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Featured, Miscellaneous IT, Tech News, Tech News Recap

Tech News Recap for the Week of 06/04/17

If you had a busy week last week and need to catch up, here’s a tech news recap of articles you may have missed for the week of 06/04/2017!

Everything new with VMware vRealize. HPE announces new storage offerings. Best practices to manage your hybrid cloud. A deep dive into DevOps. Top 5 promises we hear when evaluating hyper-converged infrastructure and more tops news this week you may have missed!

Remember, to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news throughout the week, follow @GreenPagesIT on Twitter.

Tech News Recap

Featured

Microsoft

  • Microsoft leak reveals new version of  Windows 10 aimed at monster PCs and workstations
  • Microsoft CVP Brad Anderson shares his insights on everything Office 365

HPE

VMware

Cloud

IT Operations

Security

Register for our upcoming webinar and find out how cloud is killing traditional help desk, and learn about what end users need now to stay productive and happy (June 27th)

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

Featured, IT operations, Virtualization, vRealize, vROps

What’s New with VMware vRealize

What’s new with vRealize?

Today VMware announced updates to 4 major products with vRealize branding (3 within the suite and 1 not). Even though the version increments are small, the features they bring are not! vRealize Operations, Log Insight, Network Insight, and Business for Cloud have all received updates. So let’s get started, shall we?

vRealize Operations 6.6

Right out of the gate, you will notice something very different in this build of vRealize Operations (lovingly known as vROps). That’s right, they’ve embraced HTML5! If you’ve been using the HTML5 client for vSphere, you’ll see this looks very familiar (it’s the same underlying engine in both). It is great to see VMware continuing to phase out flash and embrace something everyone can use. Also in this build is a revised “Getting Started” page. More and more people are just starting out with adding vROps into their environment, and making the product easier to newcomers is always welcome, just make sure there is an easy way to dismiss all the getting started notifications for the power users. These new dashboards are based on types of rolls (Operations, Troubleshooting, Compliance, etc…). Combine these with greater out of the box integrations with things like vSAN, Log Insight, Automation, and you’ve got a pretty powerful tool to get started with.

vRealize VMware

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the other big new features arriving in this update revolves around DRS. Imagine, if you would, that you could enhance DRS with the power of vROps. While by itself DRS is fantastic for load balancing in a cluster, now you can load balance across the entire data center. This new combination will allow you to automatically move workloads to different clusters and different datastores. Now, take it one step further. While DRS by itself is a reaction based process (it only kicks in once there is resource contention) when you can utilize the analytic engine of vROps you can get ahead of the curve. Spotting patterns in workloads will allow DRS to move things ahead of time to ensure that your VMs have the resources available before the increase in load. They call this Predictive DRS (pDRS). I’ll be looking into this further in a later post, but this has the potential to be a real game changer for VMware.

Predictive DRS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, one last thing, and I thought this was a bit interesting. There has also been development around hardening/compliance. There is a new dashboard that will tell you how hardened your components are (based on VMware’s hardening guide) and how compliant things are. This even goes so far as to checking your environment against HCL.

vRealize Operations 6.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vRealize Log Insight 4.5

This update is a bit smaller than the vROps one and it revolves around vROps as well. In this update, they’ve added closer integration with vROps. In fact, now you can launch Log Insight directly from the vROps dashboard. You can auto initiate log management to get to the bottom of the alerts you are seeing in vROps. Now to achieve this, they had to make more enhancements to the single sign-on support, so it would seem this is working better.

vRealize Business for Cloud 7.3

Now I’ll admit, this is the product that I’m the least familiar with. For those of you not familiar with this tool, its great for larger environments that want to get a handle on hybrid cloud. You can break down your costs of your VMs and map them against various providers to get a cost analysis. In this update, Azure has been recognized as a major player in the cloud market and has been promoted to that status within the analytics engine. The AWS integration has also been improved with enhanced VM level statistics. There are also some new out of the box reporting capabilities. One of the best ones is a new Daily Pricing Report. Administrators can configure a daily email (or spreadsheet) that will itemize your data center costs so that you can keep better track of costs.

 

 

 

 

Sean’s Take

It’s great to see more enhancements to these products. It’s clear that vROps is getting a long-needed overhaul and being placed in the center of things, with its ability to reach into every product and maximize its benefit. If you haven’t had the chance, I urge you to give it a try and see what it can do for you. As VMware embraces Amazon and Azure, they want to make sure you also get the most out of it, which is why we see these additional enhancements in that space as well.

On a related subject, check out our recent webinar, “Harnessing Lightning: DevOps + ITOM for Secure & Compliant Hybrid Cloud Ops“

By Sean Thulin, Advanced Virtualization Consultant

Featured, IT Management, Tech News, Tech News Recap

Tech News Recap for the Week of 05/29/17

If you had a busy week last week and need to catch up, here’s a tech news recap of articles you may have missed for the week of 05/29/2017!

Cisco and IBM announce historic cybersecurity partnership. Microsoft patched more Malware Protection Engine bugs last week. Power surges at British Airways cause losses in upwards of $125 million. Security hole in Samba software could lead to another WannaCry. Why the cheapest cloud option isn’t usually the best option and more tops news this week you may have missed!

Remember, to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news throughout the week, follow @GreenPagesIT on Twitter.

Tech News Recap

Microsoft

Cisco

HPE

Cloud

IT Operations

Security

  • What do you do when you’re caught in a breach?
  • Security hole in Samba software could possibly lead to another #WannaCry
  • Shadow Brokers launch subscription service for fresh exploits, zero-day leaks at $23,000 to join!
  • Target’s data breach settlement sets a low bar for industry security standards
  • US defense contractor stored intelligence data on Amazon server without a password

Register for our upcoming webinar and find out how cloud is killing traditional help desk, and learn about what end users need now to stay productive and happy (June 27th)

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

Featured, Miscellaneous IT, Tech News, Tech News Recap

Tech News Recap for the Week of 05/22/17

If you had a busy week last week and need to catch up, here’s a tech news recap of articles you may have missed for the week of 05/22/2017!

SD-WAN gets real as Cisco makes a big investment in Viptela. Citrix rolls out new cloud and analytics services for enterprise. WannaCry ransomware deadline passes, not many people pay up. Why it’s important to have a smart endpoint compliance strategy. 10 ways to protect your Windows computer from ransomware and more tops news this week you may have missed!

Remember, to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news throughout the week, follow @GreenPagesIT on Twitter.

Tech News Recap

Featured

  • With a smart endpoint compliance strategy, damage from ransomware attacks like WannaCry can be drastically reduced

  • Learn how to successfully harness DevOps and ITOM for secure & compliant hybrid cloud ops

Microsoft

 

Cisco

  • SD-WAN gets real as Cisco Sytems makes a big investment in Viptela
  • IoT Threat Defense is Cisco’s answer to limited damage if/when IoT devices are compromised
  • Cisco launches IoT platform, partners with Microsoft Azure
  • Cisco to network engineers: Get comfortable with software. It’s here to stay

Citrix

  • Citrix rolls out new cloud, analytics services for enterprises

Cloud

IT Operations

Security

VMware

Did you miss our recent webinar, “Harnessing Lightning: DevOps + ITOM for Secure & Compliant Hybrid Cloud Ops?”

Click here to download the webinar and find out how to embrace not resist DevOps and transform your IT with a next-gen IT Operations Transformation Framework

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

Featured, Miscellaneous IT, Tech News, Tech News Recap

Tech News Recap for the Week of 05/15/17

If you had a busy week last week and need to catch up, here’s a tech news recap of articles you may have missed for the week of 05/15/2017!

Windows 10’s next big update. VMware brings its virtual desktops to Microsoft Azure with Horizon Cloud integration. Benefits and concerns of storing PHI in the cloud. WannaCry reminds CIOs to stay on top of patching. Migration to Windows 10 to be faster than ever and more tops news this week you may have missed!

Remember, to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news throughout the week, follow @GreenPagesIT on Twitter.

Tech News Recap

Featured

Microsoft

  • Windows 10’s next big update: A new look, closer ties between PCs and smartphones, OneDrive placeholders
  • How Microsoft’s new cloud migration service takes a swing at Oracle
  • Microsoft Azure almost doubles infrastructure cloud market presence
  • VMware brings its virtual desktops to Microsoft Azure with Horizon Cloud integration
  • Microsoft to update SharePoint with deeper personalized search support
  • Migration to Windows 10 expected to be faster than ever, 85% of enterprises will start deployments by end of 2017
  • Microsoft outlines plan to take Azure beyond public cloud, towards the edge
  • Microsoft tunes Azure Cloud for SAP

Apple

  • Apple updates MacOS Sierra, with 36+ security patches & the ability for users to install Windows 10 on their Macs

AWS

  • AWS continues to lead cloud market, but rivals are closing in

Citrix

  • IT experts anticipate exciting news on Citrix Cloud & Microsoft Partnership at Synergy next week

Cloud

  • Benefits and concerns of storing PHI in the cloud, and if healthcare providers should do it

Dell EMC

IT Operations

Nutanix

Security

  • New ransomware Jaff demands $3,700 payments
  • Microsoft issues first Windows XP patch in 3-year stymie
  • Dealing with WannaCry on Monday morning, and the days ahead
  • Microsoft just took a swipe at NSA over the WannaCry ransomware nightmare
  • Paying the WannaCry ransom will probably get you nothing, here’s why
  • Digital signature service DocuSign hacked and email addresses were stolen
  • Hacker group behind WannaCry claims to have even more attack tools, plans to release them
  • Software developer Panic has a breach, large portion of the source code to its Mac and iOS apps stolen
  • Yes, you still need endpoint malware protection
  • WannaCry reminds CIOs to stay on top of patching
  • DHS war games included scenario similar to WannaCry

Veeam

Join us at Boston Summer VMUG UserCon on Thursday, June 1st, 2017!

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

Featured, IT security, Networking & Security, ransomware

EndPoint Protection: Stopping Attacks Like WannaCry

Endpoint ComplianceIn the past few days, the WannaCry ransomware has attacked organizations all over the globe, in over 100 countries. It is believed to be the biggest attack of its kind ever. The malware enables the attacker to target endpoints without the users’ knowledge, which is exactly why endpoint protection is so crucial. This is causing massive issues in businesses all around the world. As of Sunday,

“More than 130,000 systems have already been compromised.” (Kessem, 2017)

Using a network monitoring tool is an ideal way to classify every PC, tablet, and smartphone on your network to determine if they are safe or not. An agentless monitoring tool gives your company the ability to see and control managed, unmanaged, and IoT devices.  In addition, 99% of computers are vulnerable to exploit kits, making unmanaged computers a serious threat to your network. The number of data breaches is growing exponentially, with more advanced malware and technology making it easier for hackers to get inside.

[Download Our Webinar on 20 Critical Security Controls Every Modern Company Should Have]

The Importance of Endpoint Protection

This is why a powerful endpoint compliance strategy is so crucial. There are no endpoint agents required for network access control authentication, which enables seamless visibility of every device and type connecting to your network. Network Access Controls can also help you detect and take action against suspicious endpoints the instant they access the network. It can also protect you against hacked Internet of Things devices, such as the Nest Thermostat, Phillips Hub, smart microwaves, smart ovens, security cameras, and much more. With hundreds of different, unsecured IoT devices connecting to your networks, it is vital for your company to know what they are. Using an agentless technology can help you discover, separate and assess devices on your network. Check out this great in-depth article on Network World.

Interested in learning more about how to protect your company?

Download our webinar recording on 20 critical security controls and learn what you can implement to gain understanding into the security of your environment and protect your company

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

Featured, IT Management, Tech News, Tech News Recap

Tech News Recap for the Week of 05/01/17

If you had a busy week last week and need to catch up, here’s a tech news recap of articles you may have missed for the week of 05/01/2017!

Cisco is paying $160 million for networking startup, Viptela. Cloud vs on-premises, finding the right balance. What’s next for hybrid cloud? How software-defined networking is evolving far from where it began. How to strike ransomware out. Nutanix expands software footprint and more tops news this week you may have missed!

Remember, to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news throughout the week, follow @GreenPagesIT on Twitter.

Tech News Recap

Featured

Microsoft

Cisco

Citrix

Cloud

IT Operations

Nutanix

Security

Join us at Boston Summer VMUG UserCon on Thursday, June 1st, 2017!

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

Cloud computing, cloud journey, Featured

CIOs & The Life Sciences Industry Part 3: Factors Overlooked When Changing Your Cloud

The topic of Cloud Computing currently ranks in the top-five of IT articles published for IT professionals. Daily we hear about the benefits of this new world, the range of exciting new services now available, and of course how to make the transition.

Even with the valuable insights provided by these articles, there is one critical aspect given too little attention or even overlooked entirely.  Specifically, how to plan for a breakup.

If one accepts the old dictum that change is the only universal constant, then ask yourself why most people do not plan as carefully for unwinding a cloud / SaaS arrangement as we do in setting one up. The details of ending an arrangement can be tricky and not immediately self-evident.

These issues are beyond standard legal provisions for exit clauses, terms/conditions, and related matters. It deals with practicality and preparedness.

Take this as an example, imagine you use a SaaS system to implement secure e-mail for corresponding with people outside your organization. Even in the world of TLS, many still have a need for such services which provide mailbox-to-mailbox encryption for both e-mails and attachments.

Should you decide to terminate this service, you might be in for some unexpected challenges. If your service provider does not provide bulk decrypt and export tools, you could be in for a painful process.

In a previous role, I ran into this exact situation. We had to write custom scripts to go through each mailbox e-mail-by-email to unencrypt and export; it was slow and costly.

Even without terminating the service, data exporting tools can be useful as a course of normal business. Consider the situation when your organization is involved in litigation. As part of the legal Discovery process, you might have to produce e-mails for individuals covering specific subjects and dates. Should the list be significant or the filters complex, you can again run into unexpected workloads.

Another example is data offloading. Many services, AWS included, offer excellent tools for migration / uploading large volumes into their cloud services. In some cases, particularly with large datasets, such approaches are the only feasible or timely solution.

But what happens when you elect to move those datasets to another Cloud Provider? Don’t assume the comprehensive set of options you have for bringing data into your provider’s cloud is symmetric. You might just find a long slow process to make a change.

In both examples, specific industry or regulatory requirements such as security, data location, and privacy can compound the challenge.

IT professionals have a lot of experience with managing proprietary solutions and data. The key is leveraging that knowledge when considering Cloud-Based solutions. Personally, I have found two methods for reducing these risks.

The first is to run some tabletop simulations on what happens in various scenarios, to develop and expand your punch list over time. Scenarios to consider might include migration, legal requests, disaster recovery or other matters specific to your industry.

My second approach is to network: it is a knowledge and experience multiplier that’s second to none. Check with colleagues; get their advice and listen to their own experiences.

Of course, you don’t know what you don’t know, but thinking of the end, as well as the beginning, should put you in a better spot.

If you would like to set up a conversation with Clint, please reach out.

By Clint Gilliam, Virtual CIO, GreenPages Technology Solutions

Featured, IT Management, Tech New Recap, Tech News

Tech News Recap for the Week of 04/24/17

While this Tech News report is later than usual, there are plenty of major announcements and updates worth looking at. If you had a busy week last week and need to catch up, here’s a tech news recap of articles you may have missed for the week of 04/24/2017!

Last week was full of Microsoft news and updates including, Windows 10 upgrades, security and cloud improvements, and Outlook updates. There is also an in-depth article comparing the big fish in the cloud, including AWS, Azure, and Google. R2Games, Chipotle, and Verizon were all involved in data breach reports and more tops news this week you may have missed!

Remember, to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news throughout the week, follow @GreenPagesIT on Twitter.

Tech News Recap

Microsoft

Cisco

Cloud

IT Operations

Security

Join us at Boston Summer VMUG UserCon on Thursday, June 1st, 2017!

By Jake Cryan, Digital Marketing Specialist

 

Featured, Miscellaneous IT

Microsoft Update for April with David Barter

This month in our Microsoft update, Practice Director, David Barter discusses the new Citrix and Microsoft service, Citrix XenApp Essentials. This service helps Azure RemoteApp customers simplify management and app provisioning, improve monitoring, and strengthen security. Another major Microsoft announcement this April is Microsoft Teams, a chat-based workspace in Office 365 that helps users stay on task and efficiently collaborate. Available in 181 countries and in 18 languages, this tool is sure to become a serious competitor to Slack.