CGNET Services International

Nigerian Electricity: The Ultimate Argument for Hosted Exchange?

teamCGNET — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:07:22 +0000

CGNET's Tim Haight recently visited Lagos, Nigeria, to consult for a couple of clients. While he was there, he discovered what he believes is the world's strongest argument for hosted Exchange, or something like it. Here's his story:

Why We Believe Our Version of Hosted Exchange Is Better than Gmail

thaight — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:58:39 +0000

OK, let’s get the transparency thing over with first. We offer hosted Microsoft Exchange, and we’d love you all to buy it. We have reasons, however, why we believe Exchange, backed up by our personal service, is a better way to go. After all, even folks with an interest in an issue can be right. So here’s our take on Gmail versus hosted Exchange with our service, in the context of a nonprofit looking for the best hosted solution to replace Exchange on their local server.

Cloud Archiving Now Supports Personal Folders

teamCGNET — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:25:36 +0000

Click to enlargeA client of ours saw the benefits of moving Exchange archiving into the cloud, but one issue was holding things up. Her users really liked their current LAN-based system's ability to reproduce their personal folders in their personal archive. Until recently, no online archive did that, so she was sticking with an application that was expensive and difficult to manage. Now, however, things have changed.

Estimating Bandwidth for the Cloud

teamCGNET — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:30:31 +0000

When you move an application onto a platform in the cloud, you will be paying utility-style prices, which are "pay as you go." Thus, you need to estimate those costs up front. In addition, you'll need to estimate whether the additional load on your connectivity will require a bigger pipe. Here's how to do it.

TAS provides Roaming Wi-Fi Access for iPads

teamCGNET — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:37:28 +0000

TAS for iPadIf you're an iPad or iPhone owner, you can now use CGNET's TAS to get Wi-Fi access while you're on the road. There's a free app you can download and set to use your TAS ID when looking for a Wi-Fi access point. It's provided by iPass, the network of more than 260,000 Wi-Fi hotspots that support CGNET TAS.

Skype Access vs. TAS: What to Use When and Where

teamCGNET — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:35:12 +0000

Recently, one of our customers asked us to list the reasons why our roaming Internet access service, TAS, is superior to Skype Access. Several good reasons exist, but the best Wi-Fi roaming solution is to have both. Here's why:

The 5 Best Uses of Cloud Computing Today

teamCGNET — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:33:30 +0000

Although the full promise of cloud computing is not yet realized, you get a lot of benefit from it today, with very little risk, in some areas. Our top 5 best uses of the cloud today are these:

Selcuk Moving On

teamCGNET — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:15:06 +0000

Selcuk has had an amazing career so far, and we are anxious to see where it goes next! Below is the message we received with contact details, and be sure and check out his website. It is very cool!

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

After 27 years of continuous service, as Management Adviser and consultant, I will be leaving the CGIAR Secretariat/Fund Office at the end of 2010. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be associated with the CGIAR over the years and work with scores of wonderful people. I thank all of you for your friendship, support and encouragement.

Case Study: The Importance of IT Resilience, Part III

teamCGNET — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:46:10 +0000

This post continues our case study of IT resilience at a worldwide NGO. Here, in the final post, we discuss off-site replication.

The timeline of the organization’s build-out was a very logical one. Its first priority was to build a true 24/7 operation that could be grown to support the entire institution. That included reliable and flexible system architectures in the headquarters, as we discussed in the previous post. Only after 24/7 service was firmly established were they in a position to economically support off-site disaster recovery and business continuity.

Case Study: The Importance of IT Resilience, Part II

teamCGNET — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:25 +0000

In a previous post we described how a large international organization had centralized its IT services and how it needed to make those services more resilient. This post will tell you some of what it did inside the data center.