Xander Uyleman

The role of the contact center is making a major shift. In the past, the goal of the contact center was to handle customer calls as quickly as possible. Time spent on the phone was time paying for an agent. Today’s customer calls are being recognized as a powerful opportunity for businesses to turn a […]

Hybrid cloud is about flexibility. It’s about having access to the extra capacity you need, when you need it. It’s about paying only for what you use. And it’s about being able to quickly extend your IT capabilities so you can address new opportunities as they arise. Hybrid cloud is also about saving money. And […]

The announcement that Verizon is offering global unified communication cloud service is good news for companies all over the world. Large organizations tend to be slower to adopt new technology, and the cloud is no exception. Such wariness has its logic: with their scale, a wrong decision implemented across a large organization can be crippling.   […]

When choosing your path to cloud, it’s important to remember why you are making this transition in the first place. For many companies, the cloud is about increasing agility and optimizing your IT assets to your company’s best advantage. Every company has unique requirements, so every path to cloud is unique as well. In “Moving […]

In his blog, “5 Traits to Look for in a Successful Cloud Reseller”, Carmen Sorice, SVP Channels at Sungard Availability Services offers valuable advice, both to resellers looking to move to cloud as well as to service providers. Specific traits such as executive leadership, relationship with customers, trust, give to get, and taking an integrated […]

Confidence is an importance ingredient in selling cloud services. In Deliver Cloud Services Meeting the Highest Standard, cloud provider Cirrity shares how fragile customer confidence can be.

Security is a primary concern for many organizations making the transition to cloud.  In the blog, “Taking a Hybrid Cloud Approach to Security”, cloud provider Presidio shares how building a hybrid cloud enables you to maximize security while maximizing flexibility at the same time. Security in this instance can be thought of in terms of […]

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is an exciting evolution in IT.  Today, connections throughout a network are made by directly connecting to routers to control them.  This is a process that can be time-consuming and prone to error, depending upon the size of the network being managed.  Furthermore, the effort involved in making changes across large […]

One of the key benefits of moving to the cloud is that someone else–your service provider–takes care of the day-to-day management of your technology.  You can focus on adding value at a higher level. Scale capacity and increase your company’s productivity by introducing new capabilities such as collaboration applications or desktop-as-a-service. Unfortunately, not all clouds […]

Moving to cloud offers many benefits to organizations.  However, these benefits come with a corresponding range of new challenges for IT to address.  One of these challenges is what is known as “Shadow IT.”  Shadow IT refers to activities of members within an organization to secure their own IT resources without going through a company’s […]

A recent blog from Sungard AS, Stretch Your IT Dollar with Cloud Computing Services, offers more than just ideas on how cloud can extend your IT budget.  It also covers ways organizations of all sizes can use cloud services strategically to meet their goals, as well as provides a link to materials useful for companies […]

The move to cloud can be daunting.  In their blog, Overcoming the Organizational Challenges of Moving to Cloud, Presidio describes one of the barriers organizations face when transitioning to cloud.  Building a hybrid cloud – one based on private on-premises resources extended through the public cloud network – requires many shifts in thinking for IT. […]

It can be challenging and expensive to design an efficient network and data center that minimizes downtime.  Yet, even if you’ve put together a bulletproof solution, there’s always the possibility of disaster to consider. Developing a robust disaster recovery plan involves much more than just installing redundant resources.  There are so many factors to consider, […]

A new whitepaper from IDC, “The Workspace-as-a-Service Opportunity: Why Now is the Time for Desktop as a Service” is a must-read for any organization facing the challenge of delivering applications and services to employees on mobile devices.  According to IDC, corporate-liable smartphone shipments will reach 110 million units in 2014.  In comparison, employee-liable smartphone shipments […]

  Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) technology promises many benefits to organizations.  For example, increased productivity results when users can access data with any device, anywhere, anytime.  By both simplifying...

For many organizations, buying cloud services can be stressful. After all, as your business moves more and more into the cloud, you need to know your services and cloud provider are as reliable or better than if these services originated from within your own data center. Buying cloud services can feel a lot like buying […]

Recently, Cisco’s Rob Lloyd sat down with Sungard AS to discuss how hybrid cloud services are changing the way organizations use the cloud.  As the president of development and sales, Rob understands many different sides of the hybrid cloud equation.  He talks with businesses about how they want to use the cloud to grow, as […]

Cisco is committed to leading the industry in bringing innovation and value to its customers through the cloud.  Through Cisco Powered, Cisco has driven high standards for cloud services, making enterprise-class performance and reliability the baseline across the industry.  With the recent announcement of over 30 Intercloud partners, Cisco is putting a whole new face […]

The hybrid cloud offers a key opportunity to businesses and other organizations.  Specifically, a hybrid cloud merges public cloud and private cloud resources.  Private clouds can either be premises-based or managed by a service provider.  By taking a hybrid approach, a company can dynamically extend the capabilities of its private cloud using public cloud resources. […]

Recovery as a Service (RaaS) is one of those services that bring the value of cloud into focus.  The ability to recover from a disaster is a mission-critical consideration for organizations.  For many, it’s a requirement to operate in their industry or to work with specific customers such as governments. In “DRaaS And The Cloud: […]

Ball Manufacturing is a world-class business manufacturing up to 100 millions cans a day during their peak season.  They have 14,500 employees and 10 plants worldwide.  When the contract with their previous provider was about to expire, they saw an opportunity to upgrade their operations by having Freudenberg IT (FIT) host their central systems.  The […]

There’s a lot of talk about cloud, and for good reason.  According to a new white paper from IDC, 68% of companies with more than 1,000 employees are using some form of cloud or plan to implement cloud within the next 12 months.  In addition, these companies adopting cloud expect to spend 54% of their […]

(This is part 7 of a 7-part series sharing insights from Cisco partners about the Future of Cloud.) During CiscoLive!, I had the chance to talk with Andy Bird, Executive Director, Product Management and Development at eLoyalty, a Cisco partner for more than 15 years.  “We’ve chosen to partner up with Cisco and have a […]

(This is part 6 of a 7-part series sharing insights from Cisco partners about the Future of Cloud.) “It’s been invigorating for us to hear all of the different messages around cloud because we really think that’s where the future is.”  This is what Steve Harris, Senior Vice President, National Alliances at Peak 10 had […]

(This is part 5 of a 7-part series sharing insights from Cisco partners about the Future of Cloud.) “A lot of things go into building out a cloud practice that most people don’t realize until they get into it.  Because we have been a systems integrator, we know the on-premises environment very well.  That gives […]

(This is part 4 of a 7-part series sharing insights from Cisco partners about the Future of Cloud.) At Cisco Live!, Derek Siler, Director, Solution Engineering – Channel Sales at Sungard Availability Services, shared his company’s vision of the cloud and how they bring value to the market.  “Our real unique differentiation is our focus […]

(This is part 3 of a 7-part series sharing insights from Cisco partners about the Future of Cloud.) At CiscoLive!, attendees had the chance to meet with many companies offering cloud services.  Dusten Tornow, Director of Infrastructure Products at OneNeck IT Solutions, shared some of his thoughts on the world of many clouds with me. […]