We’ve always viewed computer systems as a “necessary evil,” specially for small and medium businesses that have limited IT support. No doubt computers are essential for our business, but there’s always something to be fixed or updated. And it seems that every month, we have to buy or install something new. Help is on the way. IBM announced plans to help free growing businesses from the headaches, limitations and costs of IT maintenance with a new appliance — called IBM Lotus Foundations Start — that offers buinesses an easy way to collaborate, as well as the option to reliably run Microsoft Windows on a virtual machine with VMware technology. The new “plug-and-play” appliance combines software and hardware and is designed to allow employees to begin working together within one hour of initially booting up.
The IBM Lotus Foundations appliance has everything a customer needs to quickly set up a reliable IT infrastructure. The software uses the IBM Lotus Notes/Domino collaboration platform to enable employees to create, share and print Lotus Symphony documents, and work with email and calendar functions. Its automated design — self-configuring, self-healing, and self-managing daily systems operations — eliminates the need for routine maintenance and helps to ensure that critical data is protected through an integrated disk backup technology.
“For the first time, customers and partners have access to an all-in-one appliance where both the hardware and software are sourced by a single vendor,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president, IBM Lotus Software. “One source to deal with makes life a lot easier. The appliance is a complete system, and it’s designed to require zero on-site IT support. All a customer needs to get started is a power outlet and an Internet connection.”
This configuration addresses the headaches that small- and medium-sized businesses have dealt with from traditional IT solutions, such as Microsoft Small Business Server and the subsequent security patches, emergency fixes and operating system upgrades. IBM Lotus Foundations eliminates “patch management” and the lengthy downtime and labor associated with upgrades. When an update is available, the system downloads the latest Linux operating system in a matter of minutes. Even major upgrades require a single click. There is no need for an on-site IT support visit or planning tools. The process is also completely reversible.
” IBM Lotus Foundations is different. We get everything in one package and there’s no maintenance. Our local partner plugged it in, and it just works” said Greg Bruce, chief operating officer of Hester Group.
The Lotus Foundations appliance will be generally available in December.
Posted under Cloud Computing, IT for Growing Businesses, Virtualization Products / Reviews
This post was written by admin on November 12, 2008
