The Benefits of Cloud-Based Unified Communications

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More and more businesses are seeing the increased productivity and cost savings of the new work-from-home and hybrid work business model. Most of these savings and benefits are made possible by cloud-based Unified Communications.

As businesses closed their offices, globally, cloud UC went from a fast-growing sector of the economy to one that is indispensable for business, providing increased productivity and improving the customer experience. With more companies deploying a remote workforce, it’s important for businesses to utilize cloud based unified communications.

What is Cloud-Based Unified Communications?

Cloud UC provides all of the same applications as traditional UC except that it’s delivered as a cloud-based service, as opposed to needing on-premise telephone equipment.

Cloud UC services are hosted by third-party service providers. These providers provide value and ensure a high-quality user experience with video, VoIP, and real-time communication services. Many providers also package cloud UC applications with SD-WAN and network services so that remote users get more consistent and predictable performance across the globe.

A recent survey found that the top challenges with UC today are network performance management and global service consistency. A global network service provider’s overall management of their application, including 100% in-sequence packet delivery, delivers the total package for ensuring high-performing UC application performance worldwide.

What are the Benefits of Cloud-Based UC?

The majority of the benefits of cloud-based UC are related to remote work enablement, hence, the huge surge of cloud UC amid COVID, providing flexibility, and cost savings to businesses.

Remote Work

Cloud UC allows anyone to work efficiently anytime, from anywhere. Employees are no longer tethered to a physical desk in an office, and that’s opened the floodgates for remote and hybrid work for businesses around the world. Gartner and others suggests that between 22-51% of the U.S. workforce will continue working from home in some capacity through 2025 as the covid pandemic runs its course. Even then, remote work will likely remain an important part of how organizations do business.

The Flexibility of Cloud UC

Cloud UC allows people to work with more flexibility with cloud-based communication and collaboration capabilities. Employees can quickly launch video meetings anytime, anywhere from within one simple app. They can make and receive calls regardless of where they are, what device they’re using, or what form of communication works best for them. In short, cloud UC gives users the freedom they have needed for being productive in a way that works best for them.

Cost Savings

Companies can save with cloud-based UC in a few ways. On the capital expenditure side, research shows businesses can save about $11,000 annually for each employee that works remotely – and those numbers are based on part time employment. On the operating expenditures side, cloud UC allows companies to reassign IT staff to other business goals and objectives. On-premise equipment maintenance costs are also rising. Companies with less than 1,000 users and one single provider save nearly $700 per user license when they switch to cloud UC. Unlike premise-based solutions, upgrades and refreshes are already included in the cost of your cloud UC system.

With cloud-based UC, services are software-driven, meaning features are infinitely customizable to meet the growing and changing needs of your business. In other words, you can use Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs, to extend your UC functionality into different business apps and workflows. You can also add automatic speech recognition and virtual agent services so that customers can navigate menus and services by simply speaking to a sophisticated AI-powered engine. The options to customize are seemingly endless.

If you’d like more information about Cloud-based Unified Communications, fill out the form on this page and one of our representatives will get back with you.

What is Puppet Software Consulting?

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Wheelhouse Solutions provides Puppet® Consulting allowing us to work with our clients to apply advanced development methodologies, in order to deploy IT infrastructure, through the feature-rich and intuitive Puppet® software interface.

Our Puppet® Consulting & Installation Services Include:

  • Consulting and technical resources to assist you in rapidly deploying and implementing Puppet Enterprise into your IT environment
  • Designing Puppet Enterprise® so that it’s configured to meet your company’s IT management and automation goals
  • Providing Technical training to your IT staff, to ensure they are equipped to utilize Puppet® to automate IT infrastructure
  • Subcontracting our consultancy services so that Puppet® Consulting can be added to your services offering

Easily Model & Manage Your IT Environment

Puppet Enterprise® allows you to manage your entire IT infrastructure, in code format, without hiring additional staff. Puppet® allows you to use the same tools that developers use, such as version control, automated testing, code review and continuous integration and automated deployment. Having the ability to see your infrastructure as “code” makes it easier for devOps and QA teams to collaborate, across your organization. Simply put, Puppet Enterprise® allows your IT staff to maximize the speed of deployments and improve software quality.

Intuitive Visual Workflows

Puppet® allows your IT staff to deploy phased infrastructure and application bundles using comprehensive visual workflows. Puppet® automatically assigns the correct order of operations, what data needs to be securely exchanged between services, and when to wait for a service to become available before continuing the deployment.

With intuitive graphical reporting, your IT staff can easily determine how your infrastructure and applications are configured, as well as the relationships and dependencies with other software applications. Your staff can quickly discern what changed, in real time, which employee made the change and what caused the issue, including whether it was accidental or intentional. Puppet® allows you to troubleshoot your IT environment much more quickly, minimizing issues and reducing mean time to recover.

Automate Your IT Environment with Puppet

If your network device has an IP address, it can be quickly and easily automated using Puppet Enterprise®. Puppet Enterprise® provides your IT environment with a common language so that, no matter what software you’re running, and where it runs, Puppet® can deliver and operate all of your devices and applications.

Puppet Enterprise® Capabilities

  • Automated provisioning – Automate provisioning across your heterogeneous infrastructure
  • Orchestration – Orchestrate change with control, visibility, and automated intelligence
  • Configuration automation – Define and continually enforce infrastructure configurations
  • Situational awareness – Gain insight into your infrastructure, audit changes and get rich reporting
  • Code management – Manage infrastructure code across environments
  • Node management – Save yourself the manual work of classifying and managing nodes
  • Role-based access control – Assign permissions to teams in line with company and regulatory policies
  • Discovery & insights – Quickly discover resources that need automated management

Puppet® software allows system administrators the operational efficiency, insights, and agility they need to proactively manage today’s dynamic IT infrastructure, scaling from tens of servers to hundreds, both in the cloud and on-premise. Thousands of the world’s largest organizations utilize Puppet® software to manage and configure their IT environment.

In addition to Puppet® Consulting, WheelHouse Solutions also provides Puppet® installation, Puppet® configuration, Puppet® support, Puppet® troubleshooting services, Puppet® emergency help and Puppet® remote support. We invite you to fill out the form on this page or call us at 314-492-2506 to find out more about our Puppet® consulting services and one of our representatives will get back with you, quickly.

Protecting Your Business Against Ever-Evolving Cyber Security Threats

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St. Louis Cyber SecurityCyber attacks are on the rise and only getting more frequent. It’s imperative for your business to have an effective strategy to protect against data breaches, malware, spyware and other threats that could compromise your company. Because most businesses are technology-driven, IT systems are central to your organization’s success.

With that in mind, there is no more important investment than the cyber security of your business. WheelHouse Solutions’ cybersecurity offering will protect your sensitive company information, as well as the personal information of your employees and customers. We offer a comprehensive line of security products by today’s leaders in cybersecurity. Our mission is to detect and stop threats before they affect your business.

Our cybersecurity solutions include:

  • Malware & Virus Protection
  • Ransomware Protection
  • Email Security
  • Firewalls
  • Intrusion Prevention Systems
  • Router Security
  • VPN Security Clients
  • Web Security
  • Data Security

It’s imperative to deploy security measures across your enterprise to protect from modern threats that change rapidly. WheelHouse Solutions can protect your business with a suite of solutions, helping you mitigate all security threats and keep your business safe from online attacks. And, while there’s no silver bullet when it comes to IT security, the more safeguards we can implement in an IT environment, the more secure it will be and the more our customers appreciate out IT expertise.

If you would like more information on our cyber security or premise security systems, please click here or call us at 314-492-2506 to request a free evaluation today from one of our knowledgeable staff.

What Is Business Continuity Planning?

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It’s not just your data, it’s your business

Business Continuity is all about reducing the impact of a catastrophic data loss. Sure, you can restore individual files, but the ability to restore an entire server or the environment in the cloud in minutes, so you can reduce the impact of a catastrophic loss – that’s where the real value is.

WheelHouse Solutions has two levels of business continuity. Both share similar benefits such as local and cloud storage of your backup images and the ability to recreate your environment, in the cloud, in case of a catastrophic disaster. Our premium level business continuity solution utilizes a local appliance that allows for the quickest possible recovery time, for when seconds count.

How Does the Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) Appliance Work?

  • The BDR software periodically creates image-based backups of the backed-up server at pre-configured intervals (Usually every 15 minutes)
    The backup images are automatically backed up locally to the on-site BDR appliance.
    The backup images are then transferred automatically to the WheelHouse Solutions Storage Cloud.

Accidental File Deletion

In addition to full images, it can recover individual files, folders, and Exchange items (emails, attachments, mailboxes) in moments.

Server Hardware Failure

The on-site BDR appliance is leveraged for on-site virtualization of the impacted servers which allows restoring full operation to the business within minutes.

Catastrophic Fire or Flood

Multiple recovery options exist. One such option is the WheelHouse Solutions Continuity Cloud which allows servers to be virtualized, in WheelHouse Solutions’ cloud, for continued business operations even in the face of total disasters.

WheelHouse Solutions provides Business Continuity Planning to all types of businesses. We invite you to click here or call us at 314-492-2506 to request additional information about our Business Continuity Planning services. We’ll work with you to develop a solution that will meet your needs now, as well as provide for future growth and flexibility.

Microsoft Project Online Increases Collaboration and Productivity Throughout Your Business

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Microsoft Project Online is simple and flexible solution for project portfolio management (PPM), and other various forms of internal and external work processes. It works through Microsoft 365, and provides teams with the ability to plan, prioritize, and manage projects and other portfolio investments, from practically any device. It can be easily accessed by administrators, portfolio managers and viewers, team members, and project/resource managers.

Project Online is simple to use because of integrated, useful functionality provided by the application. Portfolio values can increase, through tools provided, allowing users to strategically evaluate project portfolios and make strategic decisons based upon the data. The program offers tools for time and task management, scheduling, and resource assignments, all of which allow employees to easily cllaborate and track progress. Visualizing data, to gain insight from projects, programs and portfolios, can be done through built-in reports and BI tools.

Collaboration between employees can be easily accomplished with the use of Project Online, as well. Skype for Business and Yammer work seamlessly with Project Online, which allows for more team participation. These integrated communication tools allow users to work together using video chat, voice chat, or instant messaging, within a project. Different teams can also submit project ideas with Office programs such as Outlook and SharePoint, so that a portfolio can be influenced by all different types of employees within an organization.

Project Online also includes powerful features such as point-and-click reporting capabilities and summary dashboards, that allow users to gather immediate insight about the portfolios. Project resources can even be consolidated into a single view, so that resource managers can compare other resources, across standardized data. In terms of resources, the Resource Engagement feature allows resource managers to respond to resource requests, based on availability across a portfolio.

Visual tiles provide easy navigation of the Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management functionality, allowing employees to quickly identify the important steps for managing project portfolios. And becasue it’s a Micrososft application, there’s a familiar interface, consisitent with other Microsoft 365 applications, so users will already be familiar with it if they’ve used other MS products. Users can also use most web browsers and devices to access, edit, submit, and collaborate on projects and portfolios.

Because Project Online is delivered through the cloud, it’s always up-to-date with the latest features, tools, patches and updates directly from Microsoft. Your IT staff won’t have to worry about costly upgrades, saving your business time and money. The program also comes with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, which includes continuous data back-up, disaster recovery, and data centers around the world, ensuring the safety and integrity of your business data. Project Online includes 24/7 IT support from Microsoft, allowing users to keep their business moving forward, while freeing up time for IT personnel to work on other IT issues within the company.

Microsoft Project Online is the perfect addition to any business or organization. Not only does it provide innovative tools and features that enhance productivity, there are also flexible collaboration tools that can be used with the different projects and portfolios.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, WheelHouse Solutions can assist you in getting started with Microsoft 365 or any of the suite of Microsoft products and services. We’ll work with you to analyze your needs and recommend a strategy that’s custom designed for your business. If you would like more information about Microsoft 365, call us at 314-492-2506 to speak with one of our knowledgeable sales representatives.

Move Your SQL to the Cloud With Microsoft Azure SQL

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Move Your SQL to the Cloud With Microsoft Azure SQL When anyone refers to Azure SQL, they’re actually referring to SQL in the cloud. There are three main deployment options when it comes to Azure SQL.

The first type is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solution which consists of SQL server running on an Azure Virtual Machine. Azure will manage the infrastructure and the host, while the customer manages the OS and the SQL server instance.

This is a good option for customers with expiring hardware contracts, or older versions of SQL 2008 R2. It’s an option that allows the customer to select the version of SQL that they need on the OS that they want. By moving to an Azure Virtual Machine, you also get free, automatic security updates, and can set up automated backups, as well as have point-in-time restore.

The second option is Azure SQL Server Managed Instance, which moves one more level towards a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering. Azure manages the infrastructure and the OS, while the customer manages the server. Azure SQL Managed Instance is a step further towards cloud migration. Its main benefit is to remove management overhead regarding infrastructure, Server, and Database. Also, this benefits customers that have a need for instant scope features like service broker, SQL server agent, Machine Learning, and CLR.

One of the key features of Managed Instance is getting a SQL server instance with the full feature set, but with additional PaaS managed capabilities. Online Migration allows you to do a fairly seamless migration from your on-premise environment by using backup and restore and log shipping technology.

The Third offering is Azure SQL Database, wherein Azure manages the infrastructure, the OS and the SQL server and the customer is responsible for administration of the database. Azure SQL Database is built to develop modern cloud apps and Software as a Service applications. It can help customers quickly and easily scale their computing capabilities and storage. With Azure managing the SQL server, customers can focus on database management, using features like elastic pools, which lets you manage groups of shared databases. Hyper scaling can provide the maximum size and performance for large scale applications. Serverless computing also lets you pause SQL server and pay only for usage. It provides the most flexibility out of the managed service capabilities, allowing it to easily interact with other Azure managed services.

With Microsoft Azure SQL, you get a unified experience across your entire SQL portfolio and a full range of deployment options, from edge to cloud. Intelligent and secure Azure SQL database services make it easy to:

  • Migrate your SQL workloads with SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines.
  • Modernize your existing applications with Azure SQL Managed Instance.
  • Support modern cloud applications with Azure SQL Database.
  • Use your existing SQL skills in the cloud on the same SQL Server engine.
  • Keep making the most of your current license investments.

If you would like more information on Microsoft Azure SQL, fill out the form on this page and one of our Microsoft Azure specialists will get back with you to discuss your options and how Microsoft Azure SQL can enhance your business operations and improve your bottom line.

5 Tips For Reducing Expenses In Your Organization

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Technology has become an essential factor in almost every business operation and now business owners are looking for ways to reduce expenses in their IT departments, in order to achieve greater efficiency for less money.

To do that, as a business owner, the logical action would be to cut back on your IT costs, but it’s essential to avoid sacrificing efficiency when reducing expenses.  With that in mine, here are the top five tips and tricks to reduce expenses in your business without compromising its efficiency and/or destroying value:

  1.  If you’re a small business owner, try to find alternatives to your traditional telephone service; if you’re using a land-line or a regular cell phone, you can switch to VoIP service and virtual phone lines. There are many options available that provide provide great flexibility and excellent value for the money, not to mention a serious cost reduction when it comes to communications.
  2. Use open source software. This is an excellent alternative to the commercial mainstream applications, especially if you’re a small business. The software related costs may cripple your business, especially in its inception phase, and open source software is very attractive, because it’s free.
  3. Use cloud services, instead of investing lots of money in hardware/software, especially if you’re a small business. Also, you should determine what you really need, the latest high-tech services is not always necessary and it may cost you an arm and a leg. And if you decide to perform an audit of your existing computers, you may find an answer about what’s really necessary for your line of business, hence reducing your technology expenses.
  4. You can try to negotiate with your existing IT contracts because IT services vendors desire to keep their clients happy and on board for as long as possible. Keep in mind that the competition in this area is pretty tight and you can take advantage on that. You can proactively ask for discounts, freebies, cost reductions or even negotiate a customized plan. In the end, it’s important to ask if you want to get any advantages.
  5. Reduce expenses with online business training. Being a small business owner, you can’t afford to travel the world in order to expand your experience, to participate in live training /educational conferences and the like. But, in the Internet era, you can use online business training for you and your employees. There are lots of free online business training programs and you can use them from the comfort of your office or even at home. With these options available for ongoing training, the possibilities for you and your business are endless, and your costs related to training will be significantly reduced.

If your business is looking for Managed IT, Cloud Services, Consulting & Support Services, WheelHouse Solutions has a staff of experienced professionals to deliver outstanding results. We provide cost-efficient managed IT Services, backed by a professional IT Staff, with experience in multiple disciplines. Whether you’re looking to augment your existing IT staff, or if your business wants to outsource all your IT services, we have a flexible solution to meet your needs.  Feel free to contact us at 314-492-2506 or fill out the form on this page and someone will get back with you.