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Welcome to our blog, the WEI Tech Exchange, where our subject matter experts exchange ideas, best practices, and thoughts on the latest data center and enterprise IT technologies and trends.
By Michael Thweatt | May 24, 2018
Mobile applications and devices are seeping into every aspect of our personal and professional lives. To keep up with the changing times and the demands of consumers and employees, it’s important for enterprises to leverage the mobility trend to their advantage.
By David Fafel | May 22, 2018
The ability of an enterprise to keep up with changing technology depends on the skills of its IT employees. The pace of innovation can be overwhelming even for the most experienced professionals, but this isn’t the only challenge organizations face. As companies understand the importance of digital transformation and take it on within their company, the demand for IT professionals with the required skillsets to transform legacy driven data centers into hybrid infrastructures is skyrocketing. As a result of this move towards hybrid IT, the demand is outpacing supply.
By Kerry Cotter | May 17, 2018
We are excited to share the news that Jennifer Burl, WEI’s Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility, was named to CRN’s prestigious 2018 Women of the Channel list. CRN editors select the Women of the Channel honorees based on their professional accomplishments, demonstrated expertise, and ongoing dedication to the IT channel.
By Jay Cardin | May 15, 2018
Think about how much data your company created in 2016. According to IDC, the world collectively created about 16.3 zettabytes (yes, a zettabyte is a billion terabytes). They also predict that the world will create 10x that amount by the year 2025. Approximately 90% of that data will be stored in file and object storage. While consumers have traditionally created the bulk of the data up to now, enterprises will create 60% of the world’s data in 2025. At that time, ten percent of all data will be created by IoT. This brings with it a number of challenges as a result of this exponential growth.
By Greg LaBrie | May 10, 2018
When discussing the ongoing digital transformation that companies are implementing on a global basis, enterprise architects articulate the benefits of hybrid IT and the software defined data center. The process of digitizing business services and delivering them through highly scalable redundant multi-cloud ecospheres is generating agility and flexibility that companies need to compete in a hyperactive competitive global world. However, the necessity to harness new technology is not restricted to enterprise infrastructure only. Just as the makeup of the data center is transforming itself, the nature of work itself is also changing.
By David Fafel | May 08, 2018
Last week we began a discussion on the steps you need to take to prepare your enterprise for containerization; now we continue the conversation with the rest of the actions you need to take before you can deploy a containerized approach.
By Shane Garrett | May 03, 2018
Goldman Sachs describes the Nutanix software-driven enterprise cloud as a “once-in-a-decade infrastructure story.” Goldman Sachs does not toss out lofty acknowledgements like that haphazardly. Their research shows that companies are moving to hyperconverged systems to escape the legacy silo dominated IT infrastructure of yesteryear that is holding them back in a dynamic digital world. They see Nutanix as being a large benefactor of this movement due to its leadership and innovation. Nutanix and its Enterprise Cloud solution are positioned for success. This is further substantiated by Gartner, who recently recognized Nutanix as a leader in its magic quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure.
By David Fafel | May 01, 2018
Have you heard the term “containerization” thrown around a lot recently? It’s a hot topic in the IT world, but what exactly does it mean and how can you prepare your enterprise to take advantage of what it has to offer? Continue reading to learn all about it and the steps your enterprise needs to take to deploy containers in your organization.
By Mark Gabryjelski | Apr 26, 2018
Two months ago, Gartner devoted a Magic Quadrant for the Hyperconverged Infrastructure market and placed Nutanix as the leader in the upper right-hand corner. On top of its recognized leadership status, Nutanix serves as the #1 HCI market share leader. The recognition of the HCI industry is of no surprise as Gartner predicts that 20 percent of business-critical applications currently deployed on three-tier infrastructure will transition to hyperconverged infrastructure by 2020. HCI is a new type of IT framework architecture that combines compute, storage, networking, and software-defined intelligence into a single system that reduces data center complexity while increasing scalability.
By Kerry Cotter | Apr 24, 2018
At WEI, we’re always looking for ways we can step up and can give back to our local communities, from gathering clothes for those in need to volunteering at a soup kitchen. One recent initiative to serve our community has been to host a food drive in partnership with a local non-profit, End 68 Hours of Hunger’s Salem Chapter. Earlier this month we wrapped up our annual drive for them, and the results were astounding—a testament to the generosity of the wonderful group of people working at WEI!
By Jay Cardin | Apr 19, 2018
Data plays a critical role driving decisions today for your company and your competitors. Having the ability to access your data as quickly and efficiently as possible can provide a competitive edge in a crowded and disruptive marketplace. The demand to acquire the data you need, when you need it, is why many companies are turning to all-flash storage systems that are smart, fast and efficient. Your enterprise storage system is about more than just storing your company data. It is about making your data work for your business and the customers it serves.
By Jay Cardin | Apr 17, 2018
A hyperconverged infrastructure provides enterprises with the ability to expand their network into the virtual realm. This setup combines the functionality of traditional hardware into manageable software functions, all of which are controlled through one tool. This ability to use services as a software allows enterprises to respond more quickly to internal and external environmental changes, plus it offers the security, capacity, and customization ability needed to be successful.
By Kerry Cotter | Apr 12, 2018
WEI is thrilled to share the news that we were named the Aruba 2018 East Region Partner of the Year!
By Michael Thweatt | Apr 10, 2018
When discussing hybrid solutions and digital transformation, there is often some confusion between Hybrid IT and Hybrid Cloud. While there are certain striking similarities, it is critical to understand that there are also very important differences between the two and how enterprises use them within their organization.
By Kerry Cotter | Apr 05, 2018
There seems to be a lot of hype these days within the IT industry. IT manufacturers herald “this time it’s different,” with every new generation of products. Each subsequent generation of products boasts the same claims such as lower support and maintenance costs, reduced TCO and greater ROI, and greater agility, flexibility and scalability in deployments and management. Newly introduced generational products in the IT industry often do deliver these promised benefits to some extent. However, the overwhelming amount of industry buzz often times makes it hard to sift through accurate claims concerning enterprise equipment. This is especially true concerning enterprise data storage.
By Greg LaBrie | Apr 03, 2018
The digital landscape is changing at a rapid pace, and with change comes an increase in the need for cybersecurity measures that protect businesses. Although technology is providing exciting opportunities, it also brings with it challenges that enterprises must learn to overcome.
By Jay Cardin | Mar 29, 2018
Those who are pursuing the latest architype known as hybrid IT in order to revolutionize their enterprise and complete the digital transformation of their organizations know the dream. The dream is to free ourselves from the isolated silos of the traditional data center and obtain the flexibility of a free flowing ecosphere in which workloads are matched with the right platform that both optimizes the user experience and maximizes ROI at the same time. Hybrid IT is about obtaining an unparalleled degree of elasticity in order to migrate applications at will amongst hosting structures (cloud and on-premises). This agility not only delivers infrastructure plasticity, but peace of mind as well by delivering on the ability to achieve near absolute levels of business continuity and disaster recovery.
By Greg LaBrie | Mar 27, 2018
What was once a far-fetched dream, the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices, have permeated our lives, personally and professionally. In order to compete, enterprises must acknowledge this shift and implement infrastructure that supports it.
By Jay Cardin | Mar 22, 2018
It is a truly amazing world in which we work today. While the flow of capital is still essential for businesses to grow, materialize, and sustain them, it is ideas today that feed the global economy. Today’s businesses rely on innovators and visionaries. The delivery method for these ideas and revolutionary concepts is IT. IT is a part of nearly every business today because they depend on one or more essential apps to either communicate with their customers or manage their business. Just as the flow of capital is attracted to the most fluid and efficient markets, customers, and business transactions, tech stacks are attracted to those businesses with the most innovative, efficient, and flexible apps and technology. Those that can simplify and streamline the transaction experience will have an advantage over their competitors. In order for your business to make the most of any web related advantage, you need an adaptable ecosphere that is conducive to the constant evolution of those apps through DevOps.
By Kerry Cotter | Mar 20, 2018
At WEI, social responsibility goes hand in hand with traditional measures of corporate success. WEI encourages all employees, no matter their title or position, to spend time volunteering, organizing, and participating in civic programs; we genuinely care and support our diverse, growing community. We firmly believe that when you invest time in the community, you invest in a happier, healthier, brighter future, which is why we created the WEI StepsUP program.
By David Fafel | Mar 15, 2018
Although Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) is not a dominant solution yet, all signs indicate it will be soon. In fact, Gartner predicts that in five years it will be reaching $5 billion in spending. According to Gartner, there are five keys as to why so many organizations and IT leaders are turning to HCI.
By Michael Thweatt | Mar 13, 2018
Digital-ready networks represent the future of enterprise growth and innovation with the use of technologies such as cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, social, and big data and analytics. But there is more to being digital-ready than just using these technologies; it requires your enterprise to view it as an essential business strategy for success.
By Kerry Cotter | Mar 08, 2018
Hybrid IT is many things. It is a new approach to the enterprise that requires new architectures, skills and toolsets. It also brings a whole new verbiage with it. These are terms that your management and staff need to become accustomed to because hybrid IT incorporates a number of new technologies. Many of these concepts are a divergence from the traditional IT structure of which we are all conversant. For those unfamiliar to this new vocabulary, we present to you a glossary of the primary hybrid IT terms/
Featured research: 92% of companies are implementing some form of hybrid IT (Source: IDG Research commissioned by WEI, June 20,2017.)
By Greg LaBrie | Mar 06, 2018
What exactly is digital transformation and how can an enterprise benefit from it? That is a top question among executives, and for good reason. According to a 2017 IDG Role & Influence of the Technology Decision-Maker Study, 72 percent of IT Decision Makers reported their organization is still exploring a digital first approach.
By Jay Cardin | Mar 01, 2018
Imagine for a moment that you are calling technical support for a traditional storage solution. You are first greeted by a customer service representative whose job is to take basic information about your problem at hand and forward it on to the appropriate technical support technician or engineer. The representative will ask for the usual product ID numbers, your name, contact information, and remind you of the expiration date of your current service contract. Once your customer profile is established, the barrage of questions begins:
By Greg LaBrie | Feb 27, 2018
Mobile devices, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are changing the way industries, including higher education, conduct business. Two major benefits to mobile-first technology strategy include the ability to provide more flexibility and promote collaboration between individuals – two main points of interest for the millennial generation entering the workforce.
By Jay Cardin | Feb 22, 2018
For automobile owners, nothing probably generates as much uncertainty as the “Check Engine” light on the dashboard. A stream of questions commences through your mind once that ominous amber light announces its presence.
By Kerry Cotter | Feb 20, 2018
Are you considering switching your enterprise from a legacy hardware infrastructure to a more streamlined system? Are you afraid of the enterprise security risks that come with using a cloud-based technology? While the anxiety is understandable, there are proactive measures you can take to ensure the security of your data. Keep reading to discover the pros and cons of each deployment option as well as our cloud security recommendations to protect your information.
By Greg LaBrie | Feb 15, 2018
gnIn Part 1 of this blog series, we discussed the unprecedented amount of money being allocated to cybersecurity in the coming year and beyond, as well as how money, without a core foundational strategy, could be simply money that is tossed to the wind. In Part 2, we will look at the remaining three of the five core principles that can make a meaningful difference concerning the your enterprise cybersecurity and users.
By Greg LaBrie | Feb 13, 2018
It is the start of a new year - that time in which we break down the complexities of life into more manageable elements in order to strategize for the year ahead and attempt to improve upon our efforts of the year prior. This also applies to your company’s enterprise cybersecurity strategy. According to Gartner, worldwide cybersecurity spending reached $90 billion in 2017.
By Joshua Satrape | Feb 08, 2018
When we talk about cloud computing we are usually referring to the public cloud. The concept of the public cloud is revolutionary. The idea of ridding ourselves of our hardware centric data centers to a more flexible, scalable, and resilient world of the cloud is indeed liberating. Internal IT can spend their time matching business needs with solutions rather than allocating their time to maintaining hardware that will only have to be replaced one day. It is wonderful to contemplate and visualize all the ways the cloud can make your job as an IT manager so much easier.
By Jay Cardin | Feb 07, 2018
If your data center is on an evolutionary track from siloed and hardware-centric to agile and software-defined, you’re aware of converged and hyperconverged infrastructures. If you haven’t yet been introduced to composable infrastructure, welcome to the next gen step in your data center modernization journey.
By Greg LaBrie | Feb 06, 2018
With the advancement in technology, employees are no longer stuck working at their desk in order to access the information they need to do their jobs. This freedom allows greater flexibility and productivity, but it also opens the door for enterprise cybersecurity threats and the potential for unauthorized access to proprietary information.
By Joshua Satrape | Feb 01, 2018
There are a number of compelling reasons to migrate your services and resources to the cloud such as cost savings, agility, scalability, and redundancy. Another reason is to escape the entrapment of vendor lock in. Ironically however, some enterprises find themselves moving to the cloud, only to constrain themselves with the same restrictions that plagued them in the traditional datacenter. Others are finding themselves in a problematical situation of competing organizations that muddle the cloud landscape.
By Michael Thweatt | Jan 30, 2018
Ransomware was a top concern for enterprises around the world in 2017 and continues to be one moving forward. Organizations around the globe are increasingly dependent on technology to help reach business goals, but it comes with risk. Cybercriminals are masters at exploiting technological weak spots to hit companies where it hurts the most.
By Joshua Satrape | Jan 25, 2018
As a society, we love to put entities head-to-head against one another. Automotive enthusiasts have debated Ford vs. Chevy for decades. Every year college football fans debate which conference is stronger: Big Ten or SEC. When it comes to IaaS cloud computing, the inevitable debate between Azure and AWS separates the room between enthusiasts of each provider as well. Unfortunately, deliberating between the two in hopes of distinguishing a clear winner is kind of like debating who the greater basketball player is between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. It kind of all depends on your point of view and what you value.
By Michael Thweatt | Jan 23, 2018
It feels like every time we turn around there is a new cybersecurity threat to report that organizations need to protect themselves from. Malware is an unfortunate reality of living in a digital world, but there are many lessons we can learn from these attacks to safeguard sensitive material.
By David Fafel | Jan 18, 2018
It’s been two weeks since the IT world was rocked by the news of the CPU vulnerabilities known as Meltdown and Spectre. It’s making headline news due to how far the vulnerabilities extend—to nearly every processor manufactured over the past 20 years—as well as the potential impacts in mitigating these vulnerabilities. Every server, computer, tablet, phone or any other computing device with a modern CPU is potentially affected. (See WEI’s Customer Advisory about Meltdown and Spectre in this blog post.)
By Greg LaBrie | Jan 16, 2018
Happy New Year! As we say hello to 2018, we can reflect on the massive progress technology made throughout 2017. The cloud came to a new level of maturity, cybersecurity incidents rocked the world and organizations embraced hyperconverged infrastructure as the future of data center modernization. But what lies ahead? Read on for a look at cybersecurity predictions for the coming year.
By Greg LaBrie | Jan 11, 2018
Have you ever looked at your dog or cat staring out the window of your house towards the horizon? Ever wonder if they contemplate what may be beyond their visible perimeter? It used to be that internal IT did not have to contemplate what lay beyond the perimeter. Network security was fairly simple – create a wall of security around the data center and its resources, along with the users and their desktops scattered throughout the building. Traffic passed through the perimeter firewall while users passed through the front building entrance to access the network. It was a page out of the medieval castle defense playbook in that unauthorized users, unknown devices and external threats were kept at bay outside of the walled perimeter.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 09, 2018
WEI recognizes that a successful business has a significant role in the community and WEI shows this with its WEI StepsUp corporate responsibility initiative. This past holiday season WEI carried out its Random Acts of Kindness initiative. This initiative was started by WEI’s founders, Belisario and Leslie Rosas. Every holiday season, each employee is provided fifty dollars to be used to carry out a “random act of kindness.” Random acts of kindness can be grand or small gestures, such as lending a helping hand to someone in need. There are two guidelines:
By David Fafel | Jan 05, 2018
WEI is aware of the new vulnerabilities related to Intel and other CPUs which could potentially allow an attacker to gather privileged information from CPU cache and system memory, putting enterprise security at risk. The vulnerabilities are code named “Meltdown” and “Spectre." The “Meltdown” issue is reported to only affect Intel CPUs while “Spectre” is reported to affect Intel, AMD, and ARM. The impact of these vulnerabilities could extend back to CPUs from as early as 1995 (in the case of Intel).
By Greg LaBrie | Jan 04, 2018
This holiday season, the frenzy is not about the “must have” toy, it is the must have investment – Bitcoin. The TV networks cannot stop talking about the dramatic rise in its value that seems to occur on a daily basis, if not hourly. The cable business news shows shuffle in cryptocurrency and financial industry pundits to discuss the significance the new digital gold and the cryptocurrency market at large. They debate each other whether bitcoin is a sure deal that will continue returning positive dividends, or a bubble that is about to burst. Both sides of the argument have their “experts” as to why you should or should not get involved bitcoin mania. CNBC reports that people are maxing out their credit cards to buy, buy, and buy. Some people are even taking home equity loans on their house to maximize the number of coins they can afford.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 02, 2018
This year has seen monumental growth in cloud computing and companies are embracing a cloud-first attitude more than ever before. The hybrid cloud computing model allows organizations to leverage the strengths of their current on premise network and augment them with the elasticity and innovations of the cloud. It offers organizations great opportunities, not through new technology exactly, but by a new fresh approach to technology that is continuing to evolve and mature in real time.
By Greg LaBrie | Dec 26, 2017
Is your organization’s wireless networking in need of some modernization? Digital transformation has the power to boost your company’s productivity, bottom line, and even employee retention. While the concept may seem complicated, working with a trusted technology partner helps to simplify these concepts.
By Kerry Cotter | Dec 19, 2017
The digital transformation we are witnessing today has catapulted IT to a role of prominence, innovation, and leadership. IT must now understand more than just technology architectures, it must understand the business drivers and goals of the company that it serves. Innovation and new ideas are the building blocks of business today and it is the job of IT to provide the technology to help make those ideas come to fruition. This is one of the factors leading companies to adopt a Hybrid IT model. But this shift has less to do with technology and more to do with operations management, policies and procedures and the delivery of IT services. A good exercise for developing a hybrid IT strategy begins with asking leadership to re-examine the role that the IT department holds within the organization, with questions such as:
By Greg LaBrie | Dec 14, 2017
Mark Twain popularized the phrase, “There’s gold in them thar hills,” when he wrote about the gold rush of 1849. Today, the gold lies not in the hills of California, but within crypto mining servers dispersed across the Internet. This new gold is not mined by the power of the pick and shovel, or even dynamite. Instead, computer processors power the mining operations that create this digital gold. Welcome to the modern day gold rush of today’s digital age.
By David Fafel | Dec 12, 2017
Has your organization clearly defined your hybrid IT strategy? According to Gartner’s Managing Vice President, Chris Howard, "Many organizations have now passed the definitional stage of cloud computing and are testing cloud architectures inside and outside the enterprise, and over time, the cloud will simply become one of the ways that we 'do' computing, and workloads will move around in hybrid internal/external IT environments. As a result, the traditional role of the enterprise IT professional is changing and becoming multifaceted. A hybrid IT model requires internal and external IT professionals to support the business capabilities of the enterprise."
By David Fafel | Dec 05, 2017
According to the findings of a recent study, it is estimated that 90 percent of companies will eventually move to a Hybrid IT model. This is no surprise considering the many advantages such as agility, scalability, resiliency, automation, simplicity, and reduced costs that only hybrid IT can offer. The quickening migration to hybrid IT is evident in an IDG study published in Forbes, which estimates that a typical IT department has only 40% of its apps and platforms residing in on premise solutions. How exactly does hybrid IT transform the role of the traditional IT team? Read on to find out.
By David Fafel | Nov 28, 2017
Hybrid IT is a new paradigm that is redefining the function of IT within an organization. However, the implementation of new archetypes always comes with challenges along the way. Change is never easy, but often worth it. The traditional on premise enterprise took a long time to build, so naturally, rebuilding and modernizing it will not happen overnight.
By Greg LaBrie | Nov 21, 2017
Is your organization ready to make the switch from legacy to wireless networking? Transforming your business to be digitally ready is a big step, so it’s important to work with an IT solutions provider to map out all the available solutions before taking the leap. Read on to learn about the benefits of wireless networking and an overview of available solutions from Aruba.
By Greg LaBrie | Nov 14, 2017
Are you familiar with wireless networking? This IT strategy has exploded in popularity over the past few years, almost to the point of being able to replace the traditional plug in networks. Whether you’re interested in pursuing the concept for the first time with an IT consulting company or are well-versed in traditional networking, there are many benefits of this approach to network design and management.
By Joshua Satrape | Nov 07, 2017
Where is your company in deploying a cloud model? Are you utilizing public cloud, or is your cloud strategy a little more advanced that leverages a hybrid cloud model? Don’t let the name trip you up; the term “cloud” is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. The generally accepted definition of cloud computing comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “Cloud Computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”
By David Fafel | Oct 31, 2017
There is a great deal of conversation and interest about hybrid cloud and hybrid IT in the IT community today. While these two buzzwords do share some distinct similarities, they are also very different business IT solutions. Here’s where they find common ground:
By David Fafel | Oct 24, 2017
If you could start your company’s IT strategy from scratch, is there anything you would do differently? We’d bet that if most organizations asked themselves this question, hybrid IT would be part of the ideal setup. Here are some of the ways your existing IT would benefit from an overhaul, if given the opportunity:
By Greg LaBrie | Oct 17, 2017
Is your organization’s network fully optimized to operate in today’s digital world? Even today’s most technologically-forward companies may still have some legacy hardware that is holding them back from taking full advantage of the benefits that cloud computing offers. If you’re using digital networking as a product and service delivery method, you may be missing out on an opportunity to truly turn digital transformation into a long term business development strategy.
By Shane Garrett | Oct 10, 2017
There’s a sea of change afoot in enterprise data centers, focused on identifying the best storage media for the mountain of application data. As opposed to the loyal, hard disk drive (HDD), enterprise storage is being transformed by the use of persistent flash memory for primary workloads. Yet, with all the good flash storage can do, there are a few misconceptions that can derail an otherwise solid flash storage investment. If you plan to deploy flash storage, read on for three cautions and considerations from a technology partner.
By Joshua Satrape | Oct 03, 2017
Has your organization paved the way for a hybrid cloud deployment? If not, we believe that the hybrid model deserves a closer look; Gartner estimates nearly half of all large enterprises will have hybrid cloud deployments by the end of this year, due to the added flexibility and elasticity it provides organizations with existing on premise infrastructures.
By David Fafel | Sep 26, 2017
Today, the wide variety of available technology solutions opens the possibilities for organizations seeking the right combination of strategies to meet their diverse, unique needs. Luckily, companies who want to leverage the benefits of cloud computing don’t have to go “all-in” immediately; they are able to mix their traditional IT approaches with cloud-based solutions: this is described as hybrid IT. Why is traditional IT limiting? Read on for a look at hybrid IT’s importance.
By Greg LaBrie | Sep 19, 2017
Many technology solutions pride themselves on reducing an organization’s instances of unplanned downtime, since this can be a big drain on company resources and productivity. That’s why IT managers may be surprised to learn there is a happy medium somewhere between unacceptable downtime and zero downtime.
By David Fafel | Sep 12, 2017
Have you heard about the benefits of hybrid IT? In the world of technology, there was a time in which IT drove business needs and the organization was pressured to keep up with its speed. An obvious example was the proliferation of the internet in the 90’s and the integration of shared resources through Ethernet. These technologies launched new paradigms in the same way that the cloud and the progression of software defining the data center are doing so today.
By Kerry Cotter | Sep 05, 2017
Did you know WEI is a great company to work for? In addition to providing standout technology solutions to our clients and partners, we also go above and beyond when taking care of our team members! We’re proud to share that WEI came in an impressive second place out of hundreds of entrants in our inaugural entry in Business NH Magazine’s prestigious 2017 Best Companies to Work For in NH list. The award honors our commitment to a great company culture that showcases respect, diversity, volunteerism, charity and community involvement. Read on to learn more!
By Greg LaBrie | Aug 29, 2017
Have you heard about Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)? It’s a hot new buzzword, but is simpler than it sounds. If you want to keep your organization’s data safe from threats, both criminally perpetuated and natural, read on to find out why you should invest in DRaaS today.
By Greg LaBrie | Aug 22, 2017
Did you catch our previous advice for avoiding and containing ransomware? Today’s digital businesses are facing this pervasive threat like never before, and there are a wide variety of security tactics that can improve your security strategy. Keep reading for five more tips that will help you avoid a destructive ransomware attack.
By Greg LaBrie | Aug 15, 2017
If organizations weren’t serious about tightening their cybersecurity strategy to combat ransomware within the past sixteen months, the mammoth WannaCry attack launched against the world on Friday, May 12, 2017 has certainly induced them to do so. Like most enterprise security threats, there are multiple ways to combat ransomware. Some methods are more intrusive than others though.
By David Fafel | Aug 08, 2017
The world is indeed going digital, and not just because technology is dictating it. This massive upheaval is the result of change agents such as the cloud, mobile computing, social media, big data analytics, and the consumerization of IT; all of these have transformed how the world does business today. Is your organization keeping up with the times? Read on to brush up on the topic of hybrid IT, and find out why 63 percent of organizations are now pursuing a hybrid IT approach, according to a Harvard Business Review survey.
By David Fafel | Aug 01, 2017
Today's business environment is fast paced and highly innovative, thanks to technology organizations that are advancing from zero to market leaders before their competitors even see them coming. While this frees companies up to manage their IT in a new way, it also creates an issue: last-generation infrastructures aren't built with speed or elasticity in mind.
By Greg LaBrie | Jul 25, 2017
There’s a lot to learn every day in the world of technology, especially with the ever-increasing amount of high-profile cyber breaches and criminal hacks. It seems every news article brings a new security scare, and businesses should be more alert than ever before. Want to know what threats are out there? Read on for an overview of recent security breaches, and find out what your organization can learn from them.
By Joshua Satrape | Jul 18, 2017
Is your organization among the 70 percent that have had to change their network infrastructure to support hybrid cloud? According to this statistic, you are far from alone. We recently shared three considerations that CIOs must pay attention to when deploying a hybrid cloud transition strategy. Here are five more items to focus on to make the most of your technology approach.
By Kerry Cotter | Jul 11, 2017
At WEI, we’re not just an award-winning technology services provider focusing on helping our customers drive business value; we’re also a company that cares for the health, happiness, and wellbeing of our employees, our environment, and the community around us. We do this through our community outreach and corporate responsibility initiative: WEI Steps UP. Earlier this year we worked with Habitat for Humanity and we are excited to announce that this past June 15th we held our second annual Care Pack Family BBQ, which aimed to benefit our military men and women serving overseas with the help of the Pease Greeters organization.
By Joshua Satrape | Jul 04, 2017
Are you moving to the hybrid cloud? Anyone who has managed the transition of relocating a data center knows firsthand the planning and organization that is required for such an enormous endeavor. The conversionary process from an on premise environment to a hybrid model demands the same level of preparation to ensure a successful implementation. The location of your company’s resources is irrelevant to your users, so if resources aren’t available for your end users, then it is your local network that will be blamed.
By Michael Thweatt | Jun 29, 2017
Remember the destruction WannaCry caused? The casualties included up to 300,000 encrypted computers in over 150 countries, not to mention the damage or loss of data entirely. The newest ransomware cyber-attack threat is far worse than WannaCry, and it's going by the name “Petya.”
By Greg LaBrie | Jun 27, 2017
We recently went over some common high availability (HA) architectures and solutions that can transform your organization’s technology approach. While high availability can provide the flexibility and reliability that you’re seeking for backup and recovery solutions, it can only do so when implemented properly. Below are some ways to avoid three common missteps.
By Joshua Satrape | Jun 22, 2017
Greater levels of redundancy, scalability, and elasticity are a few of the many reasons why adopting a hybrid cloud solution can be advantageous for your company. We’ve recognized that many hybrid cloud benefits tend to align with an enterprise’s digital transformation business objectives. With that being said, getting the most value out of this deployment is essential, which is why it is important to do plenty of research to avoid running into unexpected problems down the road. Three significant pitfalls that will be covered throughout this post that may arise throughout your deployment are:
By Jay Cardin | Jun 20, 2017
You’ve probably heard talk about virtualized desktop infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS), but do you know what benefits it can offer your organization? While desktop virtualization isn’t a new concept, amazingly, these technologies have the power to improve user productivity and allow your team members to accomplish more at your enterprise. Read on for a look at VDI and DaaS, as well as ways you can put it to use at your company.
By Jay Cardin | Jun 15, 2017
If your data center is on an evolutionary track from siloed and hardware-centric to agile and software-defined, you’re aware of converged and hyperconverged infrastructures. If you haven’t yet been introduced to composable, welcome to the next gen step in your data center modernization journey.
By Joshua Satrape | Jun 13, 2017
Are you ready to take advantage of hybrid cloud benefits? As we’ve mentioned before, this unique architecture can provide these four benefits of hybrid cloud for your organization:
By David Fafel | Jun 08, 2017
The need to scale infrastructure while reducing capital expenditures is a driving force in the shift from data center sprawl tied to hardware-focused architectures, toward an agile software-defined model. However, remaining competitive, customer-focused, and streamlined within a quickly evolving data center modernization landscape can be tricky.
By Michael Thweatt | Jun 06, 2017
Want to improve your cloud operations and take advantage of robust new technology options? Now you can, as you may have heard the news recently about the new partnership between VMware and Amazon Web Services (AWS), called VMware Cloud on AWS. Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), an IT analysis, research, validation, and strategy firm that provides market intelligence and actionable insight to the global IT community, recently published a technology brief announcing the new joint offering; read on for an overview of its structure and benefits.
By Michael Thweatt | Jun 01, 2017
The news is buzzing with instances of companies being taken for a ride by cyber thieves. Their new tactic? Injecting dangerous software into the organization and locking their data up until a ransom is paid. While the FBI still recommends not paying the ransom, enterprises are taking varying approaches to combatting ransomware. In this post we dive into some recent ransomware attacks and takeaways your organization can learn from them.
By Greg LaBrie | May 30, 2017
Every data center, application environment, enterprise organization, and cloud provider would probably like nothing better than to achieve “zero downtime” for all of their operations. High availability (HA) architecture can provide the flexibility and reliability that you’re seeking for backup and recovery solutions.
By Kerry Cotter | May 25, 2017
We are proud to share that on Thursday, May 11, the WEI team spent the day in Lawrence, MA, volunteering our time, strength and grit with the Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity organization. This is the second year that WEI has worked together with Habitat for Humanity through WEI’s corporate responsibility and sustainability program, WEI StepsUp. The program gives all WEI employees four paid hours each month to volunteer with organizations that support the surrounding community. Each employee is offered the chance to donate up to 48 hours per year doing charity work and approximately 30 WEI employees were on site for the day, including WEI’s co-founder and VP, Leslie Rosas.
By David Fafel | May 23, 2017
IT leaders are investing more time and research into understanding which hyperconverged solution is right for their businesses. We can certainly understand why hyperconvergence is getting the spotlight. The promise of tightly integrated data center components that simplify day-to-day operations, improve IT agility, and speed up infrastructure deployments sounds like the right solution for this time in the IT world.
By Greg LaBrie | May 18, 2017
Last year, ransomware became a $1 billion dollar industry. If ransomware were a traditional legitimate industry it would be the focus of case studies for business schools at colleges and universities across the world. Its exponential growth has been unprecedented and its nefarious means of encrypting one’s data files to garner ransom has captured the headlines of newspapers, journals, blog sites, and news channels. One billion dollars brings a lot of attention and spotlight to something.
By Michael Thweatt | May 16, 2017
Nearly every day, there is a new cybersecurity breach to announce; businesses should be more alert than ever before. In 2015, the Ponemon Institute and Symantec discovered that a whopping 47 percent of U.S. data breaches were the result of a malicious insider or criminal cyberattack. Read on for an illuminating look into recent high-profile cases, and what you can learn from them.
By Michael Thweatt | May 09, 2017
With the wide range of reported cybersecurity incidents and hackers getting more creative than ever before, there is no shortage of threats to the modern enterprise. IT managers must not only secure current data and systems, but preemptively protect against ongoing future threats, which are constantly evolving. While there are well-known versions of malware, “Tellingly, WatchGuard’s inaugural Internet Security Report found that some 30 percent of malware in Q4 was new, or ‘zero day.’ (Not to be confused with zero-day exploits.) In other words, one-third of malware identified wouldn’t be caught by legacy antivirus solutions,” according to PYMNTS.
By Greg LaBrie | May 02, 2017
Today’s enterprise is mobile, flexible and elastic. Many organizations utilize mobile apps for business applications, hire remote employees, use smartphones or tablets, store information in the cloud, communicate their data with multiple offices and employ contractors. All of these cases rely on access to data from any location. With all of these endpoints to cover, how can you best protect your assets?
By Michael Thweatt | Apr 27, 2017
Unsecured printing and imaging leads to security breaches, putting organizations at risk of costly lawsuits and public relations nightmares.
Today’s printers can connect to wireless networks, scan and send documents, store data on hard drives, and even produce 3D materials. They have many of the same capabilities—and the same vulnerabilities—as computers. As their features increase, so do the opportunities for security breaches in the printing process.
By Greg LaBrie | Apr 25, 2017
We recently shared five smart moves for IT leaders to focus on when creating an effective cybersecurity strategy. They included basic care like updating an employee security policy and avoiding physical theft, but they also covered monitoring digital footprints in order to thwart malicious insider threats. In this blog post we dive into some additional risks your organization may be facing, and what you can do to stop them.
By Greg LaBrie | Apr 18, 2017
In a complex technological world that faces an ever changing threat landscape, the team in charge of managing cybersecurity may find it difficult to know where to focus their often limited resources. Some areas, such as firewalls and operating system updates, are obvious priorities. But what else deserves your attention?
By Michael Thweatt | Apr 13, 2017
How good are your enterprise’s security defenses? Today’s hackers have access to an arsenal of tools for carrying out targeted attacks, thanks in part to an anonymous and hidden area of the internet called the Dark Web (also called Deep Web or Darknet). Payment for purchases made there is typically in the international digital currency Bitcoin, which offers a fairly high level of privacy.
By Jay Cardin | Apr 11, 2017
For IT managers of today, the technology world is a constantly changing place, with many new changes popping up on an almost daily basis. Some of these disruptive new technologies include the expansion of advanced virtualization, new cybersecurity monitoring tools and the emergence of new cloud service delivery models, from a wide range of providers. Because of these disruptions in the IT world, the need for a robust backup and recovery strategy is greater than ever before.
By David Fafel | Apr 06, 2017
Business can no longer afford for IT to be a cost center. In the ever-transforming economy of today, ideas are the new currency of business and IT is the ATM that will deliver them. It is not just about ideas though, it is about how fast you can bring those ideas into the market where they can bring value to customers and profits to business. Resources and customers gravitate to new ideas that bring value. In order for IT to take the lead in this new world, it must become faster and more agile. In order to do this, it must break the chains of the traditional data center that weighs it down and instead implement a new means of delivering and managing technology. That new system is Composable Infrastructure. It will allow IT to break free from the ordinary and accelerate the extraordinary, ensuring its new role as a value creation partner for the enterprise.
By David Fafel | Apr 04, 2017
In today’s hyper competitive global economy, companies are constantly racing to convert ideas into value faster than their competition. As a result, IT is being asked to transform the data center infrastructure into a more fluid, flexible fabric that can perpetually evolve and adapt to new demands and opportunities. IT is expected to create and deliver new applications and services for mobile, social, and cloud technologies—and do so with shorter development cycles. On top of that, IT must still manage the traditional applications, data silos, and hardware while lowering the costs to do so. To say that today’s IT department has a full plate of responsibility is an understatement. The bar has indeed been set high today.
By Kerry Cotter | Mar 30, 2017
We’re proud to announce that our February clothing drive was a huge success! The WEI team collected 40 total boxes of new and gently used clothing items benefitting local organizations such as Lazarus House Ministries, Inc. and Progress Clothing, both based in Lawrence, MA. The clothing drive was part of WEI’s robust community outreach program and sustainability initiative, WEI StepsUP. Through WEI StepsUP, all WEI employees are able to donate 4 hours each month to volunteer at local non-profit organizations—all of which support the health and growth of our community. Each employee is offered the chance to donate up to 48 hours per year doing charity work.
By Jay Cardin | Mar 28, 2017
For IT managers, the days of “just” keeping the data center up and running are about over. In IT today, it’s no longer just about managing and maintaining assets, and providing support for the back office. In this blazing-fast digital age where collaboration is king, IT is in a better position now more than ever to help drive key business initiatives and help businesses meet strategic goals.
By David Fafel | Mar 24, 2017
Automation is a hot topic today. We read about autonomous cars and trucks that drive themselves over long distances, eliminating the consequences of human error and maximizing productivity as drivers can now focus on tasks that add far more value to their lives. We read about automated cooking robots that prepare the perfect burger or cappuccino every time for a steady stream of customers. Many of today’s network managers would appreciate more automation when it comes to managing their network. In fact:
By Joshua Satrape | Mar 21, 2017
Recently, we shared four items to consider when preparing your data center to move to the hybrid cloud. Read on to learn about additional tips for a hybrid cloud deployment.
By Jay Cardin | Mar 16, 2017
Today’s IT Manager has to walk a tightrope. Management is saddled with the inherited role of supporting the traditional data center that remains built around an inflexible hardware-based infrastructure. At the same time, management and market pressures are compelling them to try to and transform this rigid environment into a modern data center—designed around flexibility, operational velocity and borderless adaptation. It is a quandary of duality that IT teams frustratingly have to deal with.
By David Fafel | Mar 14, 2017
Douglas McArthur once said, “There is no security in this world, only opportunity.” That statement is more profound for the business climate of today than perhaps any time in history. There is no longer any security for a company regardless of its size, history or market share. There is also limitless opportunity for new ideas and innovation that can bring recognized value to customers. Ideas are the new substantive matter that has the potential to create or destroy entire industries. A new idea can yield unbridled success to its originator, and irrelevancy to its competitors. Welcome to the Idea Economy, a new age that Meg Whitman, CEO of HPE, says is defined by the ability to turn ideas into value faster than the competition.
By Michael Thweatt | Mar 07, 2017
The job of an IT professional is challenging, especially since strengthening cybersecurity is constantly a moving target. With attackers trying new approaches and getting stronger with their tactics every day, protecting an enterprise’s data and information is more crucial than ever before. How can you ensure you’re covering all of your security bases? Start with managing the most common security risks, which are described in this article.
By Joshua Satrape | Feb 28, 2017
The growth rate of the hybrid cloud seems to be living up to its hype. In fact, Forrester Research recently updated their growth prediction of the cloud market by 20 percent above their initial forecast three years ago. Their current estimate is an investment of $191 billion by 2020. As another example of this growth, as of January 2015, Microsoft Azure was storing more than 10 trillion objects, an increase of 6 trillion objects since July 2012.
By Joshua Satrape | Feb 21, 2017
The hybrid cloud is an excellent tool for enterprise, but like any new technology, there are some definite challenges when navigating unfamiliar waters as well as a few potential snags in the road that can delay, hinder or even potentially terminate your hybrid cloud implementation. Below are some of the potential missteps that you can avoid if you properly plot your transition in advance.
By Joshua Satrape | Feb 14, 2017
Has your organization identified an initiative to move to the hybrid cloud? Your data center likely isn’t ready to just be picked up and relocated; you’ll need to complete specific preparations before making the switch. Here are several items to check off your list before fully integrating hybrid cloud.
By Greg LaBrie | Feb 07, 2017
The pace of technological change and innovation continues to accelerate in today’s IT organizations. This includes the expansion of advanced virtualization and the emergence of new cloud service delivery models. Yet, despite such progress, the areas of backup and recovery remain underdeveloped at many organizations. Many business leaders struggle to contain rising backup costs, and have little faith in their current procedures’ ability to restore key systems and crucial data, especially in the wake of a real-time crisis or service disruption.
By Jay Cardin | Jan 31, 2017
Many organizations are investigating a “Cloud First” approach with their applications; to save on costs of keeping physical hardware, they want to offload the majority of their IT infrastructures to one or more external providers. While that prospect may fully come to fruition at some time in the future, applications and cloud technologies still have much to develop and change before most organizations will be ready for such a wholesale move.
By Mark Gabryjelski | Jan 26, 2017
If you’re serious about making a successful move to hybrid cloud, now’s the time to make progress in each of these five areas.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 24, 2017
We are always happy to share about our wins with our clients, customers and partners, especially since we could not achieve these recognitions without their support and valued business. Read on for a look at what the WEI team has accomplished in 2016.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 19, 2017
Regardless of organizational size or industry, every company faces significant data and network security concerns today. Those concerns increase substantially for organizations that deal with protected or sensitive information in any way, including health, financial, or even basic customer data. The past decade has seen a growing number of both internal and external data security breaches in industries as diverse as healthcare, retail, entertainment, banking, and military contracting, and threats are unlikely to subside anytime soon. Organizations who act now to counter the threats of the future are the ones who have the best chance at protecting customers, employees, and brand reputations.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 17, 2017
If you have had the chance to read any of the latest analyst predictions for 2017, then you will have noticed that security remains at the top of the list. So what will you do differently this year than in year's past? As you review your security strategies and revisit best practices this New Year, it’s important to reflect upon the past. We examined the top security threats last year in our white paper, Effectively Managing Cyber Security: Top 5 Enterprise Threats. Now read on to learn about the top five enterprise security threats to the confidential and proprietary information on your network -- that you must consider for this year.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 12, 2017
How are your security protocols working? While most businesses are focusing on the type of software being used to keep cybercriminals out of the servers, Intel and its partners are working to change the face of security and working together to achieve better results.
By Kerry Cotter | Jan 10, 2017
There’s a new technology threat your organization should be cautious of in 2017 – it’s called whaling. Just like the practice of hunting a whale, cyber criminals use this technique to reel in a big catch by targeting top decision-making executives at enterprise organizations—and it works. If that doesn’t sound scary enough, many companies have experienced this threat in a very real way. Read on for a look into some high-profile, real-life whaling cases and their consequences.
By Joshua Satrape | Jan 05, 2017
Software defined storage (SDS) has the potential to revolutionize your business processes and drive extraordinary value. However, storage isn’t just measured by capacity. In our previous blog post, we laid out the example of thinking of your organization’s storage infrastructure like a virtual city: there are specific places designated for each type of data, from highly-utilized information to archives. Because of this, there is a true need for segmenting your resources; today, SDS is finally allocating true Automated Storage Tiering (AST) for enterprises. AST has created a natural and timely partnership with flash storage to offer the speed and performance that personal computing devices have enjoyed for years and many organizations are now considering all-flash based arrays to meet the demands of server virtualization.
By Joshua Satrape | Jan 03, 2017
There are a couple of reasons why organizations are slow to adopt software defined storage (SDS) when compared to its cousin, software defined networking (SDN). This is likely due to the concept of utilizing commoditized hardware. After all, if a switch goes down, it’s just a switch. If a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) goes beyond the point of degradation, it’s your own valuable data, which is why enterprises have been willing to pay such absorbent costs on proprietary disk array devices that boast enormous levels of redundancy. In addition, some of the terminology frequently used to describe various aspects of SDS can be confusing.
By Mark Gabryjelski | Dec 29, 2016
Virtualization is the foundation for all Cloud based services, offerings, and changes to business operations and procedures. There are three (3) major areas in the data center where Virtualization exists to enable automation, auditing, and Cloud services. Let’s get started!
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