Click here (Link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SCC3X36k8c) to hear the full interview

All About Telecoms, a traditional supplier of Toshiba phone systems, Alcatel Lucent telephone systems and all leading brands of legacy office phone systems brings and extremely well established brand and customer base to Innovate’s already rapidly growing Cisco managed Voice over IP solution, VoiceGrid.

Innovate VoiceGrid is a Managed IP based Voice Network which forms the platform for the delivery of localised and cloud based Voice over IP solutions to the Irish & UK market.

At the core of this network, are Cisco carrier-grade aggregation routers, Cisco gateways, Cisco firewalls and management software. At our customer locations, Innovate VoiceGrid deploys Cisco IP telephones, Cisco switches and Cisco routers to connect to its uniquely managed network.

Consolidation within the IT services and traditional telephone system industry is crucial and in line with Innovate’s strategy and vision to supply managed Cisco Voice over IP solutions to small, medium and large business in the Irish & UK market.

Gorey CS students at the launch of Innovate School Business Awards with sponsor Jim Hughes of Innovate, teachers Catherine Skelton and Lisa Nangle and Pamela Hughes, Gorey Chamber.

The Innovate School Business Awards were launched last week with the aim of stimulating enterprise, and encouraging entrepreneurial activity in young people. The awards are a joint venture between Gorey Community School, Innovate, and Gorey Chamber. Working with the Transition Year students, the programme centres on recession busters and sustainability. Over 35 students, coordinated by TY teachers Lisa Nangle and Emma Hamilton, were briefed last week on the programme sponsored by Innovate. ‘We believe in supporting our community and in encouraging our young people in a way that will benefit our economy,’ said Jim Hughes of Innovate. ‘ This is our first venture in this area and we are delighted to work with Gorey Community School and Gorey Chamber.’ The full list of Mentors includes: John Dempsey of Weatherglaze Systems; Niall Slattery, Director of Warren Estates; Finbarr O’donoghue, The Haven Group; and Jim Osborne, Developer of Gorey Business Park, who are all experienced professionals. They have willingly given their time to guide these ventures. John Dempsey said they are really excited about working with the students over the next few months. ‘ They have already impressed us with their ideas,’ he said. Dick White, CEO of Gorey Chamber said they are delighted to have such mentors on board. ‘We are delighted to be involved in such a Project. It encourages entrepreneurship and gives young people a real taste of business,’ he said. ‘We are particularly fortunate to have a strong panel of mentors to work with the students and their projects.’

Cloud Platform: Windows Azure – an open and flexible cloud platform that enables you to quickly build, deploy and manage applications across a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. You can build applications using any language, tool or framework. And you can integrate your public cloud applications with your existing IT environment.

Private Cloud: Windows Server Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center – the private cloud gives you the flexibility and control to set your own course. Pool computing resources, automate management, and improve scalability, provisioning, and agility.

Business Insights: Microsoft Dynamics – Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online equips your business professionals with anywhere access to customer information through an easy-to-use Microsoft Outlook experience that delivers enhanced collaboration and real-time business insights.

Management and Security: Windows Intune – Windows Intune simplifies and helps you manage and secure PCs using Windows cloud services and Windows 7. This means your computers and users can operate at peak performance from virtually anywhere.

If you are planning implementing a cloud solution Innovate is always available to advise and assist you.

A recent survey referred to in the Irish media indicates that many Irish businesses remain confused by the term cloud computing. The United States NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) defined cloud computing terms as follows:

Service Models:

• Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider’s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.

• Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations.

• Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models:

• Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.

• Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.

• Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.

• Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).
Innovate have completed a number of engagements with Irish and International companies utilising cloud technologies and services, from vendors including VMWare, Microsoft, Google and Amazon. If your business needs assistance or advise on how to integrate cloud services such as Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine, VMWare vCloud or Amazon EC2, Innovate is a position to assist.
The complete NIST document can be found at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-145/Draft-SP-800-145_cloud-definition.pdf

Our Managed Services Division,

So why choose Innovate:

• Eliminate Risk
  We understand the importance of your IT systems and take on the risk of supporting these. By outsourcing the support of elements of your Microsoft IT infrastructure you have engaged with a partner who will assist in reducing the risk to your operations. You will not need to worry about the availability, performance, stability or security of your IT infrastructure.

• Expertise
  Our employees possess extensive expertise in designing, implementing, supporting and maintaining IT infrastructure environments. We are confident that we have the specific expertise and skills to provide you with a high quality service.

• Cost Effective
  We can tailor all Managed Resource funds to meet the budgetary requirements of our clients while maintaining a level of excellence that is unrivalled.

• Availability of Other Skills
  Innovate provide skills across the whole spectrum of your Microsoft IT infrastructure and these skills are available if they are required at any stage to supplement Anthony F. O’Gorman & Co. internal team. As an IT consultancy organisation we invest heavily in key skills such as project management, analysis/design, testing, training and documentation.

• A Genuine Partnership Approach
  Innovate believe in delivering our services through internal IT departments and not around them. We believe that developing internal IT skills while implementing high value solutions is the key to a successful and long lasting partnership with any organisation.

Virtualisation is a proven software technology that is rapidly transforming the IT landscape and fundamentally changing the way that people compute. Today’s powerful x86 computer hardware was originally designed to run only a single operating system and a single application, but virtualisation breaks that bond, making it possible to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications on the same computer at the same time, increasing the utilisation and flexibility of hardware.

Virtualisation is a technology that can benefit anyone who uses a computer, from IT professionals and Mac enthusiasts to commercial businesses and government organisations. Join the millions of people around the world who use virtualisation to save time, money and energy while achieving more with the computer hardware they already own.

Discover what virtualisation can do for you

Enabling the Journey to the cloud Vmware, VSphere the industry’s most trusted virtualization platform. Click here for more details >> Deliver applications on-demand to any user anywhere.  Dynamic Application Delivery with Citrix XenApp.  Click here for more details >>

We will help you answer these questions, and many more:

• How much can I save on my phone bills?
• Is Hosted VoIP the way to go?
• Is onsite VOIP the way to go?
• How can I easily connect all my people?
• Can I combine Voice & Data connectivity?
• How can I get the latest call features?
• Am I paying for lines I’m not using?

If you haven’t had a professional audit  of their telecom services in the last 18 months, there is a very high chance that you’re paying too much – and you won’t be taking advantage of the latest technologies like hosted VoIP. We are commonly able to save our customers at least 20% after the audit. But that’s not all, we will:

• Demonstrate the benefits of Hosted VoIP
• Advise on your voice & data connectivity
• Save money on your IT & telecoms costs
• Help you select the ideal solution for your business
• Improve and streamline your network
• Project manage the entire process

Latest Technology, Lower Costs. Local Expertise – Call us now on 0818 365 215

As networks are gradually turning into more intricate and accessible infrastructures, the threat environment is changing dramatically. New security risks are discovered every day in commonly used applications, operating systems and network components. These are used by hackers and criminals to carry out attacks. With the increased dependency on information technology, the consequences of attacks are becoming increasingly severe. The victims are suffering from losses related to interruption in business, bad publicity and exposure of confidential information.

Organizations are forced to continuously maintain the protection of their networks. Traditionally, this has been accomplished by creating barriers against attacks by investing in reactive security tools such as firewalls, anti-virus tools and intrusion detection systems. In today’s environment these reactive mechanisms simply are not enough. Instead of waiting for attacks to occur, there is a need to take a proactive approach. Only by using proactive security tools that continuously identify security risks, it is possible to effectively manage and reduce the risk exposure.

Legislation and compliance with security requirements are also becoming more demanding. The PCI (Payment Card Industry) security standards, Gramm Leach-Bliley act, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, among others all include requirements for regular testing of network security.

Innovate in conjunction with our partner Outpost24 is dedicated to offering turnkey solutions based on a true proactive approach. Every day, OutPost24 assist over 1,000 customers world-wide in securing their valuable assets and ensuring compliance with policies and regulations. Our solutions can be immediately deployed and are always accompanied by our well-appreciated 24/7 security expert support.

You can quickly create SharePoint sites that support specific content publishing, content management, records management, or business intelligence needs. You can also conduct effective searches for people, documents, and data, participate in forms–driven business processes, and access and analyse large amounts of business data. 

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Capabilities

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides a single, integrated location where employees can efficiently collaborate with team members, find organisational resources, search for experts and corporate information, manage content and workflow, and leverage business insight to make better-informed decisions. 

• Collaboration Allow teams to work together effectively, collaborate on and publish documents, maintain task lists, implement workflows, and share information through the use of wikis and blogs.
• Portals Create a personal MySite portal to share information with others and personalise the user experience and content of an enterprise Web site based on the user’s profile.
• Enterprise Search Quickly and easily find people, expertise, and content in business applications.
• Enterprise Content Management Create and manage documents, records, and Web content.
• Business Process and Forms Create workflows and electronic forms to automate and streamline your business processes.
• Business Intelligence Allow information workers to easily access critical business information, analyse and view data, and publish reports to make more informed decisions.

Integration with 2007 Microsoft Office System

Office SharePoint Server 2007 is designed to work effectively with other programs, servers, and technologies in the 2007 Office release. For example, with Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, you can create a slide library on an Office SharePoint Server 2007 site that allows other users to pick specific slides for their own presentation and receive notifications and updated versions when the slides have been modified. Click here for more examples of how specific 2007 Office release programs work with Office SharePoint Server 2007. 

Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies

SharePoint Products and Technologies provide enterprise-scale capabilities to meet business-critical needs like managing content and business processes, simplifying how people find and share information across boundaries, and enabling better informed decisions. Using the combined collaboration features of Windows SharePoint Services and Office SharePoint Server 2007, plus the design and customisation capabilities of Office SharePoint Designer 2007, organisations can enable their users to create, manage, and easily build their own SharePoint sites, and enable these sites to be discovered throughout the organisation. 

How are Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services related?

If you’ve heard about Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, you may wonder how it relates to Office SharePoint Server 2007. Windows SharePoint Services is an enabling technology that is included in Microsoft Windows Server 2003. It helps teams stay connected and productive by providing easy access to the people, documents, and information that they need to make well-informed decisions and get work done. Office SharePoint Server 2007 relies on the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 technology to provide a consistent, familiar framework for lists and libraries, site administration, and site customisation. Any features that are available in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 are also available in Office SharePoint Server 2007. 

However, Office SharePoint Server 2007 offers enhanced and additional features that are unavailable on a Windows SharePoint Services site. For example, both Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services include site templates for collaborating with colleagues and setting up meetings. However, Office SharePoint Server 2007 includes a number of additional site templates related to enterprise and publishing scenarios. 

The chart below shows a quick overview of the capabilities available under Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard edition, and Office SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise edition. For a complete breakdown of the features of Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, please download the product comparison chart (168 KB .xls worksheet). Visit the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 TechNet site for more information about this versatile technology.

How is Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 related to both Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services?

While Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services provide the technology and platform, Office SharePoint Designer 2007 provides the tools to tailor SharePoint sites to meet specific business needs. With Office SharePoint Designer 2007, organisations can deliver compelling SharePoint sites and quickly build workflow-enabled applications and reporting tools without having to write or deploy code on the server. Visit the Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Office Online site for more information on this product.