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One major selling feature of the cloud is the ease of use and the ability to access your infrastructure from anywhere, provided you have an internet connection. Being able to access your data is incredibly important in today’s environment. We are all, in one way or another, slaves to our cell phones and other mobile devices.

Being able to access your data at any time and on any device gives you the options of being more flexible with your schedule.

Productivity will sky-rocket as you are no longer within the bounds of only-working-from-the-office as you can stay updated, collaborate and have a lot more convenience in the manner in which you work. All that is to say that the cloud applications that any organization will be using come from companies that are on the cutting-edge of technology, and it is assumed that their applications are innovative, intuitive, and quite simply, effective.

Cloud services are designed as an alternative to the complicated, typically on-premise infrastructure that organizations are all too used to. continued on A-5>

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If you haven’t heard of the term cloud computing yet (although unlikely) one can think of the cloud as a web-based tool that enables you, as a customer to store, access, share and change files, emails, and applications in new and innovative ways. Even if the term and concept of cloud computing is new to you, it is probable that you are using the technology in one way or another.

Businesses are using the cloud in an ever-increasing capacity, and the cloud is able to support a number of different tasks from email, file-sharing, collaboration, application testing, productivity, CRM, and all the way to social networking. With all of that said, it would be beneficial to an organization’s long-term health and success to invest, or at least investigate the possibility of using cloud computing.

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What Can Cloud Computing Do For Your Business?

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Every organization is different and will use the cloud in a varying capacity. It is important for company stakeholders and IT managers to be comprehensively aware of the Cloud Services they are investing in. Not only will it help the IT managers by freeing up their time, but it will also help the overall effectiveness of a company. Cloud computing is the present but also the future. It is up to business stakeholders and IT managers to avoid being static, and embrace the new paradigm.

Andrew Gorski

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There are of course other considerations when investing in the cloud. Cloud computing isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for every organization. Compliance and regulation often halt companies from investing in the cloud because they are mandated to maintain their information on-premise; this is best highlighted by industries like health care, government, legal and financial. Security is often a concern as well. The common misnomer with Cloud Services is that your information is potentially more vulnerable to attacks. This could not be further from the truth. In the aforementioned we talk about how the Cloud Service providers are typically innovative and proactive when it comes to their customer base. Studies have shown that companies are more vulnerable when they manage their own infrastructure, so when you put your infrastructure in the hands of proven companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and VMWare you are more likely to have a secure and guaranteed infrastructure compared to a situation where an organization manages their own security. The above companies also provide a Service Level Agreement or guarantee on their service, meaning they are able to compensate for downtime or loss of information.

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Flexibility and scalability are also huge factors that play a part in the daily activities of an organization.

Businesses of all sizes, regardless of their scope, function or if they are sales-centric have to consider spikes in activity. This could mean website activity or internal activity from employees. IT managers need to ensure that their systems can handle the spike in activity, and scale up if necessary. This is also a great way for developers to test their applications before they launch them in a live environment. Cloud computing also helps seasonal businesses scale down when they are in lulls and scale up when demand requires. This is in contrast to an on-premise infrastructure, wherein it is increasingly difficult and expensive to scale up or down.

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What Can Cloud Computing Do For Your Business?

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AIS Employee Spotlight

In this issue we sit down with Roy Mahamad, HP Technical Support Specialist, Technical Services at Tech Data Canada and talk to him about his passion for learning and technology.

How long have you been with Tech Data?

September of this year will be five years. How quickly time goes by when you’re having fun!

“The biggest motivator for me is my love of technology.

I’m always excited to learning about the newest and latest technologies.”

What is your technical background?

I graduated from a three-year program at Centennial College School of Technology and Applied Arts in 2006 with a Diploma in Computer Systems and Networking Technologies. After graduation I worked at EMC as a Level 2 System Engineer supporting AIX and Clarion Systems. The experiences I gained with EMC eventually lead to me working for Tech Data. Last year, I earned my Master Accredited System Engineer (MASE) Certification in Storage which is recognized as HP’s highest designation in each of its respective categories of Storage, Networking and Converged Infrastructure. I also have an MCP in Windows Server 2008 and currently I am working towards my VMware VCP5 certification.

How did you end up in your current role?

I started at Tech Data as an Inside Sales Specialist. Tech Data quickly realized the potential in me and gave me an opportunity to further pursue my studies and technical knowledge towards HP MASE certifications and VMware Virtualization Technology. Today I’m a Technical Support Specialist in the Advanced Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) Technology Services group. I work closely with our Sales Teams and Resellers in consulting and designing solutions for Server, Storage and Virtualization. Over the last year I’ve been a key member in implementing and delivering HP and VMware solutions in our Advanced Technology Solutions Centre (ATSC).

What do you like most about Tech Data?

The people here are great and it truly is a team working environment. Tech Data gives you the opportunity for personal growth and career development through vendor certification trainings and hands-on experience with our ATSC Demo Centre.

Please describe a typical day at Tech Data.

My day is0 typically spent between several different tasks. When I’m not buried in Tech Connect cases or Watson configurations I’m either studying or working in the ATSC. What motivates you in your job?

The biggest motivator for me is my love of technology. I’m always excited to learn about the newest and latest technologies. Here at Tech Data we’re often exposed to new technologies long before they hit the market and the ATSC gives us a unique advantage over our competitors because we actually get our hands on new products and technologies in a fully working heterogeneous environment.

Anything else you think we should know about you?

I love gadgets. When I walk into an electronics store I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I’m always looking to get the latest and greatest gadgets. One of my latest toys is the new iPad and I can’t wait for the new iPhone.

If you have consulting or design solution questions on your HP Server, Storage and Virtualization business, please contact Roy Mahamad, HP Technical Support Specialist or our Advanced Infrastructure Solutions Division at Tech Data Canada at 905.286.6800 Ext. 26839 or 1.877.925.9983, or send an email to HPsolutions@techdata.ca.

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