Celebrating our 20-Year Partnership with Hewlett Packard!

Celebrating our 20-Year Partnership with Hewlett Packard!

1999:  CT Link Systems, Inc. officially signed up as an Authorized Corporate Reseller with then Hewlett Packard (HP) Corporation, a Dow Jones Top 30 company with US$ 42Billion revenue and employing 84,400 employees. The HP partnership established CT Link’s credibility as an IT-solutions company that enhanced its customer’s business processes.

In October 2014, Hewlett Packard split into two companies – Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and HP Inc.

HPE focused on enterprise products and the services business segment. Its flagship solution, the Hybrid IT, consists of both cloud and on-premise data center infrastructure and helps organizations transform their IT operations, security, economics and operations to support business workloads.

In 2015,  HPE bolstered its technology portfolio through a series of noteworthy acquisitions including Hyperconvergence pioneer SimpliVity and Nimble Storage for the All Flash Storage solution leveraging on InfoSight. They also bought the networking company such as Aruba Networks and other security and cloud-focused products to complement their IT transformation offering.

Meanwhile, HP Inc. transformed from a hardware-centric model towards seeing hardware as a foundation for services and solution offerings. It spearheaded quality improvement of HP Personal Systems through innovations such as Designing for the Modern Workforce, Security for the Modern Workplace, and Collaboration for the Modern Work Styles. It also provided new offering such as Device as a Service (DaaS), Office Printing and Cloud ready and optimize hardware.

Alongside these developments, CT Link has continued its partnership with both companies and has become part of the transformation from the hardware-centric company it was in 1998 to a company that provides solutions, services and cloud technology linkages for its customers.

Pure Storage: Why All-Flash storage is the next Critical Step for PACS and VNA Solutions

Pure Storage: Why All-Flash storage is the next Critical Step for PACS and VNA Solutions

Presently, Healthcare organizations are becoming more reliant on their enterprise imaging systems to improve their overall quality of service they provide to their clients.  However, as growth in size and scope continues for imaging, those responsible for constructing and managing the Picture Archiving Communication Systems (PACS) and Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) solutions will have to handle various new and potentially difficult challenges.  However, within these challenges lies opportunities to improve patient care with storage upgrades to support the PACS and VNA solutions.

Challenges

With major advances in both imaging technology and information technology, clinicians now have the means to use a broader range of images from across the entire health system to make better and informed decisions when it comes to their clients care.  Also, as the system continues to expand in size and scope, more advanced analytics will be available to improve the progress of treating patients.

This means administrators of PACS and VNA play a bigger role, making sure delivery of performance to the point of care and meeting more stringent requirements for images, including availability, business continuity and compliance.  This means dealing with capacity growth while making sure that images are readily available and not stored in an archive that is inaccessible or unable to meet the performance requirements of the image and viewer.  They must also align their systems to their customer needs, be it current or future customers.

How all-flash storage can help

Legacy spinning disk arrays do not have the performance level to meet the demands of today’s enterprise imaging solutions unless they are replaced or upgraded.  Hybrid systems have been tried by some organizations using flash as cache or as one of several storage tiers.  However these solutions failed to deliver consistent performance needed for the PACS and VNA systems making it very difficult on the part of the administrators during its operations.  This makes it clear that to optimally run these systems, single-tiered all-flash storage solutions is the only viable option.  Below are some of the key benefits in using an all flash array

Simplified manageability

An all-flash array will typically mean faster deployments, simpler scaling and less complex ongoing management and maintenance. With the right all-flash platform, administrators can use automation to eliminate a wide range of manual tasks— with no need to ever undertake an expensive and risky forklift upgrade.

A single storage tier

This is valuable from a number of perspectives. In terms of performance, using a single tier of high-performance storage means that images are always available and on storage that can ensure quick and easy access. In terms of manageability, a single tier eliminates manual processes and the myriad tasks involved in managing the cache. In terms of cost effectiveness, a single storage tier means no need to manage archives and older storage platforms that are becoming obsolete.

A future-proof infrastructure

All-flash storage is clearly the future for PACS and VNA systems, so there is really no point in waiting. With all-flash storage, PACS and VNA systems can deliver major improvements in performance, agility, availability and manageability. With the right solution, administrators can stay current with the latest technology without having to replace infrastructure and migrate applications, images and data. In addition, flash storage is the only storage platform that can deliver the performance required for modern initiatives such as big data analytics, machine learning and radiomics.

To learn more about PACS and VNA solutions with Pure Storage, you may check this link here.  If you want to learn more about all-flash storage, you can visit our Pure Storage product page or contact us directly at 893-9515.

HPE Awards CT Link with the “Simplivity Deal of the Year” award!

HPE Awards CT Link with the “Simplivity Deal of the Year” award!

On March 21, 2018, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Philippines (HPE) awarded CT Link with the “SimpliVity Deal of the Year” award during its Partner Kick-Off and Appreciation Night held at the EDSA Shangri-La, Manila.  This award was given to CT Link as recognition of its efforts in the first SimpliVity deal that was partnered with HPE Proliant series after HPE’s acquisition of SimpliVity in 2017.

HPE SimpliVity is a powerful, simple, and efficient hyperconverged platform that provides best-in-class data services partnered with one of the best server technologies to provide a complete hyperconverged solution.  HPE SimpliVity has garnered a wide range of accolade throughout the years with its innovative line and best-in-class features.

About HPE SimpliVity

HPE SimpliVity is a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution that offers a range of features designed to simplify the management and deployment of virtualized workloads. It is a product of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a global leader in technology solutions, and is designed to help businesses of all sizes optimize their IT operations.

The HPE SimpliVity platform combines compute, storage, and networking resources into a single, compact appliance. This approach reduces the need for complex hardware and software configurations, making it easier to deploy and manage virtualized workloads. The platform also includes advanced data services, such as data deduplication, compression, and encryption, which can improve data protection and storage efficiency.

HPE SimpliVity is built on a powerful hardware platform that includes high-performance CPUs, memory, and storage. It uses VMware virtualization technology to create a flexible, scalable, and secure environment for running mission-critical applications. The platform also includes support for hybrid cloud deployments, allowing businesses to extend their data center resources to public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

One of the key benefits of HPE SimpliVity is its ease of use. The platform is designed to be intuitive and easy to manage, even for users with limited IT expertise. This is achieved through a simple web-based management console, which provides a single view of all virtualized resources and allows users to perform common tasks like creating virtual machines, setting up network configurations, and monitoring system performance.

HPE SimpliVity also includes a range of advanced data protection features, such as backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and replication. These features help businesses ensure the availability of their critical data and applications in the event of a system failure or natural disaster. The platform also includes support for VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), which simplifies the process of configuring and testing disaster recovery plans.

Microsoft Teams Turns One!

Microsoft Teams Turns One!

On March 12, 2018, Microsoft Teams celebrated its one year anniversary and what and eventful first year it was!  According to Microsoft, around 200,000 organizations in 181 markets (in 39 languages) are using teams to date and we can expect it to rise throughout the year with Microsoft’s additional features and updates to Teams this coming year.

Teams for Intelligent Communications and Collaboration

Being part of Office 365, Teams has been able to take advantage of many of its strength by being able to integrate with many other Office 365 applications while also tapping its 120 million user base.  Teams uniquely delivers on its many features, such as chat-based collaboration, meetings, calling (and soon, full enterprise voice features), at scale with enterprise-grade security and compliance standards to make sure that you are within global standards.  However, to improve on their vision for Intelligent Communications within organizations, Microsoft has announced that they will be implementing the following features within this year:

Cloud recording—Will provide one-click meeting recordings with automatic transcription and timecoding, enabling all team members the ability to read captions, search within the conversation, and playback all or part of the meeting. In the future, it will also include facial recognition, so remarks can be attributed to specific meeting attendees.

Inline message translation—People who speak different languages will be able to fluidly communicate with one another by translating posts in channels and chat.

Cortana voice interactions for Teams-enabled devices—Will enable you to easily make a call, join a meeting, or add other people to a meeting in Teams using spoken, natural language. This functionality will extend to IP phones and conference room devices.

Background blur on video—The ability to blur your background during video calls will allow other meeting attendees to focus on you, not what’s behind you.

Proximity detection for Teams Meetings—This feature will make it easy for you to discover and add a nearby and available Skype Room System to any meeting.

Mobile sharing in meetings—Meeting attendees will be able to share a live video stream, photos, or the screen from their mobile device.

In addition to this, Microsoft will be adding new enterprise-grade calling features in Teams which will include consultative transfer and call delegation and federation.  Another feature that will be introduced is Direct Routing which will allow you to use your existing telephony infrastructure with Teams for calling.  To learn more about this you may read the original article here or you can contact us at 893-9515 to ask us directly!

Reach the “TippingPoint” in your Business’ Cyber Security with Integrated Advanced Threat Protection

Reach the “TippingPoint” in your Business’ Cyber Security with Integrated Advanced Threat Protection

The Cyber world is dark and dusty,organizations are facing the most complicated scenarios to solve their security puzzle to protect the data privacy. Every day, cyber criminals create new ways and multiple advanced techniques to break the security barriers, how strong is your defense gate against these unknown attackers?

Step into the future of security with Trend Micro, to know more on how to get a 360 degree view of defense approach against sophisticated threats today and in the future.

Join us on February 21, 2018 at Outback Steakhouse Glorietta 4 as we learn more about Trend Micro’s Tipping Point and how it can help your business defend against today’s security threats!

To register you and your company to attend this seminar, please contact us at 893-9515 and we will be happy to assist you!

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro is a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, dedicated to making the world safer for exchanging digital information. Founded in 1988, Trend Micro has grown to become a trusted provider of cutting-edge security solutions for businesses and consumers alike.

Trend Micro’s comprehensive range of cybersecurity solutions includes endpoint security, network security, cloud security, and security management services. These solutions are designed to protect against a wide range of threats, including malware, ransomware, phishing attacks, and other forms of cybercrime.

One of Trend Micro’s core strengths is its ability to stay ahead of emerging threats. The company employs a team of experts who constantly monitor the latest cyber threats and develop innovative solutions to counter them. Trend Micro’s solutions are designed to provide proactive, real-time protection against both known and unknown threats.

Trend Micro’s commitment to cybersecurity extends beyond its products and services. The company is also dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of online safety and promoting best practices for cybersecurity. Trend Micro regularly publishes research and insights on the latest cybersecurity trends and hosts events to help educate businesses and individuals about the importance of cybersecurity.

Microsoft Teams: Improving an already good Collaboration tool

Microsoft Teams: Improving an already good Collaboration tool

It’s been close to 10 months since Microsoft has introduced Teams in an effort to help their customers improve their collaboration within the workspace.  Through these months, Microsoft has been slowly improving Teams through their observations and user feedback.  One example of this was the integration of third party applications such as Trello and SurveyMonkey.  Even now they are still updating Teams, recently they have released a new update in which they have integrated exciting new features which will surely help your company’s collaboration efforts!

New ways to utilize your apps in Teams

Include information from an app in a conversation

Be able to discuss content from a different app directly in Teams with the latest update.  Just like putting an emoji or GIF in the chat, you’ll be able to search and post integrated app information into chat and channels.  Be able search for a specific task in Trello, a work item in Wrike, or even a weather forcast, and even integrate them it into an interactive card.

Access a personal view of your apps

With the update, you can now easily access apps you frequently use and even see all items on those apps such as tasks in planner, issues in Jira Cloud and even conveniently find items you recently used such notebooks from OneNote.  This is made possible due to the addition of the personal apps space.  In addition, you can also find a new app in this space called Who, a new app powered by Microsoft Graph, which enables you to search for people in your organization by name or topic.

Find apps for Teams in the new Store

To make discovering and finding apps simpler in Teams by allowing users to search for apps by name, category, and integration type (like bots, tabs, connectors) in their new store.

Command apps, take quick actions, and search—all from the command box

Command apps from the command box

In the latest patch, Microsoft has added the function to query or command an app from the command box.   You are now able to search information in an app and easily place the results into a chat or channel in Teams.  More functions will be added overtime, one function they are working on is to create a task in your project management app over the Teams command box.

Take quick actions with slash commands

A convenient new function added to Teams would be the addition of slash commands to help you execute shortcuts quickly.


Contact us at 893-9515 to learn more about Microsoft Teams and how it can help you collaborate better with your own Team!

HPE GEN10 Servers: Helping you secure your IT Environment

HPE GEN10 Servers: Helping you secure your IT Environment

HPE Proliant Gen 10 servers have been getting the attention of the US government sector.  A review by FedTech recently came out which talked about how HPE ProLiant DL380 servers were able to secure almost all federal IT environments.  With a range of flexible configurations, which include the function to be part of a private cloud, facilitate deployment of containers, anchor the core of virtual machines, store database applications, and even process Big Data transactions.

Here’s a sampling of the computing firepower generated by HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers:

  • Intel® Xeon® processors with up to a 71% performance gain and a 27% increase in cores.
  • HPE 2666 MT/s DDR4 SmartMemory—supporting 3.0 TB and up to 11% faster than 2400 MT/s.
  • Support for 12 Gb/s SAS and up to 20 NVMe drive.
  • HPE Scalable Persistent Memory—offering unprecedented levels of performance for databases and analytic workloads.

Remove the gaps hackers exploit

A main feature that FedTech has emphasized on the HPE ProLiant DL380 would be the IT security measures it provides.  A Silicon Root of Trust leverages an HPE silicon-validated boot process to ensure the servers can only be started using code from an immutable source.  An anchor for the boot process that’s rooted into the HPE silicon cannot be updated or modified in any way. By combining this foundation with a cryptographically secured signature, the ProLiant DL380 servers remove the gaps hackers exploit.

Even against firmware threats like rootkits, malware, and denial of service attacks, HPE ProLiant DL380 servers stays secure and virtually hack proof.  This is even more so when combined with intrusion detection devices that can provide an audit log alert if someone tries to get into the server chassis and implant compromised codes.  This is made possible due to the Silicon Root of Trust hardwired into the HPE iLO5.

With a series of validation checks between the various system components and the firmware upon the system power up, this ensures the HPE ProLiant DL380 servers are free of any modifications to its server’s essential firmware.  The ProLiant DL380 servers run millions of lines of firmware (like all servers) even before the operating system (OS) even starts.  Checking if the lines of code for the firmware are free of any malicious attacks or malware is the main value the silicon root of trust provides.

Contact us at 893-9515 to learn more about the the HPE Gen10 servers!

Increase your Network Visibility to better use your business bandwidth with Cisco Meraki!

Increase your Network Visibility to better use your business bandwidth with Cisco Meraki!

Does your business have enough bandwidth?

Many businesses today are looking for ways to upgrade their current bandwidth because of user feedback, they complain mostly about slow browsing speeds.  Little do they know that there is a certain user in the office that is “torrenting” on the network, which results to bandwidth hogging and can even put the business at risk.

However, administrators can now feel reassured with Cisco Meraki’s Layer 7 application fingerprinting which gives them a better view of their network. Network administrators/managers can rely on this level of visibility every day to see beyond the size and rate of data transfers on their networks and gain insight into the actual behavior of their users. It’s useful to see patterns in large spikes of traffic on the network, but it’s even better to know whether those spikes are coming from online backup or from BitTorrent.

What’s better than traffic Visibility?  Traffic shaping!

So now the administrators have identified which applications (and most importantly, which users) are using more bandwidth than necessary, what can you do about it?

You can now create application-specific shaping policies for total control over your wired and wireless network. With the built-in Traffic Shaper in Cisco Meraki, shaping policies can be created that apply per user bandwidth limits for specific applications such as video streaming sites, as well as apply QoS (Quality of Service) priority levels at both Layer 2 and 3 to make sure your critical traffic gets prioritized across the network.

The Cisco Meraki portfolio includes wireless access points, switches, security appliances, and mobile device management solutions. What sets Cisco Meraki apart is that all of these are centrally managed from the cloud. This makes them significantly easier to deploy and manage than traditional networks.

Contact us at 893-9515 to try Cisco Meraki for yourself and discover the power of cloud networking today!  

Security Advisory: Meltdown & Spectre Vulnerabilities

Security Advisory: Meltdown & Spectre Vulnerabilities

Over the past few days, you may have heard of the new vulnerabilities that has been uncovered, Meltdown and Spectre.  These vulnerabilities affect all modern processors, meaning your business machines and even personal gadgets that use processors are affected which puts you in risk of potential attacks.  Below is a brief explanation of what exactly Meltdown and Spectre are:

Meltdown

Meltdown is a hardware vulnerability in processors (Intel x86 microprocessors and some ARM based microprocessors) which allows attackers to use programs to access your computer’s memory.  With this access, they are able to gain sensitive data from your other applications within your system.

Spectre

Spectre is a hardware vulnerability in modern processors, which attackers can use to trick error-free programs, which follow best practices, into leaking their secrets.  Safety checks of said best practices actually increase the attack surface and may make applications more susceptible to Spectre.

However, since the vulnerability has been announced it means that so have the solutions.  Below are the steps in which you need to take fix these vulnerabilities:

1. Update your Processor Firmware

Processor manufacturers have already released firmware updates to fix these vulnerabilities, however they said that they would only be releasing updates for processors within the last 5 years.  Below are the current firmware updates you will need per vendor (note that we will be placing more updates as they come):

HPE

For ProLiant Gen10 products (except for the ProLiant DL385 Gen10), update to System ROM Version 1.28.

For the ProLiant DL385 Gen10 server, update to System ROM Version 1.04.

For ProLiant Gen9 series servers, update to System ROM Version 2.54 (except for the ProLiant DL20 Gen9 or ML30 Gen9)

For the ProLiant DL20 Gen9 or ProLiant ML30 Gen9 server, update to System ROM Version 2.52.

For ProLiant Gen8 series servers, update to a System ROM version dated 12/12/2017.

For the ProLiant m710x server cartridge, update to System ROM Version 1.60

For the ProLiant m710p server cartridges update to the System ROM version dated 12/12/2017.

Click here and place your HPE product to find the firmware patch you need.

Cisco

Below is a table of known Cisco products affected by the vulnerabilities, to download the update, you will need to click on the Cisco Bug ID and log in to your Cisco account to access it.  We will be updating this table when updates are available.

Product Cisco Bug ID Fixed Release Availability
Routing and Switching – Enterprise and Service Provider
Cisco ASR 9000 XR 64-bit Series Routers CSCvh32429
Cisco 800 Industrial Integrated Services Routers CSCvh31418
Cisco NCS 1000 Series Routers CSCvh32429
Cisco NCS 5000 Series Routers CSCvh32429
Cisco NCS 5500 Series Routers CSCvh32429
Cisco XRv 9000 Series Routers CSCvh32429
Unified Computing
Cisco UCS B-Series M2 Blade Servers CSCvh31576 Fix pending
Cisco UCS B-Series M3 Blade Servers CSCvg97965 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS B-Series M4 Blade Servers (except B260 and B460) CSCvg97979 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS B-Series M5 Blade Servers CSCvh31577 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS B260 M4 Blade Server CSCvg98015 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS B460 M4 Blade Server CSCvg98015 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS C-Series M2 Rack Servers CSCvh31576 Fix pending
Cisco UCS C-Series M3 Rack Servers CSCvg97965 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS C-Series M4 Rack Servers (except C460) CSCvg97979 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS C-Series M5 Rack Servers CSCvh31577 (18-Feb-2018)
Cisco UCS C460 M4 Rack Server CSCvg98015 (18-Feb-2018)

Dell

BIOS updates for PowerEdge Server Products

Generation Models BIOS version
14G R740, R740XD, R640 1.2.71
R540, R440, T440 1.2.71
T640 1.2.71
C6420 1.2.71
FC640, M640, M640P 1.2.71
C4140 1.0.2
R940 1.2.81
T30 1.0.12
Generation Models BIOS version
13G R830 1.7.0
T130, R230, T330, R330 2.4.1
R930 2.5.0
R730, R730XD, R630 2.7.0
C4130 2.7.0
M630, M630P, FC630 2.7.0
FC430 2.7.0
M830, M830P, FC830 2.7.0
T630 2.7.0
R530, R430, T430 2.7.0
C6320 2.7.0

BIOS update for Dell Datacenter Scalable Solutions (DSS)

Models BIOS Version
DSS9600, DSS9620, DSS9630 1.2.71
DSS1500, DSS1510, DSS2500 2.7.0
DSS7500 2.7.0

2. Checking if your registry is compatible with your OS updates (Windows)

There are some third party anti-virus software that are currently incompatible with the latest patch updates from Windows.  If you are unable to update your OS due to this reason, it is recommended that you modify your registry to fix this.  However we highly recommend that you also backup your registry before you manually edit it as using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system.  Below is the registry key to be set:

Key=”HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”

Subkey=”SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\QualityCompat” Value=”cadca5fe-87d3-4b96-b7fb-a231484277cc”

Type=”REG_DWORD”

Data=”0x00000000”

For Trend Micro users, there has been a patch release for their products in which enables the ALLOW REGKEY (the above code) automatically.  This however is not the fix to the vulnerabilities and you have to update your OS as this patch will not update your OS but allow you to update.

Additionally, note that per Microsoft, even clients that do not have active anti-malware or security software installed may still be required to apply the specific registry key before the security patches can be obtained from Windows Update.

Product Updated version Notes Platform
OfficeScan XG (all versions including SP1) – CP 1825-4430 Readme Windows
11.0 SP1 – CP 6496 Readme Windows
Deep Security Deep Security Agent 10.0.0-2649 for Windows (U6) Readme Windows
Deep Security Agent 9.6.2-8288 for Windows Readme Windows
Worry-Free Business Security 9.5 CP 1447 Readme Windows

3. Updating your OS (Operating System)

Below are the updates that are currently out for Windows OS for both Servers and Desktop (this will be updated as more updates are released):

Product

Article

Download

Windows Server, version 1709 (Server Core Installation) 4056892 Security Update
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) 4056890 Security Update
Windows Server 2016 4056890 Security Update
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 4056898 Security Only
Windows Server 2012 R2 4056898 Security Only
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation) 4056894 Monthly Rollup
4056897 Security Only
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 4056894 Monthly Rollup
4056897 Security Only
Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1 4056894 Monthly Rollup
4056897 Security Only
Windows 8.1 for x64-based systems 4056898 Security Only
Windows 8.1 for 32-bit systems 4056898 Security Only
Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 4056894 Monthly Rollup
4056897 Security Only
Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1 4056894 Monthly Rollup
4056897 Security Only
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 64-based Systems 4056892 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems 4056892 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1703 for x64-based Systems 4056891 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1703 for 32-bit Systems 4056891 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems 4056890 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems 4056890 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems 4056888 Security Update
Windows 10 Version 1511 for 32-bit Systems 4056888 Security Update
Windows 10 for x64-based Systems 4056893 Security Update
Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems 4056893 Security Update
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 for x64-based Systems (CU) 4058562 Security Update
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 for x64-based Systems 4057122 Security Update
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (CU) 4058561 Security Update
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 4057118 Security Update

4. Updating your browsers

The last step would be to make sure that your internet browser is patched to the latest version.  Below are a few of the most used browsers and the versions they need to be updated to:

Mozilla – Firefox 57.0.4

Internet Explorer/Microsoft Edge – Included in the latest security update of Windows KB4056890 (OS Build 14393.2007)


Again more updates will be posted as soon as the fixes are released by the respective vendors.  If you need more details or help in implementing the said solutions from vendors, please do contact us at 893-9515 and we will do our utmost to help!

 

Manage your Data and Analyze your Data Effortlessly and Efficiently with Pure Storage and Oracle®

Manage your Data and Analyze your Data Effortlessly and Efficiently with Pure Storage and Oracle®

In today’s business, storing data properly has become business critical.  Analyzing the right data against other data types (internal or by global standards) can be key in improving your business and putting it in the right direction.  This process is known as Digital Transformation.  To begin the transformation, companies must be able to store, access and analyze their data efficiently and as fast as possible so that they can gain insights before their competition does.  Just asked yourself, are you analyzing your business data like customer support emails or their chat logs?  If not it would be best if you started now before your competitors do.  Below is a simple guide to mapping your data with data management application Oracle®:

  1. Data value starts with operational data (transactions), structured data stored in Oracle® Database.
  2. Data becomes more valuable with the addition of data warehousing and business intelligence to provide descriptive analysis of your business based on historical data.
  3. Data value is greatest when you combine all of your data assets — structured and unstructured — to gather predictive and prescriptive analytics from different sources, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and other application data to fully participate in the era of digital transformation.

Below are ways in which Pure Storage can help your infrastructure make Oracle® effortless and efficient when analyzing your data:

Simplicity

  • All-flash solutions take half as long to deploy as other storage solutions and with Pure Storage’s solution, you can be sure of its simplicity and validity as they have been fully tested and validated.
  • Fast and efficient Pure Storage snapshots let you automate the copy, clone, and refresh processes of an Oracle® database and reduce the time to copy and clone up to 90%.
  • Pure Storage solutions let you run Oracle® databases for development, test, quality assurance (QA), and production for online transaction processing (OLTP) and online analytical processing (OLAP) workloads on the same Pure Storage platform.

 

Data Reduction

  • Pure Storage solutions include both in-line lossless deduplication and compression for ultimate data reduction, which can help data reduction of 3 – 5 times the conventional Oracle® data types — such as number, date, char, and varchar.
  • By running your Oracle® solutions on Pure Storage, you not only compress data to lower its footprint and reduce storage needs, you also do away with the need for Oracle® compression.

Performance

  • Pure Storage all-flash solutions improve performance by orders of magnitude, with sub-millisecond latency, no disruptions, and no effect on performance for upgrades or maintenance.
  • Pure Storage uses flash instead of disks, which eliminates the performance delays caused by the inherent latency of disk storage, which means you can run Oracle® OLTP and OLAP solutions in parallel on the same Pure Storage all-flash storage platform.

Click here to learn more about Pure Storage on Oracle®, to learn more about Pure Storage visit our product page or contact us at 893-9515!