Why Move to the Cloud
CapEx vs OpEx
There are plenty of hard costs that require large, upfront investments and should be a part of the approved budget (CapEx). They are costs that can be planned for in advance, but the comfort of having spending certainty is dependent on the accuracy of the estimation of future requirements. Although the actual spend for approved projects is “predictable,” what was planned does not necessarily align with what is actually needed by the business over the life of that investment. In light of the rapid advancement of technology, IT infrastructure needs are becoming less and less predictable.
Today, technology options and how they’re delivered is simply incredible. What once required dedicated real estate, skilled employees and loads of time (costs) can be fulfilled remotely via the cloud or by dedicated companies that specialize in a certain area and charge a subscription fee for its service.
Future Proof Infrastructure
Our cloud environment uses Live Migration technology allowing servicing of the cloud infrastructure without application downtime, and has supported transparent maintenance since December 2013. Through a combination of datacenter topology innovations and live migration technology, we now move our customers running VMs out of the way of planned hardware and software maintenance events, so we can keep the infrastructure protected and reliable without your VMs, applications or workloads noticing that anything happened.
DaaS
With our Desktop as a Service your windows desktop is delivered to you via one of our Zero-Touch Provisioned thin client devices. These devices have no moving parts and are highly reliable. There is no data to be lost in the event the device gets destroyed or stolen. Your data is always secure in our cloud environment.
Data Security and Backups
First and foremost is physical security. A PC in your office has a hard drive that contains business and/or client information. Most users don’t think about backups until they actually need them, and then it is too late. In the event there is a physical break-in and your PC gets stolen then the business critical data just went out the door with your PC. In a cloud hosted environment, the physical security and backup of your data is provided by the cloud provider. Our hosted environment gets regular data snapshots so that your
backup data does not become stale. Our facilities adhere to very strict industry access standards employing biometrics and dual authentication methods.
Physical Security
Our data centers feature a layered security model, including safeguards like custom-designed electronic access cards, alarms, vehicle access barriers, perimeter fencing, metal detectors, and biometrics. The data center floor features laser beam intrusion detection.
The data centers are monitored 24/7 by high-resolution interior and exterior cameras that can detect and track intruders. Access logs, activity records, and camera footage are reviewed in case an incident occurs. Data centers are also routinely patrolled by experienced security guards who have undergone rigorous background checks and training.
Information Security Team
At the center of the security model is the Information Security Team consisting of top experts in information, application, and network security. This team is tasked with maintaining defense systems, developing security review processes, building security infrastructure and implementing security policies. Their notable achievements include: discovering the Heartbleed vulnerability, starting a reward program for reporting software security issues, and implementing an “SSL by default” policy.
Server and Software Stack Security
In our cloud environment, there are tens of thousands of identical, custom-built servers. Everything from hardware and networking to the custom Linux software stack is built with security in mind. Homogeneity, combined with ownership of the entire stack, greatly reduces the security footprint and allows faster reaction to threats.
Regulatory Compliance
In addition to SSAE16 and PCI DSS v3.2 our data centers have gained external certifications for high environmental, workplace safety and energy management standards. Specifically, they have received voluntary ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 50001 certifications. In a nutshell, these standards are built around a very simple concept: Say what you’re going to do, then do what you say—and then keep improving.
The Best of Both Worlds
Our managed cloud environment features all of the benefits you’d expect from cloud technology, plus the superior customer service you’ll only get from a leading Managed Services Provider.
It Just Works
Our cloud environment was designed to provide 99.99% uptime. It offers server redundancy, power redundancy, data backup and replication, safety, and security.