s well-regarded “SMB-ready” technology feature looks at the storage needed to store ever-expanding rivers of data, containing detailed descriptions innovative solutions from ten leading manufacturers. Guest commentators provide insight on essential topics: Jason Doel traces the changes in the special bid pricing arena, David Gammon talks to the best way to approach the Independent Professionals needed by agile, skills-focused organizations, and six “In the Middle,” channel experts, including Tech Data’s Rick Reid, talk about the trends that they are seeing in the markets they serve. Several other features provide a different view of key opportunities. Fiaaz Walji of Websense discusses DLP, an increasingly-vital technology in our increasingly-mobile IT environment. And our partners at ChannelPro SMB provide us with two additional perspectives: James E. Gaskin looks at how to connect data backup to mobile device management strategies, and the ChannelPro SMB news desk delivers updates on new Ultrabook tablets, CA’s support for MSPs, and Xerox software to link MFPs to the cloud. Reading this list reinforces the thought that change is not merely a constant – it’s accelerating as we find more ways of delivering IT services to more users, in more (and shifting) locations. And with this change comes new types of opportunity! Here’s hoping you come away from the time spent with your Standard with the insights and commitment needed to connect with change in 2013.
Februar y 2013 | 4 |
ART & PRODUCTION Elena Pankova | Senior Art Director elean.pankova@itincanada.ca David Potocki | Art Director davidp@precision-multimedia.com THE CANADIAN CHANNEL STANDARD - SALES Patricia Bush | National Account Manager trisha.bush@itincanada.ca EVENTS Sandra Service | Events Manager sandra.service@itincanada.ca CIRCULATION Denys Cruz | Circulation Director circulation@itincanada.ca
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CORPORATE INQUIRIES John R. Jones | Publisher john.jones@itincanada.ca HOW TO CONTACT THE CANADIAN CHANNEL STANDARD Telephone: 905-727-4091 Editorial issues: Michael O’Neil, Chief Content Officer, IT in Canada network michael.oneil@itincanada.ca Business issues: John Jones, Chief Operating Officer, IT in Canada network john.jones@itincanada.ca SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES For help with subscriptions, please contact circulation@itincanada.ca To subscribe to The Canadian Channel Standard in print, as a digital magazine – or to receive our daily e-newsletter – please visit us at www.itincanada. ca/registration
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CHANNEL NEWS
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS FROM IN AND AROUND THE CANADIAN CHANNEL BY KEVIN PRIDDLE
1
Wasp Barcode Technologies plans to expand Canadian channel
In a recent interview with The Standard, Wasp Barcode Technologies, provider of asset tracking, inventory control, time and attendance tracking, and point of sales (POS) solutions, outlined channel initiatives for 2013 and plans to expand its channel activities across Canada. Since 2011, Wasp has tripled the amount of staff resources available to North American VAR partners through its WaspLink partner program and during the first quarter of 2013 the company is looking to add its first in-country Wasp employee to focus on Canadian customers and partners. “That is really going to help with VAR recruitment and leveraging this partner program in Canada,” says Dylan Schafer, Wasp’s channel sales manager. “Before we have [supported Canada] from America, but now it will be great to have in-country representation. As far as growth goes, Canada is a real focus for us in 2013.” Currently Wasp has over 50 WaspLink partners across North America, which accounted for about 20% of all North American VAR sales in 2012. Schafer says he is actively looking to recruit new channel partners in Canada and the US who want to take advantage of WaspLink benefits and says he has aspirations to have 50% of the company’s revenue flow through the WaspLink channel. As part of company’s increased focus on Canada, Brian Sutter, Wasp’s director of marketing, says that the Wasp marketing team will be launching a Canada-specific website in 2013. “We’re already working on a lot of the Canadian specific materials,” Sutter says. “We’ve always worked on case studies and videos and Dylan Schafer, we’re going to put more of an emphasis on that this year.” Februar y 2013 | 6 |
In recent years, Wasp Barcode Technologies has leveraged video content as a tool to help sell products and increase brand awareness for its partners. The company’s YouTube channel recently hit over one million views and both Sutter and Schafer say video promotions will be a continued focus in 2013. “We find success stories with some of our interesting clients and make the videos,” Sutter says. “They are all on YouTube and we feature them on our website and then our resellers can use these throughout the sales process.” “We released about 23 videos last year alone,” he says. “This year I think we’re going to release 10 more in a combination of product and customer videos.”
2
Tech Data Canada to distribute Microsoft Volume Licensing
Tech Data Canada, a leading IT products and logistics management distributor, recently signed an agreement with Microsoft to offer Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA), hosted software and services through Tech Data’s Software Business Unit. “Through our distribution agreement Tech Data’s software business unit is able to offer our service providers and ISVs the only volume licensing program for Microsoft software licensing and services for commercial hosting,” Greg Myers, VP of marketing at Tech Data Canada, said in a release. SLPA is designed to help organizations focused on software services and hosted applications enhance and grow their customer base by offering customizable and robust solutions through assets like outsourcing data centre services, customer facility installations and academic offerings. “The hosting market grew at 24% in Canada in 2012, and we expect to see continued growth this year,” Myers Wasp’s channel sales noted. manager
The Canadian Channel Standard
“Tech Data’s SPLA reseller agreement reiterates their strong orientation to cloud–based computing and sets them up well to take advantage of helping customers procure the right solutions for their business whether that be on-premise, in the cloud or through third party hosting,” said Anne De Aragon, SMB lead at Microsoft Canada.
3
Data Centers Canada launches new channel partner program
At the beginning of February, Toronto-based data centre provider, Data Centers Canada, announced it has launched a new channel partner program. The company operates, develops and manages Canadian real estate for the purpose of providing turn-key data centre solutions including colocation and disaster recovery solutions for enterprises who seek to cost effectively expand their data center capacity or outsource existing data centre operations and currently operates two facilities in the GTA. Data Centers Canada’s new channel partner program is aimed at a range of market vertical partners including: IT VARs, technology service providers, master agents and real estate professionals. “Our partner program initiatives have been key drivers in our continued growth in the Canadian data center / colocation marketplace,” Tony Di Benedetto, managing partner at Data Centers Mark Scott, Canada, said in a release. “We continue to develop these programs to maximize benefits to our partners.” The updated partner program will provide its members access to the complete Data Centers Canada colocation and disaster recovery solution set along with a simplified agency model to help simplify and facilitate transactions as well as create ongoing, recurring revenue streams for channel partners. In addition to the financial benefits, Data Centers Canada says its sales associates “will engage in a flexible and scalable collaborative selling approach with its partner members to support funnel development and increase sales successes to create a win-win scenario for all parties,” according to a release.
4
TUC announces release of Connected Office 5.0 managed services program
At the end of January, Ottawa-based TUC Managed IT Solutions, a provider of managed services and cloud computing solutions, announced the release of its new managed service program – Connected Office (CO) 5.0. The fifth generation managed service offering builds upon TUC’s foundation of delivering managed IT services in a highly automated, primarily remote, service delivery model. A key component of CO 5.0 is the new TUC Service Center, which (according to a release from TUC) helps improve the end-user experience in three key areas: Responsiveness – access service/support at click of a mouse through the new TUC desktop icon Tangibility – new, more intuitive, customer portal to instantly track service tickets, service metrics, performance reports, current IT projects, recommendations and billing information Personalization –provide end-users a more personalized experience by accessing their favorite technician through upcoming Live Agent feature (available in March) “Connected Office 5.0 is about changing how managed services is delivered by making it more personal, tangible and understanding that responsiveness is in the ‘eye of the beholder’,” Mark Scott, CEO of TUC Managed IT Solutions, said in a release. “Anyone can say they deliver managed services, but to do it properly CEO, TUC Managed IT and securely requires a significant Solutions investment in people, process and technology. If technology is strategic to your business, then you need to look at a managed service provider like TUC.” “The new TUC Service Center provides me with the ability to drill into our technology health, service metrics, track projects and key recommendations in minutes,” Kevin Little, CFO of Metcalfe Realty/Fuller Group, said in a release. “Attending their customer advisory board meetings allows me to see what other companies are doing to make technology a key driver for their business.” TUC says other key new features to be released in Q1 include:
Continued on page 8 Februar y 2013 | 7 | The Canadian Channel Standard
CHANNEL NEWS Continued from page 7
TUC Professional Services – simplified into three practice areas: network and security, back-up and disaster recovery and virtualization and mobility CO Utility – standardized desktops and servers bundled with managed services for a monthly fee CO Enterprise – the new TUC Service Center, service desk team and ITIL-based processes available to enterprise IT departments in a co-managed services model CO Desktop-as-a-Service – true cloud-based virtual desktop service for users to access their corporate desktop anywhere from any device, including BYOD
and strengthened its relationships with CA Technologies and Ingram Micro to bring added value and managed service capabilities to its MSP partners. The company also welcomed more than 300 MSPs from competitive platforms in 2012, and earned a number of industry accolades.
6
Tenzing partners with Sitecore to expand E-commerce ecosystem
Tenzing Managed IT Services, a Toronto-based provider of hosting solutions for e-commerce clients, system integrators and Software-as-a-Service providers, recently announced that it has joined Sitecore’s partner program. N-able Technologies posts record year of growth By partnering with Sitecore, a web content management and looks forward to 2013 and customer experience management software provider, Ottawa-based N-able Technologies, provider of remote Tenzing aims to bolster its strategy of becoming a leading monitoring and management (RMM) service provider for e-commerce and service automation software, businesses and enables Tenzing recently reported that is has exceeded to provide website content its company growth expectations management and marketing tools by 47% and achieved “record-high” in a single, easy-to-use platform, partner satisfaction and growth according to a release. ratings in 2012. “At Tenzing, we understand how N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt stated critical it is for our e-commerce that thanks to its managed service clients to deliver an exceptional provider (MSP) partners, the company online customer experience and is well positioned to accelerate that’s why we have partnered with growth in 2013 and will continue Sitecore, an industry leader in this to execute against its core vision arena,” Brian Shepard, founder and of “making N-able’s partners the CEO of Tenzing, said in a release. world’s most successful MSPs.” “By partnering with Sitecore, we “N-able made significant can offer additional value to our technology gains across the board e-commerce clients by delivering a in 2012 that directly and positively leading web content management impacted the success of our MSP and customer experience partners worldwide, elevated the management software platform to discussions around managed services help to attract new visitors to their Gavin Garbutt, CEO, N-able and gave us, and our channel sites, optimize conversion rates, and partners, a competitive edge that will grow even stronger keep customers coming back for more.” in 2013,” Garbutt said. With its specialties in the e-commerce space, Tenzing To help benchmark performance and measure success, supports technology platforms like Oracle ATG Web N-able tracks the average growth percentage its MSP Commerce, IBM Web Commerce, Intershop, Magento, and partners achieve year over year. In 2012, the number of Hybris, and the company offers a range of complementary clients managed by N-able partners grew an average of services such as fully managed PCI compliance, 44%, bringing the total number of SMBs and enterprises comprehensive application monitoring, DoS mitigation, managed by N-able’s N-central RMM platform to more content delivery, and load-testing. Tenzing is also Payment than 82,000. Another performance indicator tracked by Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)-compliant N-able is number of devices managed by N-able’s MSP and maintains major industry certifications including ISO partners, which increased by 67% in 2012, according to a 27001 and SSAE16 Type II. release. “Building a secure e-commerce environment is a critical In 2012, N-able doubled its Partner Development aspect of delivering a positive customer experience,” Russ Specialist team and launched its Automation Manager, Emerson, director of field marketing, Sitecore, said in a proprietary MSP Technician’s Runbook and Report release. “We look forward to working with the Tenzing Manager 4.0 with PSA Insight to allow MSPs to improve its team as they bring a depth of experience and expertise reporting for RMM and professional services automation. in delivering and fully managing high-performance, Over the last year, N-able has also forged new e-commerce hosting solutions.” technology alliances with Live VHD and Bitdefender
5
Februar y 2013 | 8 |
The Canadian Channel Standard
CHANNEL COACH
DLP TIPS FROM WEBSENSE Four critical steps for an effective data loss prevention strategy BY KEVIN PRIDDLE
Major data breaches and privacy violations are hitting the headlines more and more often. LinkedIn lost the passwords of thousands of its users, the Region of Durham in Ontario compromised patient health records from a flu shot clinic, Elections Ontario lost USB sticks containing the private information of over 2.5 million voters, video games users on the Sony PlayStation Network suffered a major breach of their private data, and most recently, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) lost a portable hard drive containing personal information of 583,000 Canada Student Loans Program borrowers active between 2000-2006. In an effort to help businesses and organization protect themselves, The Standard recently caught up with Fiaaz Walji, Canadian country manager for web security solutions provider Websense, to learn more about what steps can be taken by SMBs, enterprises and the channel that serves them to prevent data loss and its negative consequences.
Step One: Identify Risk Understanding what data in your organization is the most valuable and where it lives is the first step in data loss prevention. Websense says data loss prevention (DLP) is important, but a “discover everything” process is unnecessary. Walji says companies need to recognize what data makes up the “crown jewels” of the organization and focus on protecting it specifically. A lot of risks can be identified from a little self-examination and asking questions like: What processes are used when accessing corporate data? What is the risk? Who is accessing what data and what are they doing with it?
Step Two: Cover Your Blind Spots In addition to identifying what data is at risk and how bad business pro-
cess might open your organization up to data vulnerabilities, it is important to cover some of the common blind spots that exist today. These include mobile devices, cloud services and SSL traffic. “Mobile devices can be a major blind spot with every employee ‘always connected’,” Walji says. “The good news is that I can reach my sales guy at 11pm at night with an email and he responds, but the bad news is that now he has a mobile device that is his own and has access to data on the company network or that has had corporate data and information downloaded onto it.” Walji says that storing sensitive information on cloud services like DropBox or even something as simple as a Gmail account should never be allowed. He also says that more attention needs to be given to the vulnerabilities presented by SSL protocols that encrypt data. “SSL is 50% of the traffic now, so if you’re not looking at that you’re essentially missing 50% of the data that’s either entering or leaving your organization,” Walji says.
Step Three: Educate, Educate and Educate The third – and perhaps most important – step in securing your data is to educate your staff. Once you’ve identified your risks and covered your blind spots, talking to your team about proper practices for handling data, as well as establishing controls and policies to safeguard confidential information, is a crucial phase of any DLP plan. Walji suggests using websites like PhishMe.com that help organizations pen-test their employees with targeted spear-phishing emails using an outside email address. When the employee clicks a link in the mock email it informs them that they have been phished and helps communicate best practices in a positive way.
Fiaaz Walji, Canadian country manager, Websense
Step Four: Reinforce Education with Technology Once a solid education strategy has been established and organizations have determined best business practices, technology can be implemented to reinforce and aid organizations in protecting their data. Some key “must-have” protection capabilities include: the ability to monitor communication channels like web and email for outbound data and the ability to stop it in its tracks; identity and access-management tools for ensuring that data does not fall into the wrong hands; and security information and event management software with a log management tool to help identify suspicious behaviour and follow it all the way through to remediation of the threat. For example, event/log management security solutions can be used to send notifications to employees when they try to download sensitive information onto portable endpoints like USB drives or external hard drives. These alerts can remind users of relevant policies regarding how they handle the data (i.e. ensuring it is encrypted and password protected) and can also notify IT managers of what information is leaving the network to ensure proper oversight.
Februar y 2013 | 9 | The Canadian Channel Standard
CONTRACT CRITICAL
HOW TO SEARCH FOR AN INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL Setting you and your IP up for success BY DAVID GAMMON
time interviewing the wrong people to either give up in frustration, settle for someone under-qualified or worse, bring on the wrong person. Take the time up front and do it right. You will not regret it. There are many resources out there for helping you with writing a description. If you don’t have a format to start with a simple Google search will help you find several templates so I won’t go into that here. I will offer a few tips that I use that you may find helpful and may not find online.
David Gammon
I
n my last column I went into detail about the reasons and benefits for hiring an Independent Professional. Once you’ve identified an area where you feel hiring someone on contract will be of benefit, the next challenge will be finding the right Independent Professional. In this column we will examine the first step involved in finding the right: the position description. By far the and most important step to finding the right IP is making sure you have a very well defined position including skills required, tasks, deliverables and a time frame. Don’t worry about getting it 100% right. Project scopes get modified and time frames get changed. IPs are hardwired to expect changes. This does not, however, give you an excuse for not doing your best to get it as accurate as possible before putting it out there. The position description will have the greatest impact on the success of your search so take the time to get as accurate as possible. This may sound evident to most of you, but you would be surprised how often this step gets overlooked or very poorly executed. I have seen many hiring managers and recruiters mess it up. You would never approve investment in a project without a proper analysis and detailed scope are happy to start the search for a contractor with nothing but a rough title and laundry list of skills quickly thrown together. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “we will recognize it when we see it” or “get me someone like John” I’d be retired by now. That’s a recipe for wasting a lot of
1. If you are starting with a blank page the task can be daunting. A simple search on any of the job boards will reveal what other companies have used for similar positions. This will give you a starting point but do not just cut and paste. This tip is meant to help you get passed the blank page syndrome. It does not excuse you from the work of making the description specific to your situation. 2. Be clear and concise. The best analogy I have heard is “be literal, not literary”. 3. You are writing a document for external use so avoid internal jargon that won’t mean anything to someone not already in your employment. 4. The position description is also marketing piece. I don’t mean it should be flashy and pretty but it does need to speak to what motivates the people you are trying to attract. From our research we know that IPs are most motivated by exciting projects, opportunities to grow their skills and money. In that order! If the project you are working on is exciting then make sure you put that in the title. If there are other perks like a great culture then brag about that as well. 5. Must-have certifications, training and/or experience should be stated as clearly as possible. This will cut down on unwanted applications and save time. Getting the position description right will save you a lot of money, time and heartache so take the time to get it as accurate as possible. David Gammon is the founder of a new and transparent model for contract staffing: 4fmv.ca. You can connect with him on Twitter (@DavidGammon)
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SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY
SMB-READY: SHIFTS IN STORAGE BY KEVIN PRIDDLE
T
he world is drowning in data. According to calculations from Google, from the dawn of civilization through to 2003 humans created about five exabytes (EB) of data in total. Today, we produce about five exabytes of data globally every two days. To put that in perspective, an exabyte is a billion billions (a 1 followed by 18 zeros) or enough data to fill about 250 million DVD discs. With such a rapid proliferation of data, CIOs and IT decision-makers need to take a serious look at how they plan to manage and support their businesses’ growing storage requirements. In this edition of “SMB-ready” technology, our new feature where we look at the products that help VARs engage with customers and deliver the business-critical solutions that enhance long-term reseller and customer relationships, The Standard has worked with 10 of industry’s leading storage vendors to assemble a compendium of the best SMB-ready” storage solutions available on the market.
Tech trends: SSDs, virtualization, cloud... Our group of sees continued growth and innovation in the storage space for the upcoming year. Advances in technology are offering SMBs more powerful solutions for more affordable prices. “2013 will be a milestone year for all flash arrays,” says Kevin Wouters, director systems engineering, NetApp Canada. “Since flash storage provides SMBs with greater ROI - improving performance at a reduced cost - we’ll see more vendors focusing on the technology to meet the growing demand. As such, flash will be applied broadly to accelerate a wide range of workloads, from virtualized servers and desktops to online transaction processing (OLTP) to file services.” “Storage arrays of solid-state disk (SSD) and hybrid combinations of SSD and conventional disk will become more popular,” says Ralph Wynn, FalconStor’s senior product marketing manager. “Users will embrace these new storage arrays because of the dramatic performance SSD technology delivers for purposed-built backup appliances.” Wynn also thinks that more end users will adopt storage virtualization technology to better utilize existing storage and that some SMBs will repurpose it for backup and disaster recovery needs. “More players continue to sprout up in the file-sharing
Februar y 2013 | 12 |
space and will continue to duke it out,” says Andy Jensen, director of product management at Barracuda Storage. “On the backup side, we’ll see a continuing trend of companies building their businesses with more reliance on virtualization, and the growing need for virtual compatible backup solutions. Along with virtualization — cloud and mobility trends are also playing large roles in the storage space relating to backups and file-sharing applications.” David Hauser, director of channel programs for Carbonite Inc., says that in 2013 more SMBs will come to understand the benefits of cloud technology and that as the market gets more comfortable with cloud, SMBs will go beyond disaster recovery and pure storage solutions to see how cloud services can help them streamline and grow their business in a flexible and cost-effective manner. “In a lot of ways, storage will be the gateway for users (specifically consumers and very small businesses) to start leveraging cloud-based tools and services,” Hauser says. “For small and medium-sized businesses that are more comfortable with the cloud, we will see a push toward hybrid storage models with local and cloud storage as a defined solution.” Despite advances in technology, Britt Terry, product marketing manager for HP storage, says the process of technological evolution “gestates across years and decades” and that while certain tenets of data management IT deployment and administration are changing rapidly, some technologies and methodologies will stick around. “For example, there are still instances where traditional servers with captive storage and separate network infrastructure are still happening versus the more modern, virtual server, app, virtualized hardware model,” Terry says.
Buying trends Not only is storage technology progressing in exciting and innovative ways, SMBs’ requirements, budgets and procurement processes are also evolving. “With the explosive growth of data, the SMB market now has more data they need to store and backup,” says Chris Wang, product manager, QNAP Inc. “From central primary storage to backup, disaster recovery and archiving, there is a growing need for more affordable and efficient storage devices. We believe that this trend will continue to grow and more SMB buyers will be looking for a complete solution for their data.”
The Canadian Channel Standard
SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY “SMB buyers today are more tech-savvy and more aware of the requirements and needs for data protection,” points out Thomas Gallivan, VP of SMB storage at Western Digital. “SMBs have many of the same requirements as a small enterprise, without the dedicated IT staff or budget to implement.” Carolyn Rollins, Dell Canada’s director of marketing, small business, mid-market and large institutions, also sees changes in the way SMBs are purchasing storage technology. “Where they previously may have considered cost and storage size, SMB technology buyers now understand that there are other dimensions to consider,” Rollins says. “Many are exploring storage virtualization to increase the performance of their virtual environments, which allows them to optimize storage utilization with storage tiering technologies and simplify the management of ever-increasing amounts of storage with storage resource management tools.”
Storage advice
SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY: STORAGE
Before you start browsing through the catalogue of SMBready storage devices that we’ve assembled in the coming
pages, we also asked a few of our vendors to offer up some advice for how CIOs and IT managers can efficiently and cost effectively manage their storage resources. “Time spent managing complex storage can significantly increase TCO,” says Matt Pahnke, senior product marketing manager for NETGEAR’s storage line. “Calculate an all-in hourly rate for your IT staff and understand where time is being spent on repeated tasks and maintenance tasks. Home grown solutions may be costing much more than anticipated because of recurring tasks and maintenance. In those cases, it is prudent to seek a vendor solution.” “Our advice would be to select a solution that matches your needs,” says Brian Verenkoff, director of business development and marketing at Buffalo Technology. “Oftentimes, an IT manager may purchase additional features and ‘bells and whistles’ that come with a price tag but don’t provide any value to their business.” “We recommend that SMB CIOs and IT managers consider consolidation and unification of currently siloed data using networked storage,” HP’s Britt Terry says. “We have seen many of our customers achieve incredible results through storage consolidation, especially when it comes to simplifying their storage management and backup.”
Vendor description: Dell EqualLogic FS7600 and PS6100 unified storage are the industry’s only scale-out unified storage platform based on our award winning EqualLogic virtualized storage platform. Dell EqualLogic FS7600 series network-attached storage (NAS) appliances work with new and existing EqualLogic block storage systems to provide highly scalable unified storage. It enables block and file data storage on a single platform, improving productivity and streamlining the IT infrastructure. As SMBs needs change, they can easily scale the EqualLogic SAN/NAS system for both capacity and performance without disrupting the storage system or applications. The DR000 deduplication and compression backup appliance can help SMBs alleviate these problems with data growth and strains on storage and backup processes. By removing redundant data from the backup work stream, the DR4000 can reduce the storage footprint, enable core backup to remain on disk and online longer, providing faster and more reliable restores. Enhanced data recovery is enabled by the DR4000 through many-to-one deduplicated replication. Reseller sources: Resellers enrolled in the Dell PartnerDirect channel program can source Dell PowerVault, EqualLogic and Compellent storage solutions from their Dell Commercial Channel sales team. Spec highlights: EqualLogic PS6100 series and FS7600 unified storage solution: unified IP storage solution (iSCSI, CIFS, NFS); single file share scalability up to the full capacity of the EqualLogic deployment, currently validated to 509TB; asynchronous, file system-level, snapshot-based replication to peer FS7600 Series systems; user-restorable snapshots; NDMP back-up; compatible with all EqualLogic arrays running a current firmware version; integrated with Group Manager, easy-to-use EqualLogic management software, or use the Command Line Interface (CLI); inclusive software delivery model; single namespace with load balanced IO; mirrored, battery-backed write cache;RAID 5, 6, 10, 50C. DR4000 disk backup appliance: built-in data protection safeguards in both hardware and software to verify backup integrity; many-to-one replication capability consolidates multiple remote office backup workloads into a single, easy to manage solution; turnkey solution designed to drop into any backup workflow environment; simple to install and manage the software agnostic DR4000 supports industry leading backup software applications; deduplication appliance supporting NFS, CIFS and OST; available in 4 configurations: 2.7TB postRAID (35TB logical), 5.4TB post-RAID (70TB logical), 9.0TB post-RAID (130TB logical), 18.0 TB post-RAID (270TB logical). Dell EqualLogic PS6100 series and FS7600 unified storage solution
Februar y 2013 | 13 | The Canadian Channel Standard
Vendor description: The NetApp FAS2200 Series is a powerful and affordable new data storage and management platform designed for the small to mid-size businesses and branch offices. The FAS2200 Series system setup is an intuitive GUI-based utility that dramatically simplifies the setup and provisioning; reducing setup time from hours to just minutes. The FAS2200 series also includes the simple yet powerful browser-based management tool, OnCommand System Manager, to help administrators: save time and prevent errors; view, create, and manage Flash Pool environments; and deploy NetApp storage systems within minutes using System Manager’s intuitive wizard and workflow-driven interface to automate common storage tasks. The NetApp FAS3200 Series is a new midrange data storage and management platform that offers up to 80% more performance, 100% more capacity, non-disruptive operations, and industry-leading storage efficiency. Reseller sources: Resellers can source the FAS2200 and 3200 series’ products through Avnet and Arrow Canada. Spec highlights: NetApp FAS2200 Series: truly unified storage systems with list prices starting under $8,000; SSD support across all FAS2200 series systems; ability to get more out of applications and improve storage efficiency with ultrafast flash using Flash Pool technology; industry-leading efficiency features built in at no additional cost; ability to use 50% less storage in virtual server environments; higher throughput with 10 Gigabit Ethernet support across all FAS2200 systems; rapidly deploy in just minutes using the new GUI-based system setup utility; manage using your Microsoft Management Console, minimizing training costs; automatically optimize whether data is stored on flash or disk for better performance and management simplicity; gain tight integration with key business applications to enable administrators to manage two to three times more storage; slash administrative overhead by up to 60% by leveraging one common skill set for all NetApp products.
SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY: STORAGE
FAS 3200 Series: improved scale and storage efficiency with up to 100% more capacity for greater consolidation, up to 80% more performance to improve VM density and flash to reduce data centre footprint; virtual storage tiering that is fully flash-optimized to improve performance / latency and more options for flexibility of design and scale; update/expand with zero disruption and rebalance workloads without interruption; seamless scaling an unified architecture simplifies the process of growing with business and improves overall ROI of investment.
NetApp FAS 3270
Vendor description: For SMBs struggling with the skyrocketing cost of managing unstructured data growth, HP StoreEasy Storage saves SMBs considerable time and money by supporting thousands of concurrent users and multiple workloads on a single, consolidated platform that’s affordable and easy to manage. Further, HP StoreEasy simplifies data centre management and reduces costs for SMBs with block optimized deduplication that increases capacity utilization on existing systems, reduces storage space requirements and eliminates the need to purchase and manage additional hardware. The HP StoreEasy also includes encryption and continuous availability functionalities typically found only in high-end systems. For SMBs who cannot afford to purchase and maintain new storage hardware to support virtualization projects, HP StoreVirtual Storage, offers affordable, highly scalable and simple solutions for a virtual data center by providing multiple physical deployment options, software support for all server types, multiple hypervisors and high-availability across multiple locations. HP StorageVirtual is the only product with data mobility across tiers, locations, and between virtual and physical storage, which increases functionality and saves SMBs time and money on system management. Both platforms are built on the latest HP Proliant Gen 8 technology enabling SMBs to benefit from the industry-standard platform’s reliability and availability enhancements which increase performance and capacity density and is optimized for SMB environments. Reseller sources: Resellers can source these SMB storage solutions from Arrow, Avent, Ingram Micro, SYNNEX and Tech Data. Spec highlights: HP StoreEasy 1000 Storage: 42TB raw internal SAS/SATA capcity; SFF/LFF SAS/SATA; attach to D2600, D2700, MDS600; embedded Gigabit server adapters; supports 10 to 5000 users; Window Server Manager management features; HW RAID, redundant power and cooling; compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux, UNIX and VMware. HP StoreVirtual 4000 Storage:2.4TB to 256TB capacity; (256) SFF SAS or (256) SFF MDL SAS drive support; 1 GbE iSCSI (128) Ports,10 GbE iSCSI (64) Ports or 8 Gb Fibre Channel (64) host interfaces depending on model with optional upgrade to 10GbE iSCSI (64) Ports; add incremental nodes into the storage cluster to expand capacity or performance without disruption; centralized management console, HP ProLiant Integrated Lights-Out 4 Remote Management, Baseboard Mgmt Controller IPMI 2.0; hyper-redundant clustered storage; remote copy asynchronous replication with bandwidth throttling and multi-site/disaster recovery with synchronous replication; compatible with Apple OS X, Citrix XenServer, HP-UX, IBM AIX,Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2012, Novell NetWare, Oracle Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Linux, Oracle Solaris, SUSE Linux, and VMware.
Februar y 2013 | 14 |
The Canadian Channel Standard
HP StoreEasy Storage
Continued on page 21
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IN THE MIDDLE
Trent Dilkie, VP & chief security officer, access infrastructure solutions, Gibraltar Tim Lomax, president, SmartPrint Sylvain Tremblay, executive VP, CPU Dave White, CEO, Trinus Technologies Rick Reid, president, Tech Data Canada Mitchell Martin, president, SYNNEX Canada
PREDICTIONS AND POSSIBILITIES BY KEVIN PRIDDLE
I
n IT in Canada’s Forecast edition last year, our experts focused on the themes of cloud, mobility and security. But their key message was that these trends don’t operate as separate entities within the IT space, and they emphasized in conversation just how closely interconnected these technology areas really are. Our experts hit the nail on the head and 2012 witnessed the emergence of Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 smartphones, the iPad mini and Windows tablets and Cloud computing. 2012 can perhaps best be summarized as ‘a year of IT consumerization in the business realm.’ This year’s In the Middle discussion features many of these same themes, emphasizing the continued blurring of the lines between corporate and consumer IT usage. Our reseller experts see more companies adopting BYOD mobile strategies, as well as growth in mobile device management and security as a result. They predict even greater growth in the tablet and Ultrabook/convertible market, though some disagreement has emerged around the future of the desktop. Managed services and SaaS revenue models are also expected to become more prevalent as cloud continues to gather steam in the coming year. But some of our panel members warned that the cost of cloud may spike as smaller cloud providers, who are unable to compete with the big players, become the target of acquisition activity.
Februar y 2013 | 16 |
Q: What new/innovative technologies or solutions will make an impact on the market in 2013? And what will drive mainstream acceptance? Trent Dilkie, Gibraltar: 2012 was a BYOD breakout year with about 70% of Canadian corporations allowing employees to use their own personal mobile devices for work purposes. The popularity and growth of BYOD meant incremental complexities and administrative burdens for many overtaxed IT departments. We expect IT to respond in 2013 with an array of new MDM projects and initiatives. Solutions built on the capabilities of Citrix CloudGateway and/or VMware Horizon will do well in 2013. Seeing that we are less than 14 months from Windows XP end of life, we are also expecting companies to double down on their migration efforts. This will accelerate many corporations’ Windows transition plans, leading to higher adoption of application and desktop virtualization, and movement to the cloud (SaaS). Tim Lomax, SmartPrint: We will see document capture and workflow solutions streamline business process and document flow to create savings and productivity gains in the mid-market. Proven enterprise-level hardware and software solutions will also move down into the mid-market. Once captured, documents will be stored in the cloud and acceptance will be driven by MPS (managed print service)
The Canadian Channel Standard
IN THE MIDDLE
solutions companies’ ability to ease document movement into and out of cloud, and by the capability to search and support cloud documents with mobile devices. Simplified storage and retrieval at the desktop level and device security will also drive acceptance. Rick Reid, Tech Data Canada: Consumerization will continue to drive mobility and BYOD crossing over into the enterprise market. Corporate IT spending will continue to move from data centres and software licenses to cloud services. In the channel, we’ve seen the number of server workloads done in virtualized environments grow from 25% to 60%. Sales of Ultrabooks, convertible notebooks and tablets will keep growing in 2013. And integration, security and manageability will become more critical as we see demand grow for cross-platform and multi-environment applications. I predict we’ll see more packaging of software and services. SAP and others will speed up delivery of apps to influence In-Memory capability. Sylvain Tremblay, CPU: 2013 will see mobility make a great impact on the market, and SaaS model solutions will take off in government, as this sector is focusing on budgets (particularly in Québec) and must be more effective with fewer people and less money. Twenty years ago we switched from running after everyday revenue to recurrent revenue based on three-to-five-year contracts. Now we need to secure this recurrent revenue base and add a SaaS revenue model without decreasing our total company revenue. This is a very challenging goal because what we are seeing is cheaper businesses offering SaaS solutions. Dave White, Trinus: The industry is a-buzz with cloud computing in all its various formats. Early adopters have blazed the trail and now it’s time for mainstream SMBs to move in. But the road will not be easy. Look for SMBs to implement hybrid and private cloud models as the least painful way to transition from their client-server applications. Opportunities abound for savvy support
specialists and integrators to offer value-add services as they coach their SMB clients in cloud services, but you have to be smart. Mitchell Martin, SYNNEX Canada: Cloud, mobility and Windows 8 all represent quite a bit of change in how the channel goes to market with new solutions. The willingness of the channel to shift its focus and add real value around each of these things is what will drive mainstream acceptance. Q: Are there any technologies that will begin to fade or become obsolete in 2013 and if so, why? Trent Dilkie: Traditional desktops as we know them today will start to fade in 2013. I believe this started a while ago with the introduction of the Apple iPad, but what will be different in 2013 is the acceleration of this decline. We foresee companies accelerating their adoption of virtualization and cloud technologies to increase security capabilities and platform flexibility. Tim Lomax: Large, expensive, centralized A3 (11 x 17) copiers are in fast decline and will continue to lose market share as smaller, less expensive devices offering better document management capabilities are placed closer to the users. Rick Reid: The concept of a single, corporate data warehouse will die. Multiple systems need to be tied together. We’ll also see traditional clamshell notebooks continue to decline as convertibles increase. Sylvain Tremblay: It’s hard to predict. We thought that the desktop would die fast and be replaced by laptops and tablets, but we will still have customers buying desktop at least for the next three to five years. Dave White: News of the demise of the desktop computer is greatly exaggerated. Anyone who has ever visited a professional office sees the explosion of multi-monitor
Februar y 2013 | 17 | The Canadian Channel Standard
Continued on page 18
IN THE MIDDLE Continued from page 17 desktop workstations with high-horsepower graphics and computing power. Try connecting two 27” high-res monitors to your tablet… I’ve also heard that the keyboard and mouse are dead – long live the touch screen! This industry has spent 20-plus years training people to use these tried-and-true devices to the point where they are ubiquitous and natural. There are hundreds-of-thousands of applications used by tens-ofmillions of users that do NOT lend themselves well to touch screen use, especially on a desktop and I think the wholesale move to touch screens is a decade away. Mitchell Martin: Packaged software will begin to fade as the market shifts toward electronic distribution via web-based cloud applications. Q: What’s one bad habit channel leaders should kick in 2013? Trent Dilkie: Heavy reliance on backend dollars (volume rebates and deal registration incentives) for profitability. These types of incentives are diminishing in dollars and are harder to secure. Channel partners will do well to transition from relying on backend incentives to make deals “whole.” Tim Lomax: A bad habit is not protecting partners who have invested in developing an opportunity then get into an open bid with little to no margin. Channel leaders should partner with fewer, more capable partners and protect them to win profitable business. Rick Reid: Channel leaders have been making changes to their processes and programs in response to the needs of resellers. They need to continue to be receptive to the voice of the resellers if they want to support partner recruitment and enablement. The channel leaders should meet and talk together regularly to be less dependent on the manufacturers and the distributors (they are working together to face the channel). Mitchell Martin: Resellers should get out of the habit of selling product as opposed to selling solutions. They need to be much more focused on creating and wrapping services around selling hardware and software. Cloud solutions, for example, are services by nature. On the flip side, resellers should focus on going narrow and deep as opposed to being generalists. Q: What business practices within the channel will be important to growth in 2013 and how is this changing? Trent Dilkie: Employee retention, especially technical associates, should be a key initiative in 2013. With the continued erosion of hardware margins and the emergence of virtualization and cloud computing, many channel partners are looking to build or increase their service capabilities. This makes talent management (acquisition and retention) a high priority for 2013. Tim Lomax: As print focused manufacturers broaden their portfolios and increase their solution offerings, they’re looking to work closer with fewer VARs who have made a commitment to bringing those managed services to the midFebruar y 2013 | 18 |
market. Fewer, more capable partners can deliver end-to-end solutions and differentiate from price and device features. Rick Reid: It’s never been more important to attract and retain the right talent to support your business. Resellers should focus on services and value-add. In a hypercompetitive market, low margins make it more difficult to compete on price. Service will be the difference that makes or breaks a deal. Technology vendors need to listen to their resellers’ pain points if they want to grow their reseller share. Vendors need to make their processes and programs easier for resellers to do business with them. We’ll see more focus on delivering new functionality and new experiences to both end users and end customers. Dave White: The cost of cloud computing is going to rise in 2013. I suspect that cloud providers have been buying business lately in an effort to build market share and once the players are hooked, prices will go up. When added to the natural consolidation that will take places as the industry matures (and smaller providers are gobbled up by the big players) price increases seem inevitable to me. I also suspect there are cloud providers who really shouldn’t be in this game; they don’t have the deep pockets or experience to provide mission-critical computing services to unsuspecting clients. Mitchell Martin: Fundamentally, resellers have to change their business models to encompass managed services as opposed to selling on product only. The cloud is a good example of this. Additionally, resellers are going to specialize more on a particular technology focus versus being generalists. Q: Any other predictions for 2013? Trent Dilkie: There will be more press about communal cloud initiatives and adoption; there will be a major security breach from a bad BYOD implementation; and we will finally come to a consensual understanding and definition for “Big Data”. Tim Lomax: 2013 will see more market consolidation. Basic Managed Services are now mainstream – true partners now need to lead their clients with business process improvements to stay ahead of the curve. Rick Reid: We’re seeing the line between corporate and individual IT usage blurring. BYOD has influenced the shift from business applications to new apps and the Big Data delivered behind them. The channel will become more efficient about using existing IT to respond to enduser and end-customer demand for new functionality and new experiences. I also predict 2013 will be the year for acquisitions and mergers within the reseller community. Sylvain Tremblay: I believe that we are adding more intelligence and building our knowledge base through social networks and this is going to become a very powerful tool for enterprise productivity. Security in mobile solutions will also be an interesting growth market.
The Canadian Channel Standard
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BACKING UP MOBILE DATA — IT’S A MUST Why your customers need data backup as a part of a complete mobile device management solution BY JAMES E. GASKIN
Y
ou fight the backup battle with nearly every customer, and finally processes are put in place to protect the data on clients’ servers, desktops, and even laptops. Now, however, the nagging battleground shifts to smartphones and tablets. “Every mobile strategy has to take into account that devices will absolutely be lost,” says Kevin Benedict, independent mobility analyst at MobileEnterpriseStrategies. com. “And while companies think smartphones need a new process, it’s not much different than protecting laptops like they’ve been doing for decades.” Benedict’s latest mobility survey found that companies need, in order of importance, better device management tools for iOS (Apple), Android (multiple hardware vendors running the software developed by Google), Microsoft’s mobile OSs (Windows Mobile 7 and 7.5, with Windows 8 attracting plenty of attention), and the BlackBerry OS (still strong in many enterprises). Your iOS and Android smartphone customers may believe they have backup under control without your assistance, however, using Apple’s iCloud (or even iTunes), or Google Drive for Android devices. Both are free, but both are incomplete. “I won’t use iCloud for business,” says Benedict. While consumers may love the free storage they get with iCloud or Google Drive, “enterprises want to turn off iCloud and the others,” notes Marco Nielsen, vice president of services at Enterprise Mobile, a mobile services firm in Plano, Texas. “The vendors still aim at consumers, because worldwide, about one million phones per day are activated, mostly by consumers.” And consumer solutions aren’t robust enough for businesses. Enterprise Mobile works with companies that have as few as 40 devices or as many as 42,000. “Most clouds don’t back up personal information management data,” says Nielsen, and enterprises are afraid of clouds and want onpremises solutions. “Their biggest fear is a cloud getting hacked,” he notes. Larger customers often want complete mobile device management, notes Nielsen, which encompasses provisioning new phones, including adding the appropriate applications and security policies; support; remote wiping capabilities for lost devices; and even end-of-life device recycling. Nielsen also says mobile devices may not carry much data if they are properly provisioned. “Email is stored on [company] email servers, and documents tend to be backed up somewhere,” he says. “If a device is wiped, not much is lost.” Device owners in companies with a “bring your own device” mindset may argue that last point, as employeeowned phones usually have many personal photos and contacts. Managing these phones and tablets with company software and security can become confusing if policies aren’t clear to the users. Februar y 2013 | 20 |
PREPARE FOR WINDOWS 8 PHONES Karen Jaworski, senior director of product marketing at San Francisco-based online backup and cloud storage provider EVault Inc., says it’s important to prepare for Windows 8 phones and tablets, “where it’s even more prevalent to lock down data on mobile devices.” While most believe tablets are data consumption devices, Jaworski feels Microsoft’s Surface tablet will be different. “With that keyboard, it’s much like a laptop, and we treat it that way. We can lock down the USB ports for data leak prevention, [and] apply security policies and access controls— all to keep the data safe.” “For most customers, data backup and recovery is not as important as mobile device lockdown,” says Jaworski. “Customers prefer a single solution that includes mobile devices, and like both local and remote data storage—local for speed, and cloud-based for disaster recovery.” As far as mobile device management and backup products, Benedict is impressed with offerings from Soti Inc., a mobile device management provider in Mississauga, Ontario. “They have features others don’t, like remote access with the ability to control the device.” Some products he recommends for backup as well as device management are Afaria from SAP America, Newton Square, Pa., and solutions from AirWatch LLC in Atlanta. Nielsen at Enterprise Mobile prefers Mountain View, Calif.-based MobileIron and its solutions, and the feeling is mutual. MobileIron has named Enterprise Mobile its partner of the year for the past two years. Products and providers aside, remember three mobile data backup details when approaching your customers. First, devices will definitely get lost. Second, customers have started the backup process already, since they protect data on their laptops. Finally, mobile data backup is just one part of a complete mobile device management system your customers need.
James E. Gaskin
About the author: James writes about technology from his home office in Mesquite, Texas, near Dallas. As a former reseller, he has been helping small and midsize businesses use technology intelligently since 1984. His technology “obit” column appears in the monthly print edition of ChannelPro-SMB. This feature is published with the permission of our U.S. partner, ChannelPro SMB (http://www.channelprosmb.com). All rights reserved.
The Canadian Channel Standard
Continued from page 14 Vendor description: The NETGEAR ReadyDATA 5200 is our offering best suited to SMBS. Every ReadyDATA 5200 ships with a full suite of advanced features such as block-level replication, deduplication, and thin provisioning. Add expansion to as many as 180TB and the dramatic perforce boost that comes from supporting a mix of SSD, SAS and SATA drives within a volume, and ReadyDATA redefines the concept of storage for small and medium businesses, remote offices/ branch offices (ROBO), and departments within enterprise organizations. Never before have so many features come standard on an enterprise-class storage device, especially one with a price tag that is comfortable for even the smallest of IT organizations. The ReadyDATA 5200 is easy-to-use unified storage from NETGEAR designed to address serious data management issues with a single system. Common challenges the ReadyDATA 5200 is built to address include: efficiently managing rampant data growth with technology like deduplication and compression; designing simple and cost-effective disaster recovery plans with free blocklevel replication; and easily transitioning to virtualized infrastructures with 10GbE and virtual networking. In addition to being simple for IT professionals to use, the all-inclusive feature set and simplified packaging of disk components make ReadyDATA an easy solution to sell. Reseller sources: Product not available direct. Can be sourced from all major distributors: Ingram Micro, TechData, SYNNEX, Avnet etc.
SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY: STORAGE
Spec highlights: ReadyDATA 5200: 2U, 12-bay storage that supports 1TB, 2TB and 3TB drives for a total of 36TB capacity; support up to two expansion chassis (the 4U, 24-bay ReadyDATA EDA4000), for a fully populated capacity of up to 180TB; new drives can be easily added while the system is running for seamless expansion on-the-fly; mix-and match SATA, near-line SAS, SAS, and SSD drives within volumes to provide a stunning boost to performance and flexible capacity; dual 10GbE ports and virtual network interface support ensure that even in I/O intensive virtual environments, network bottlenecks are a thing of the past; supports industry-standard file sharing protocols including iSCSI, CIFS, and NFS; thin provisioning, compression and de-duplication of both block (SAN) and file data (NAS); continuous data protection with unlimited snapshots; block level replication over WAN managed from the cloud for disaster recovery; unlike enterprise-class storage from traditional vendors, a full set of advanced data management technologies come standard with every ReadyDATA 5200. NETGEAR ReadyDATA 5200 Vendor description: The FalconStor Continuous Data Protector (CDP) Virtual Appliance is best suited to SMB environments. FalconStor Software’s strategy is to give our customers choices based on their needs. For the SMB customer, we strive to provide intelligent solutions that offer the most sought-after data protection and recovery capabilities. FalconStor CDP in its virtual appliance form can work in a VMware environment and protect both physical and virtual servers. Customer can use Just a Bunch of Disks (JBODs) or any kind of storage as a backup target. With its built in replication and RecoverTrac automated disaster recovery (DR) technology, FalconStor CDP helps SMBs achieve fully automated recovery for their physical and virtual environment with minimal effort and expense. The FalconStor website also hosts data sheets and whitepapers about deploying FalconStor CDP in virtual environments and solution briefs about protecting mixed environments, databases and applications. Reseller sources: Resellers can source these products from Arrow, Avnet, and TechData. Spec highlights: FalconStor Continuous Data Protector: open architecture; automated DR with RecoverTrac technology; non-disruptive DR testing; flexible data capture to improve RPO; flexible deployment model; data mobility; any-to-any data replication with compression; WAN-optimized replication and encryption; thin provisioning; application integration.
FalconStor CDP Virtual Appliance
Vendor description: Carbonite’s cloud backup solutions are automatic, secure and affordable. Once the software is downloaded onto a device, Carbonite will automatically back up new and changed files whenever it’s connected to the internet, which means businesses don’t have to take time and focus away from their work to protect important files. Carbonite is also a secure method of backing up business data, as files are encrypted before they leave a computer, and then securely transmitted to Carbonite’s offsite data centers so there are copies of business files in multiple locations. Additionally, small businesses can protect their important data with Carbonite without breaking the budget. Carbonite’s flat-fee pricing allows small businesses to plan their data protection budget for the year. Reseller sources: Resellers interested in participating in the Carbonite Reseller Program can email resellers@carbonite.com.
Februar y 2013 | 21 | The Canadian Channel Standard
Spec highlights: Carbonite Business: available on Mac/Windows starts at $229/year with 250 GB for unlimited computers, external hard drives and NAS devices; automatic and continual backup; optional scheduled backup (Windows only); file and folder backup; automatic video file backup; external hard drive backup; NAS device backup; Windows Server backup; anytime/anywhere access; easy file recovery; restore previous versions (Windows only); courier recovery; U.S.-based support via phone, email & chat; browser-based admin dashboard. Carbonite BusinessPremier: available on Mac/Windows. Starts at $599/year with 500 GB for unlimited computers, external hard drives, NAS devices and Windows servers. Business Premier offers the same features as Carbonite Business, plus it backs up unlimited Windows servers. Vendor description: Buffalo’s TeraStation line of network storage devices represents our premier NAS solutions designed to exacting standards and made for the demanding needs of today’s businesses. Our TeraStation 5000 series are powered by the dual-core 2.13 GHz Intel Atom and 2 GB DDR3 RAM as well as an array of business-class features, delivering supercharged performance and even higher storage capacities at reasonable prices. The TeraStation 7000 series offers SMB/SME level performance with 10 Gigabit per second support and quad-core Xeon processors. Every day, SMB customers are challenging manufacturers to provide cost effective backup and disaster recovery solutions that address their ever-increasing performance and storage capacity needs. With high availability storage technologies like RAID, hot-spare, and real-time replication, TeraStation offers cost-effective network storage solutions for businesses that value performance and reliability. Buffalo’s VMware certified TeraStation 5000 series meets these demands with an updated user interface that provides simplified management, optimized resource utilization, and true disaster recovery protection. We’ve loaded our TeraStation 5000 series with business-class features including simultaneous NAS and iSCSI target functionality, surveillance video management, Active Directory support, disk quota support, share level replication, failover support, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, hot-swap hard drives and USB 3.0 accessory support, making the TeraStation 5000 series the most comprehensive line of network storage solutions on the market. Reseller sources: Buffalo Technology sources its products through Ingram Micro, SYNNEX, D&H, TechData and Supercom Canada. Spec highlights: The newest additions to the TeraStation 5000 family (TS 5400 Rackmount, TS 5600, TS 5800) feature the following: 4-8 hard drives; 4-32 TB of storage; dual-core 2.13 GHz Intel Atom; RAID modes up to 0/1/5/6/10/50/51/60/61; 2GB DDR 3 memory; three USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports; local and remote replication; VMware Certified for NFS.
SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY: STORAGE
Buffalo TeraStation 5800
Vendor description: We have two product lines that we designed for our SMB environments. The first one is the TS-x69 series, which comes in 2,4, 6, 8, and 12 bays. We also have another line, the TS-x70U-RP series, which comes in a 8 and 12 bay rackmount. Finding a good storage solution full in features is hard to find on the market. Both the TS-x69 series and TS-x70U-RP series are an affordable storage solution aimed to be a centralized storage for backup and file sharing. Other than backup our NAS can be used for private cloud storage, disaster recovery solution, VPN server, Windows AD environment, LDAP server and more. These NAS and iSCSI/ IP-SAN storage combo is the perfect storage solution for server virtualization. There is no storage on the market that can meet our storage prices with VMware and Citrix certification. The TS-x70U-RP series is the most affordable 10 GbE Ready NAS available on the market. Reseller sources: Resellers can find our products at SYNNEX, Malabs, Ingram Micro, D&H, and ASI. Spec highlights: TS-x69 Series: Intel Atom 2.13GHz dual-core processor; 1GB RAM (expandable up to 3GB); 512MB DOM flash memory; two to twelve 3.5” or 2.5” SATA 6Gb/s, SATA 3Gb/s hard drive or SSD with swappable and lockable hard disk trays; two Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet ports; two USB 3.0 ports and five USB 2.0 ports; supports USB printer, pen drive, USB hub, and USB UPS etc.; two eSATA ports; mono-LCD display with backlight. TS-x70U-RP Series: dual-core Intel 2.4 GHz processor; 4 GB DDR3 RAM expandable to 16 GB; 512MB DOM flash memory; eight or twelve 3.5” or 2.5” SATA 6Gb/s, SATA 3Gb/s hard drive or SSD with swappable and lockable hard disk trays; two Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet ports, expandable up to six 1 Gb LAN or four 10 Gb + two1 Gb LAN by installing optional dual-port 10 Gb and 1 Gb network card; two USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports; support USB printer, pen drive, USB hub, and USB UPS etc.; two eSATA ports.
Februar y 2013 | 22 |
The Canadian Channel Standard
QNAP TS-1270U-RP
Vendor description: Barracuda Backup is a great fit for SMBs because of its exceptional cost to feature ratio giving them everything they need in a storage solution with an incredible ease of use. The Barracuda Message Archiver organizes, archives and deduplicates email, keeping businesses compliant and making archived messages easily searchable. Additionally this solution takes the load off of email servers and decreases the size of backups. Users can stub messages and restore stubbed attachments along with iPhone and Android apps granting access to mobile users. Barracuda Copy helps SMBs solve the concern of employees using file-sharing applications for company data by protecting mobile data with the ability to choose who views and shares data and enables the ability to revoke access to company data when needed Reseller sources: Resellers can source these products direct or through SYNNEX. Spec highlights: Barracuda Backup: full local backup; fast local restore at LAN speed; data deduplication; redundant offsite backup to the cloud, another site, to a private cloud or a hybrid site-to-site and cloud replication deployment; LiveBoot for VMware enables a virtual machine to be booted directly off the Barracuda Backup Server’s deduplicated backup storage live, getting businesses up and running again quickly, which allows an option for recovering data if SAN goes down; flexible retention policies. Barracuda Message Archiver: complete archiving captures and indexes all inbound and outbound email content; simplifies regulatory compliance fulfilling HR and legal discovery requests by allowing auditors and administrators to easily compile relevant messages using keywords, dates, sender/recipient names and other criteria; content monitoring enforces policies by scanning email for content such as foul language, job search websites and personal ID information; optimized storage stubs email attachments to reduce storage by 85%, also deduplicates and compresses emails before archiving; all folders can be seen and searched through the Web UI for easy folder management; Exchange add-in lets users access their archived emails in synchronized folders through Outlook and users can stub messages and restore stubbed attachments along with iPhone and Android apps granting access to mobile users.
SMB-READY TECHNOLOGY: STORAGE
Barracuda Copy: : cloud storage platform allowing file-sharing and synchronization; equally compelling to people, friends and companies; built in security features and administrative and control capabilities that are unmatched by other cloud storage services like Dropbox and Box.
Barracuda Message Archiver
Vendor description: The WD Sentinel DX4000 small office storage server and WD My Book Live Duo SOHO ProSumer NAS solution are two of our offerings best suited to the SMB market. The WD Sentinel DX4000 is easy to set up and easy to manage. It comes with everything you need to centralize your business files. Once it’s set up, it intelligently manages drive and network status, reducing maintenance time so you can focus on your business. Built on proven technologies from industry leaders, WD Sentinel small office storage server offers your business a complete data protection solution for your peace of mind. WD Sentinel includes Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials software to protect up to 25 client computers in your network. There’s no need to purchase additional backup software licenses. The MY Book Live Duo NAS solution is the double-safe place for all your media and files. Connect to your wireless router to provide shared storage for all your computers. RAID mirroring technology continuously maintains a second copy of all your files for real-time data backup. You can also access your files from anywhere with your smartphone and tablet using secure remote access and mobile apps. A built-in, high-powered CPU gives you the horsepower you need for the most demanding applications. Stream media seamlessly and transfer files without skipping a beat. Reseller sources: Resellers can source these products from Ingram Micro, D&H, Supercom, and ASI Canada. Spec highlights: WD Sentinel DX4000: server grade HDDs with hot swap, trayless disk design; RAID protection RAID 1 – 2 disks, RAID 5 >2 disks with automated RAID migration and capacity expansion (no user intervention); built in backup and recovery software that includes up to 25 client computer licenses, intelligent backup scheduled or on demand, and retention policy capabilities; redundant power and gigabit Ethernet network connectivity; optional off-site disaster recovery enabled; Intel Dual Core Atom D525 CPU; 2GB of RAM; Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials operating system; built-in DLNA media player; secure remote web access. MY Book Live Duo NAS: RAID 1 double SAFE configuration; SmartWare backup software with continuous backup and category, file/folder backup;WD 2GO secure remote access from iOS devices, Android devices, Windows phones, selected Blackberry devices, and SkyDrive/ Dropbox Western Digital MY Book Live integration. Duo NAS solution
Februar y 2013 | 23 | The Canadian Channel Standard
GLOBAL NEWS
GLOBAL NEWS FROM CHANNELPRO SMB BY CHANNELPRO SMB
MSI Slider S20 Ultrabook convertible
MSI Slider S20 pulls double duty as Ultrabook and tablet When it comes to electronics, having a split personality is a good thing – very good in the case of the latest MSI portable. MSI Computer Corp. just introduced the Slider S20 Ultrabook Convertible, a device that can be both an ultrabook and a tablet. Basically, it can adapt to whatever mood you’re in and however you want that device to travel. Yes, the form factor is super-cool, but this slim device isn’t just about looks. Inside, it’s got the power of Windows 8 and an Intel Core i5 processor. Other features include a full 1920-by-1080 HD screen with 10-point touch features, as well as 8GB of DDR3 memory, and 128GB of SSD storage. At less than 1” thick and weighing in at a mere 2.2 pounds, the Slider S20 also has a Jackson Peak Wireless adapter, Ethernet connectivity, two USB 3.9 ports, Bluetooth support, a mini HDMI-out connector, and an integrated 720p HD webcam. “Many users prefer the mobility of a tablet, but still need the processing power of an actual laptop computer,” says Andy Tung, vice president of
sales for MSI US. “MSI’s S20 Ultrabook Convertible solves that problem by combining the best of both worlds, giving users the choice of using it as a tablet or as a laptop.” MSI Computer Corp. says that the Slider S20 will be available sometime in the first quarter of 2013. That may be a bit vague, but the company has no problem nailing down the price. Expect to see it selling with an MSRP of $1,199.99.
CA Technologies updates its ARCserve Backup and touts a new ‘MSP Zone’ IT management solutions developer CA Technologies has announced the third major release of its MSP licensing program for the backup solution CA ARCserve. CA Technologies says the latest iteration of its backup solution offers a “further simplified licensing structure” as well as new partner enablement resources and an expanded technology portfolio. “The CA ARCserve MSP program empowers partners to quickly and cost-efficiently deliver effective, profitable data protection services,” a press release states. The enhanced program includes options for MSPs to license CA Technologies data protection technology on their choice of per-server, perworkstation, per-socket, per-virtual machine, or per-terabyte models. The CA ARCserve MSP Program has also been enhanced with a simplified set of product SKUs designed to make it easier for MSPs to put together their market offerings.
Februar y 2013 | 24 |
In addition the updated ARCserve offering, CA Technologies is also touting its new “MSP Zone” on CA’s ARCserve.com. New resources include service use-case playbooks that provide high-level descriptions of services, licensing options, and sample service level agreements. A new “solution chooser” enables MSPs to identify the best managed service and technology to offer customers. The online tool provides a simple decision tree that helps MSPs tailor their managed service offerings to meet customers’ recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives. The MSP Zone also includes an invitation-only area that showcases select MSP profiles and links to their respective sites to give them greater market visibility.
Xerox rolls out ConnectKey software for its MFPs Xerox has introduced ConnectKey, a software platform embedded in the company’s multifunction printers (MFPs) that enables users to directly access cloud storage such as Dropbox, SharePoint Online, and Google Drive; develop and embed apps on the MFP; and print from any mobile device. A total of 16 ConnectKey MFPs – including the new WorkCentre 5800 and 7800 Series – will also use the industry’s first embedded security protection from McAfee, giving IT managers more control in “bring your own device” (BYOD) workplaces. ConnectKey MFPs also have an extra layer of security with Cisco’s TrustSec, which protects data paths to and from the devices. With ConnectKey’s open Applica-
The Canadian Channel Standard
GLOBAL NEWS tion Programming Interface (API), sales channel partners, systems integrators, and resellers can develop and embed apps on the MFP with no additional software requirements.
FEATURES ConnectKey’s solutions offer the following: • Standard apps or build-your-own: Xerox’s App Studio will let users and channel partners customize apps that make daily work processes faster. For example, a custom app for a health insurance company could scan reimbursement claims directly into the payment system from the MFP screen. • Cloud access: With a single touch – and no middleware – ConnectKey Share to Cloud moves documents to repositories, such as SharePoint Online, Google Drive, DropBox, Evernote, PaperPort Anywhere and Salesforce. com. It also allows automatic conversion to searchable PDF, Word or Excel, making documents easier to manage for the future. • Connect to SharePoint: Office workers can browse, convert, and store documents in SharePoint and network folders, or store directly to their SharePoint My Site or home folder. • Easy IT integration: ConnectKey MFPs can be managed as a central part of the network, much like servers, for straightforward set-up and service. Troubleshooting and training can be addressed remotely by IT administrators, or
Xerox ConnectKey
Epson BrightLink 436Wi
self-help can be initiated with online support and videos on the front panel. • Print from anywhere: Workers can print from any email-enabled mobile device without special software with Xerox Mobile Print, or use apps with additional convenience features developed for iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry. Users have the added flexibility of choosing to implement mobile print as either a cloud-based or on-site solution.
AVAILABILITY The Xerox WorkCentre 5800 Series and the WorkCentre 7800 Series are available immediately; the WorkCentre 7220/7225, the Xerox ColorQube 9300 Series and the Xerox ColorQube 8700/8900 Series with the ConnectKey Controllers will be available in the second quarter. The ConnectKey for SharePoint and ConnectKey Share to Cloud are available immediately; the Xerox Apps Studio will be available early in the third quarter.
Epson targets higher education and K-12 verticals with new projectors Epson America is targeting the Higher Ed. and K-12 verticals with two new projectors. The BrightLink 436Wi is a fully integrated, portable short-throw interactive projector, and the PowerLite 935W, an ultra-bright projector for large classrooms and naturally bright rooms. Both models are be-
ing marketed for applications in the education vertical.
BrightLink 436Wi The BrightLink 436Wi is an interactive, short-throw projector that can be moved from room to room. With advanced connectivity options and dual pen support, the BrightLink can project onto any existing whiteboard, wall or other smooth, light-colored hard surface, making it a versatile solution for K-12 and higher education environments. The 436Wi also sports built-in annotation technology that enables teachers and students to interact directly with a projected image from a variety of sources beyond the PC, including tablets, document cameras, Blu-ray players, VCRs, and more. The BrightLink 436Wi carries a MSRP of $1,250.
PowerLite 935W The PowerLite 935W is designed for large classrooms and naturally bright rooms. It delivers widescreen, ultrabright images with WXGA resolution and 3,700 lumens. It also offers a 16watt speaker and microphone input and comprehensive connectivity, including HDMI for high-quality audio and video with a single cable and RJ-45 for presenting content over the network. The PowerLite 935W carries a MSRP of $1,199
This feature is published with the permission of our U.S. partner, ChannelPro SMB (http://www.channelprosmb. com). “MSI Slider S20 Pulls Double Duty as Ultrabook and tablet” By Rachel Cericola. All rights reserved.
Februar y 2013 | 25 | The Canadian Channel Standard
RESEARCH FEATURE
DIVERGING PATHS IN IT MANAGEMENT Constant cost pressure through tough economic times has forced CIOs – and the businesses they serve – to evaluate the strategic role of IT. BY MICHAEL O’NEIL
F
or many years – until the Great Recession of the late 2000s – it was assumed that IT spending would increase much faster than overall GDP: after all, IT offered the ability to automate tasks in ways that increase efficiency, reduce overall costs and expand market reach and opportunity. Since the economic downturn four years ago, though, we have seen greatly-increased pressure on IT budgets, and on IT management. The financial stress is easy to understand. According to IT Market Dynamics, IT spending by public and private sector organizations in Canada will be roughly $100 billion in 2013, representing more than 6% of revenue in most industry sectors, and more than 5% of Canada’s entire national GDP. At this level, IT is a significant line item in most corporate budgets. Senior management needs to keep a handle on overall costs, while at the same time exploiting the competitive and customer-service potential of ITenabled processes. How does this tension affect IT management strategies? According to leading members of the Canadian IT management community, it has creates two different paths: one in which IT acts as a support organization, delivering services required by business leadership, and one in which IT itself plays a central role at the executive table, defining corporate strategy. Craigg Ballance, program director for Leaders Beyond, Canada’s premier training and development source for IT leaders (and a strategic partner of IT in Canada), believes that most Canadian IT leaders are taking the first path. When asked to categorize the extent to which IT management is successful in using scarce budget resources to initiate innovation, Ballance replied, “The short answer…is,
“very little.” If anything – and this is not a condemnation of the profession, but a tendency – [IT leaders] have moved from some of that innovation back in the late 1990s and early 2000s to a relative subservience behaviour pattern. ‘We’re here to serve,’ says IT management, ‘we’ll manage the infrastructure; you tell us what you need, and we’ll build it for you. And we need spec, and we need user and vendor participation.’” Ballance believes that “aside from infrastructure, which is a constant need, IT is less in charge of itself – less responsible for new money and new budgets – as responsibility is pushed back to business budgets.” Many IT leaders, he says, are hindered by a “fear of failure” which leads them to respond to delivery difficulties by demanding better specs, more time for testing, and more caution when evaluating potential project issues. This approach, categorized by Ballance as being focused on inputs (money, resources, technology, time) rather than outputs (increased customer engagement/satisfaction, reduced process time/expense, new revenue) has led to a reduction in the strategic importance of IT and the CIO in many organizations. Barney Baldwin, head of risk technology for RBC, believes that in most cases, IT needs to be an active participant at the executive table. “IT businesses (infrastructure, software, etc.) depend explicitly on the IT strategy,” he said in an IT in Canada interview, and many other businesses – such as finance and bio-tech – “aren’t IT per se, but depend on IT to such an extent that the business strategy can’t be executed without IT.” As a result, Baldwin believes that “IT management should participate actively in the business strategy. Otherwise, decisions might be made that can’t be
Februar y 2013 | 26 |
supported by the platform.” How, though, can IT leaders establish a viable strategic presence within their organizations? We turned to two leading CIOs – Andrew Dillane, CIO of Randstad Canada (and past president of the CIO Association of Canada) and Mike Capone, U.S.-based CIO of ADP – for insight into how IT builds credible C-level presence. For Dillane, the CIO should “absolutely [be] defining strategy.” Asked if the CIO role is and should be a legitimate participant in corporate strategy discussions, Dillane states that he is “constantly bringing things to the table as to how we can be much more effective in our business, whether it’s from a productivity standpoint, or how we should change the way that we operate to be more effective for our customers, more effective in delivery, more efficient on the front end. I would say that I’m not even happy to be at the table – I want to be driving things forward.” In part, Dillane’s perspective is informed by the approach that he has taken to Randstad’s technology. Dillane has consolidated operations into two groups: infrastructure and support, and business solutions, which works with third-party solutions like back-office ERP and with Randstad’s front office and web systems, “which are one in the same.” This streamlined, centralized approach has made it possible for Randstad to effectively amalgamate a dozen acquisitions over the past several years, and to build an approach that is both cost-effective (from an infrastructure perspective) and differentiated (in terms of its front-end business systems). Despite exercising a high degree of control over Randstad’s IT operations – “no one in the organization has an IT bud-
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Continued on page 28
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RESEARCH FEATURE Continued from page 26
get outside of IT” – Dillane works closely with other members of the management team, noting that “increasingly, the business leaders in all areas have more technology experience. As a result – anyone who is very ego-centric about IT being owned by IT is going to have challenges moving forward. It’s a collaborative effort now. You need to have a strong voice, but you need to check your ego at the door, and focus on what’s most important to the business.” Capone, too, is emphatic about the need for IT to be a strategic business leader. He says that he tells his fellow CIOs that “the way you’re going to be relevant is not going to be by how big your budget is, or how many people work for you, or how many servers you have in your data centre. It’s really going to be about how you generate outcomes that enable your business to succeed. Your collateral with the organization doesn’t become keeping the lights on any more, because a lot of people know how to do that now – it’s going to become how did you generate the right outcomes to help the business grow, and make others in your organization successful.” Interestingly, unlike Dillane, Capone is looking to build this presence within a distributed IT environment. “More and more,” he says, “statistics point to the fact that spend in IT is increasingly controlled by people outside of IT…every function is finding ways to leverage IT.” His advice? “Make yourself relevant – which to me, is partnering with those business leaders, understanding where they’re trying to get to, and then delivering those outcomes, which [is often driven] by partnering with a cloud provider to provide agility, time to market and better TCO – this will raise your profile inside the organization, and make you much more strategic than if you’re just spending your time building servers and networks.”
What’s coming in 2013? Regardless of whether or not IT is positioned as a source of business strategy, it needs to support new technologies as they enter the corporate
environment. Which are likely to be important in 2013? Most of the IT leaders polled for this article believe that analytics – potentially tied to Big Data – will be an important area of focus in 2013. RBC’s Baldwin says that “analytics and Big Data play a very significant role in my [capital markets] space… we need a lot of data to be available quickly and globally.” Both Capone and Dillane are finding significant business application for analytics today – interestingly, in both cases, as a result of having cross-process data. Dillane states that through systems that “capture every activity in the process,” Randstad can “do more analysis around customer behaviours, more analysis about what really works, what’s most effective… and really take a more scientific
approach to things.” Capone sees analytics as an increasingly-important component of ADP’s business offerings, observing that “analytics in the old world used to mean ‘your information back to you,’ but more and more, the market is demanding ‘better than that’ – and better than that means aggregating data [from multiple customers] in a very secure, non-threatening way, anonymizing it, and being able to extrapolate and add value…[by providing] predictive information to clients.” He added that this is “going to be a big differentiator” for companies that have traditionally acted as transaction processors. Mobility is another key area that our experts believe will be important to IT management in 2013. Ballance sees IT management needing to focus
Barney Baldwin, head of risk technology, RBC Where will you focus your 2013 IT investment? More budget for high-performance storage solutions and in-house development, less for 3rd-party business applications. We will likely invest in technology to manage compute grids, as well as data distribution. What are the key IT skills for 2013? Big Data knowledge is certainly a priority. Developers with business domain knowledge are always in demand. IT approach – distributed or centralized? It depends on the nature of the business. Finance involves a lot of unit-specific technology. I support a partially decentralized model - business units are closest to the problems at hand. Mike Capone, CIO, ADP How do you move to the cloud? Pick the most important business challenges and deal with them – don’t do cloud just for the sake of doing cloud, do cloud because you’ve got a real business problem you need to solve – those are going to be the CIOs who stand out. Which skills are becoming more important, and which are fading? Job titles like cloud partner engagement manager and business relationship manager are going to be the IT jobs that become more relevant over time. I think storage engineer is going to fade [as a requirement within IT departments], I think database administrator is going to fade – the good ones are going to be working for ADP and Amazon, the bad ones aren’t going to be working all all, because cloud providers are going to deliver scale to the market. Where do you find ROI in the cloud? You can generally make TCO on cloud. Obviously, there are hard dollar costs…but it always starts out with what’s the ROI of focusing on your business, vs. not focusing on your business? How do you put ROI on being strategic, and focused on the right things? From there – unless a company is absolutely doing things on a shoestring – which means no security, no disaster recovery, no resiliency in their business... the ROI on cloud, the TCO is always going to be better.
Februar y 2013 | 28 |
The Canadian Channel Standard
RESEARCH FEATURE on melding security and information delivery: “handsets or tablets, coupled with secure access to data, has to be [addressed] by organizations… it’s coming. It’s a great opportunity, even if it’s awkward or difficult” to deploy effective strategies. Randstad’s Dillane sees this opportunity, and believes that his organization is “just scratching the surface” of the benefit that mobility can provide. However, he raises an interesting perspective on mobility-related costs, using the example of “an account manager who has a seat in an office [with] a computer, a phone, a mobile phone with data services, and an iPad.” According to Dillane, “the cost of the redundant services is still too much”; an architecture in which the telephony requirements are met by a cloud-based VoIP system that can deliver the same functionality with a low-cost desktop and an iPad can result in elimination of both the laptop and (because the
iPad can connect to the VoIP system) the phone as well. And finally, no examination of tech trends in 2013 would be complete without a discussion of cloud. IT Market Dynamics, the research arm of IT in Canada, has observed that there is no longer a single cloud market – that cloud is morphing into a range of discrete solutions which address many different business issues. Responses gathered for this article support this position. Cloud, for example, has limited current impact on Baldwin’s business activity – he is starting to look at “cloud-ish technologies” to support grid computation, adding that his unit is “pretty traditional” in its overall approach to IT. Dillane is actively working with cloud to support DR within Randstad; he will save 10%-15% on infrastructure in the first year of deployment, and adds that cloud is “an evolution not a revolution – especially because we can’t just
abandon all of our existing hardware and snap our fingers and move everything. So it will happen over time,” with production services eventually joining DR in the cloud. In other environments, cloud achieves other ends as well: Ballance reports that Leaders Beyond is “seeing reliability and expertise [driving demand for cloud]… there are just not enough skills to go around, so in many cases, [delivery is] going to third party services. Cloud, SaaS and outsourcing have become a way of executing on projects that can’t be delivered internally.” Capone adds the observation that “a lot of people get hung up on what I would call the ‘false reasons’ to not do cloud: I don’t know where my data is, security, not understanding the total cost of ownership model. Those things are all ‘overcomable’…[but] it definitely takes leadership and courage.”
Craigg Ballance, program director, Leaders Beyond What changes do you see in IT budgeting practices? Spending in IT field is driven by projects that are driven by business initiatives. Aside from infrastructure, which is a constant need, IT is less responsible for new money and new budgets as responsibility is pushed back to business budgets. In an industry that is growing, like financial services, business management is driving new projects, which creates demand for infrastructure…but the budgets overall are tracking to business growth. What’s the key constraint to IT management success? Fear of failure. The media talks about how IT projects do not meet business requirements or user expectations. And people in IT say, “okay, then we need better specs, we need to buckle down and be more cautious, we that to think of more of the potential issues, we need to test beyond belief.” And what that has done over the past 8-9 years is, it has bred this mentality of fear of failure. Now, if you meet a marketing or sales guy or a CEO who has been successful in an industry, failure is part of their option set. In fact, in some organizations, they expect a certain ratio of failure, to prove that you’re pushing the envelope. That is not the mentality in IT. And in fact…many IT leaders are so afraid of failure, they will do nothing rather than something, in order to avoid having failed. Andrew Dillane, CIO, Randstad Canada How are your IT budget priorities changing in 2013? We’re certainly allocating more funding to our client-facing business solutions; we’re not really scaling back on infrastructure, but we’re leveraging alternatives that put us in a position where don’t have to focus on them as much, so we save money, and can focus more on what runs on the infrastructure: business and customer solutions. How do you move funding from operations to innovation? It’s difficult to slice that out exactly. The biggest portion of our IT spend is people – and one of the reasons for that is that our front end system, our web presence, is developed [internally]…when you’re on the same platform as your competitors, you can’t differentiate, you’re tied to traditional models, you don’t have the flexibility to adapt the solution to your business. We spend money on our people who are constantly improving our solutions in ways that are most important for our business, instead of paying for the past. Words of advice for IT in Canada readers? Being close to customers is #1 – and being close to business solutions for customers is where the value is for IT. And just being at the executive table isn’t enough – are you driving initiatives that are of strategic value to the organization? Are you a leader in the executive team, helping to define how the business will change for the better, and differentiate vs. competitors in the long term? These are some of the questions today’s IT leaders need to continually ask themselves. Februar y 2013 | 29 | The Canadian Channel Standard
TRACKER NETWORKS
SPECIAL BID PRICING UPDATE Slowdown in Special Bid Volume continues while use of bids as a pricing tool grows BY JASON DOEL
T
he last four to five months have seen an uncharacteristic decline in overall bid volumes in the channel. December volumes dropped sharply with the shortened work month and with a handful of high volume hardware vendors decreasing their use of bids to get deals closed in December. While December volume drops have been seen before, the magnitude of the drop was surprising, considering that December is a quarter-end and a year-end for many vendors. Year-ends and quarter-ends typically see higher bid volumes as vendors use special incentives to get business closed within the reporting period. The numbers themselves do not explain the drop, but combined with anecdotal feedback from the channel, it may be that a prolonged period of price pressure over the fall and final quarter of 2012 served to lessen the manufacturers’ ability to discount further on special bids. Bid volumes did increase again in January, although not at the level seen in previous years. Overall bid volumes were 13% lower than the same month a year earlier, with hardware vendors leading the decline with a 17% drop in bids. Software vendors continue to grow in their use of bids as a standard business tool, with a 34% increase in bid volumes over the same period a year ago. Through further analysis of the source data over the last six months, we can see a continuing trend by a handful of high volume vendors to decrease their usage of special bids. These vendors remain active in bids in relative terms (they still do a relatively high volume of bids) but their drop in volumes is accounting for much of the overall decline in bid volumes observed in the accompanying charts. In combination with the drop in bids by large vendors, we see increases in bid volumes by mid-volume vendors, and new vendors being added to the PriceTracker platform (i.e. vendors adopting formal bid programs). Based on this, we see bids continuing to be a widespread and growing business practice, even if a handful of high volume vendors are moderately less active.
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MicroSD Card Reader
Digitizer/Pen
1-year Depot Warranty
MicroSD Card Reader
1-year Depot Warranty
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