Cloud Computing Promises Blue Skies

Scratch the latest revolutionary IT concept and you'll usually find that underneath all the hype, there's something familiar going on. That's certainly true of cloud computing – the reinvention of client/server technology for the 21st century.

Cloud computing is all about giving your people access to server-based computer resources – systems, applications and storage – via the network, whether it's your corporate WAN or the Internet itself. Only the servers probably won't be in your computer room, like the old days. If you've decided to outsource your infrastructure, they could be anywhere in the world and your applications and systems could be spread across different locations by a hosting company which effectively takes on the technical and financial burdens of maintenance and service quality, leaving you to focus on your business without the distractions of technology overheads.

That's the theory, anyway. System performance and accessibility are unaffected. Your staff don't need to download applications to their mobile or desktop devices. They don't even need to store documents or data because everything is kept remotely in the cloud. It isn't hard to see the potential economic and administrative appeal to EDG customers of a concept that potentially gives a mobile workforce such fluid, trouble-free and secure access to their key data and applications across a much simplified model.

Conventional 24x7 hardware support and running costs go out of the window, replaced by service agreements and hosted software licenses. And the cloud grows with the requirements of the business, flexibly and exponentially, without the need to factor in the expense of planned server upgrades.

No wonder the cloud has captured the imagination of business owners and their senior IT professionals, with its promise of complete flexibility. Workloads can be shared between private and public clouds, as business requirements shift. Resource, memory and storage resources are guaranteed rather than impacted by bandwidth-hungry applications – and users. The cloud can be managed via a single, intuitive dashboard, regardless of the variety of environments it consists of.

According to a new study from market analyst IDG Research, a quarter of European IT leaders have already deployed the cloud model, at least at departmental level. Many organisations have spotted the low-risk possibility for exploring the cloud's resilience by trying it out in single projects or low-budget development programmes.

With business agility and visibility now major drivers behind any changes in IT strategy, the cloud is increasingly seen as the go-to model.

IDG Research estimates that UK CIOs are allocating as much as one third of their IT budgets to cloud computing. That's quite a commitment. And much of this is being spent on developing the appropriate skills and staff resources, use to use the cloud model effectively, you need to understand how it will support your business services and communications, and make sure that you are buying a service that will override the disruptions and slowdowns that traditionally affect corporate IT infrastructures.

But as cloud service vendors rise to the challenge of delivering performance and security levels that organisations have always demanded of their in-house infrastructures, businesses of every size should take the potential benefits – reduced costs, greater efficiency and limitless computing resources delivered seamlessly – very seriously indeed.

Truckwash has the Advantedg

Truck washing specialist Moto Hospitality Limited is saving £49,000 a year following its investment in an automated mobile data system based on edg’s Advantedg platform.

Advantedg, which operates across Moto’s three truck washing sites – with more to come – has been tailored to support the specific requirements of Moto’s truck washing business, including automated data capture on rugged handheld computers, mobile printing, tight integration with back office applications, real-time management reports and automated invoicing.

Truckwash manager Paul Lipton says that by replacing manual methods with a secure, streamlined, hosted system has performed beyond expectations. “Before, any query meant we would spend a lot of administrative time searching the back office system and old files,” he says. “The search facility on Truckwash reports makes it easy to find an electronic file and send it on to a customer.”

Other benefits include reducing the cost of Moto’s paper trail, freeing staff to focus on key business activities rather than manual data input, avoiding the cost of a standalone fuel card system and the compilation of a specialist HGV operator database.

Unlock the data in your fleet

Have you ever seen your fleet as a source of business intelligence? Eastern Data’s new web-based vehicle tracking solution not only helps you save on your annual fuel bill (as much as £1,500 for an HGV covering 40,000 miles a year) and shrink your carbon footprint. It will also give you vital insight into your drivers’ timings and behaviours, enhance your health & safety and duty of care responsibilities to them and help you to improve customer service.

Armed with this information, you can monitor fuel usage, identify harsh breaking and acceleration, reduce engine idling time, spot the difference between private and business usage, cross-check fuel receipts and timesheets, help your drivers to manage their hours on the road and reduce overtime, always know the location of your vehicles (thanks to UK aerial photography and European street level mapping), keep your customers up to date with drivers’ arrival times and know the minute a vehicle returns home or reaches the depot.

Your business will run more efficiently, and you’ll make bottom-line savings from day one.

Case study 1: When a builders’ merchant implemented the solution, it slashed weekly idling times that could run to two or three hours per vehicle, saving a gallon of fuel for each idle hour.
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Case study 2: A transport company used the solution to show a commercial vehicle manufacturer that by recalibrating the throttle slightly, its vehicles’ fuel consumption could be improved by 0.5 MPG – generating immediate savings from vehicles doing more than 75,000 miles per year.
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Case study 3: A telecommunications company is using the solution to boost its customer service by telling customers the estimated arrival times of its engineers when they are stuck in traffic.
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From as little as £25 per vehicle, per month, our special introductory offer can help you exploit a new layer of business knowledge immediately. Call us on 01245 380009 for more information.

Eastern Data rated as strong in new market study

Following a recent study conducted by Plimsoll on UK Independent Software Companies, Eastern Data was rated as 'strong'.

Microsoft Business solutions Catalog

Eastern Data have been selected to be included in the 2010 edition of Microsoft's european 'Business Solutions catalog'. The article highlights five of Eastern Data's mobile solutions, this includes screen shots and EDGs company overview.

For more information, please contact Richard Barnes on 01245 383161

Motorola launches the MC9500

Motorola have launched a new next generation rugged handheld, the MC9500. Motorola boasts that this is the 'next evolution in rugged design, ergonomics, features, functionality and performance' .

At EDG we think that Motorola have designed a sleeker, lighter yet more rugged device which we think will prove to be very popular with our customers.

Handheld mobile solutions seminar - August 2010

Eastern Data will be holding a mobile solutions seminar on 12th August at Motorola's offices in Basingstoke.
The half day seminar provides an introduction to Eastern Data and it's product offerings; it also enables individuals to see the latest in handheld technology.
If you are interested in attending this event or would like details of future seminars please contact us.