Cloud Server

[jlmns]

Hi all,

I have an existing client who has just been awarded a major contract and needs a cloud-based system as they will be operating from multiple sites.

This is something way beyond what I can offer (Windows SBS is about my limit!) so I need someone to point me in the right direction.

They basically need plenty of storage, Office apps and Exchange - no bespoke software at this stage. I'm envisaging them logging on with something like Remote Desktop.

Am I completely barking up the wrong tree or is this something that is actually possible?!

Cheers,
James

 

[Nord20]

Maybe a combination of dropbox & google apps might do the trick?

 

[nightmare99]

Take a look at Office 365 Small Business, this includes hosted exchange, sharepoint & lync. It is about £3.90 a user per month or £10.10 a user per month if you want the subscription to include desktop office as well.

 

[jlmns]

Thanks guys. I've been looking at 365 but I'm just concerned about the amount of team storage - 10GB + 500MB per user. Might need the Midsize Business as that appears to allow the option to buy more team storage.

 

[GoldenOwl]

There are actual hosted desktop cloud providers out there that would service the requirement quite nicely. Each user gets their own 'Cloud' desktop which acts as a normal desktop but can be logged onto from any PC. A lot of cloud desktop providers also provide hosted email too. A great one is 'Yorkshire Cloud', which, despite it's name provides services to the whole of the UK.

Is that the kind of thing you were meaning by Cloud? Or are you thinking more just somewhere to hosts some documents and also have hosted email?

 

[hmig89]

Hi James,

If they want office and hosted exchange I would defo consider office 365, so you know what kind of files they are saving to the cloud, I was thinking their documents etc can go to the office 365 and Dropbox and the all other files you could look at amazon cloud they have some good solutions, I would check out jungle disk and rack space cloud too.

Depending on the industry ie medical or financial the files just can't be uploaded to any kind of services it needs to have certain securities in place, of course this might not be relevant in your case.

When you say office apps is this to be office 2010 to be installed on the pc at this business site ?

 

[KM-Tiger]

There are some key things to understand before it's possible to propose a solution:

• The business requirements and business processes
• Any implementation constraints

What do they actually do? What sort of files, how large are they? Is the data volatile? By which I mean must it be updated in near real time, or will once a day do?

The most obvious implementation constraint would be the nature of the internet connections at the other sites. If they can only be slow, then that is going to affect what is the "best" solution.

 

[Quest Cloud Solutions Ltd]

Hi James,

We do exactly what you're after; bespoke, cloud-hosted Microsoft environments. Completely flexible and scalable, with the ability to add and remove users on a month-by-month basis. They are effectively the same as traditional IT enviornmentys, but hosted from our UK-based datacentre. Something like a virtual private file server, virtual terminal server, Office and RDS licensing, and either hosted Exchange mailboxes or a virtual private Exchange server, depending on their needs.

We also operate a reseller scheme so you could actually be our client, and resell it to your client, or we could deal directly with them and give you a monthly commission based on the value of the deal each month.

As you've said, 365 is probably going to be too limiting for what they need.

Drop me a PM if you'd like more info!

Cheers,

Ryan

 

[jlmns]

Thanks all. Plenty of food for thought!

I'm leaning towards the hosted desktop solution but it will really depend on what the remote internet connection is going to be like. The company will be involved in construction projects with temporary offices on site.

I do like the sound of getting commission for reselling but I suspect that as their IT bod I'll still be tasked with setting up new users, etc!

James

 

[Quest Cloud Solutions Ltd]

Hi James,

Depending on the overall solution, either you would create the users or you'd ask us to; we don't charge for user creation because it's a quick and simple process.

One of our bigger clients is a facilities management company; they set up remote temporary offices all the time in their clients' offices, and the Cloud is the best solution for this. Bandwidth requirements are generally lower than you'd expect as well.

There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution; it really depends on how they work on a day-to-day basis, whether they'd want real-time on-site file replication (as a failover if the connection drops), and any other software they need. We're actually in the process of putting together a construction-specific package, looking at construction software providers; perhaps you could help with that?

Definitely worth a call as there are loads of possibilities and options they could go for. When you dive into it, bespoke cloud projects are really interesting, could be a good side product for you to consider for other clients as well.

Happy to chat it through and to give you a rough idea of costs based on a few simple questions; drop me a PM with your number if you like and we'll brainstorm some ideas!

Cheers

Ryan

 

[ajit123]

Cloud Servers are the smallest unit of compute power you can buy on our cloud infrastructure. Cloud Servers are virtual machines running Linux or Windows® operating systems. Unlike "instances", Rackspace Cloud Servers are architected for your application's availability

 

[wregen]

I would suggest to anyone that you go for VPS. It seems to be the more reliable solution. I tried a lot of those VPS and cloud solutions and didn't find proper one. Eventually found Limy VPS and their free trial offer, tested it and decided to subscribe for Advanced Plan. It is the best option for my small online business and very glad I found reliable company. I would recommend to everyone to visit Limy VPS and sign up for 7 days free trial.

 

[astutiumRob]

I have an existing client who has just been awarded a major contract and needs a cloud-based system as they will be operating from multiple sites.

A lot will depend on what you think 'cloud' means - multiple sites doesn't necessarily mean they'll need, want or benefit from what most will sell you as a cloud solution.

Initial questions are - how many sites, what type of connectivity is currently available, how many staff, what are they storing, what sort of budget have they put a aside, and what are the (realistic) growth plans.

Am I completely barking up the wrong tree or is this something that is actually possible?!

Very possible, in dozens of different ways.

 

[hmig89]

^^^ what he/she said.

If they are a construction company I assume they will be setting up in a small office at their clients site (where the construction work is being done) is their client happy to let the construction company use their connection and bandwidth or will the construction company have to set up their own internet connection on site is get a subscriptions come the ISP themselves? I would get a questionnaire speak them and ask them the questions posted here, then see what they say. Then you can look at solutions etc

 

[DarrenMcCabe]

Just a quick one.

We provide office 365 (dont worry this isnt a sales pitch) and have put all different flavours in for 1 man bands up to a 200 seat company.

Dont look anywhere else for Hosted Exchange. It really is flawless and better priced than anywhere else you can get it.

The file storage is limited to 10GB to start with but you can increase it to Terabytes for £0.75/GB/month.

That said the Synchronising of files with Skydrive Pro can be a bloody nightmare. If you dont have a great connection speed, but do have a lot of users, then plan your libraries careful. eg 10 users sharing 1 library and one of the users saves 20mb file to it, suddenly becomes a 20mb upload and 180mb download which catches a lot of people on slow connections out.

Lync online through Office 365 is also very good if you have a roaming workforce as it allows them to keep in touch, collaborate and works as a presence indicator.

If you need MS Office desktop apps, then go for the Small Business Premium, you dont have to use it for files but for the £10.10/month/user, each user can have 5 installs of MS Office. Have it in the Office, at home and on the wife's machine too all for £10.10

just my 2 cents (tu'pence)