Do you have a server room full of kit that you have no idea what it does? For many years a MD looking to put something new into their business when speaking to their IT professional was usually met with an answer something along the lines of, oh that is possible but we will need a new server!

Long gone are the days of having a server purely for one purpose. Virtualisation is the the answer to all your problems. At Fusion we have been consolidating clients existing servers onto virtual servers for the past few years. 18 months ago we consolidated our own physical servers from 6 to 2 within a couple of days! As part of the process we can look at your current servers, their roles and consolidate them further. Take for example a recent client (see before and after pictures above) that we have taken onboard, they had 8 physical servers in excess of 8 years old, the server room at times was like a furnace, needed constant cooling and not to mention the issue of maintaining all of this old equipment. Fusion managed to consolidate this to one physical server and two Hyper-V (Microsoft’s implementation of virtualisation) servers, the server room now no longer even requires external cooling. This alongside the fact that we have put in place a disaster recovery solution that will get  them back up and running within a matter of hours, makes their new solution far more resilient. The managing director of the company told our MD, Jamie Watson, that he cannot believe the difference and it will save him thousands of pounds a year in electricity costs alone.

Is your IT specialist talking to you about virtualisation? If not maybe you should be talking to Fusion as you could be missing out!

Your solution? Microsoft SharePoint. SharePoint is a Microsoft solution that allows your entire office to collaborate and complete projects from a single platform. It’s like having a global network share one computer, just with more elbow room. Here are some of the cool ways SharePoint can help your business.

• Document Management

Sadly, the shared drives of many business’ servers resemble those closets you see in movies, the ones with random clutter that spill out and bury anyone unlucky enough to open the door. It’s all too easy to misplace or rename files when there are no controls over how important documents are shared. Before long, you end up with a confusing and ultimately useless drive full of shared work. However, Microsoft SharePoint gives you the tools to create special web sites for projects or departments allowing team members to easily add, edit, and manage group files. Use of these intranet portals can be limited so only relevant groups or departments have access to pertinent files.

• Team Collaboration

It’s hard enough for team members to interact when they’re separated by one floor. But what if the members of your team live in separate countries? SharePoint gives you the ability to establish Document Workspaces, where team members can edit each other’s contributions or chat in an offline discussion board. With SharePoint, conference calls and confusing mass e-mails are a thing of the past.

• Business Automation

SharePoint has the power to create intelligent workflows to perform many menial tasks without your help, allowing you to focus on the more fun parts of your job. For example, you can use a workflow to overhaul your document approval process. After you designate a few simple workflow commands, SharePoint will automatically send the file and an e-mail to approvers notifying them of their task. Once the approvers sign off on the file, SharePoint will send a notification e-mail back to you. It is a neat process, especially since you were getting some quality putting practice in your office the entire time.

Are you interested in making Microsoft SharePoint a part of your business? Onsearch Interactive Solutions can help! Like SharePoint, we are in the business of giving you the technological tools you need to grow your business and strengthen your communication, both with your customers and your employees. To learn more about SharePoint and the other exciting features of the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS), be sure to check out our earlier post here and contact us to see how OIS can increase your productivity with SharePoint.

Do you have a team project nightmare SharePoint could have helped you avoid? EMail me at jamie@fitm.co.uk as Fusion have all the skills needed to make sure your Microsoft Sharepoint project is a success!

The concept of cloud computing

What is this new buzz word that everyone is talking about? Cloud computing has been around for years, but the difference is that companies like Amazon and Apple are bringing it to the masses.

What is the concept of cloud computing? In my opinion its the sharing of computing services over a remote connection to some collocated servers.

Wikipedia’s definition;  Cloud computing refers to the use and access of multiple server-based computational resources via a digital network (WAN, Internet connection using the World Wide Web, etc.). Cloud users may access the server resources using a computer, netbook, pad computer, smart phone, or other device. In cloud computing, applications are provided and managed by the cloud server and data is also stored remotely in the cloud configuration. Users do not download and install applications on their own device or computer; all processing and storage is maintained by the cloud server.

We have always used cloud services, think of your website, where is it hosted? I can guarantee that the website will be hosted on a shared server in a data centre somewhere, surely this is classed as cloud computing?

My thought are that because internet connections both fixed and mobile are getting better all the time that this is why people have jumped on the cloud computing bandwagon. It will only be a matter of time before before the next buzz word comes along!

Jamie Watson

“A Huddersfield IT company has been commended by the judges of a local business competition for taking the time to put back into the community.  

The winners of Eaton Smith’s business of the month award, Fusion IT Management, impressed the judging panel with their corporate social responsibility.   

 Jamie Watson founded the company seven years ago after he identified a need for unbiased IT support and advice in the Kirklees area and beyond. 

 He explains: “We felt frustrated by the raw deal that many people were getting from their existing IT support companies and we wanted to genuinely help people.” 

 This ethos runs right through the business from recycling computer equipment to supporting young people in apprenticeship schemes.

 Managing Director, Jamie benefited from work experience early on his career so he was wanted to take on an apprentice in his own business.

 The decision paid off and the apprentice is now qualified and in a full time position.

 Judges were also impressed by the commitment of company director, Nick Ryder, who took part in a scheme last year to mentor new start businesses.  

 He spent time every month working with someone who wanted to set-up on their own but needed advice and encouragement to take the first steps.  

 “Winning this award is very exciting. It’s good to know that our hard work is paying off in terms of recognition as well as the business succeeding,” said Nick.  

 The Business of the Month Award is run in association with Business Link and the Mid-Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.”

Additionally you can password protect your Live space and even share it with others so long as they already have a Windows Live account.

The service also has an online version of Microsoft Office so that you can view, create and edit most types of ducuments in Word, Excell and Power Point formats.

You can learn more about it here or why not give us a call to find out more?

A SPLENDID Victorian  mansion decked out with  marble fireplaces, framed  portraits and leather  armchairs seems a  strange setting to be  discussing the latest  computer technology.
But Jamie Watson,  managing director of IT  consultancy Fusion IT  Management, doesn’t  hanker after the glass and  stainless steel office block  supposedly favoured for a  happening, high-tech  business.
He’s perfectly happy  with his opulent  surroundings in leafy  Edgerton.
The Leeds-born  businessman, who has  also worked extensively in  London, says: “I still live in  Leeds and it is a bit of a  bugbear commuting to  work every day. A  40-minute commute is a  bit of a waste of time. But I  have to think of the people  who work for me and live  locally.
“I try to work from home  one day a week. I’ve  created an office at home  and I have an extension so  people calling the  Edgerton office can be  transferred to me. I can  access all the systems just  as if I was in the office.
“I set myself an agenda  of things I want to get  done during the day. I find  there are more distractions  in the office. If I overhear a  conversation I find myself  getting involved. At home, I  can get on with my work  knowing that the team can  handle things here.”
Says Jamie: “I want to  be able to delegate. The  company believes in  training staff to keep them  up to speed with the latest  IT developments. Improving  their skills and encouraging  knowledge-transfer helps  them in their careers and  helps the company.”

You can read the full article here.

Fusion’s managing director Mr Jamie Watson put Jim forward and had this to say about Jim’s contribution to Fusion – “Jim is continually keeping track of what goes on. He is always on the ball and thinks out of the box. Our clients love him and so do we. Whenever there is a problem he is cool, calm and collected and always knows which person to direct it to. He does work out of hours without us having to ask him”.

Here at Fusion we like to make sure we have the right people working for us and Jim alongside the rest of the guys makes up our dream team.

You can find out more about Jim and the rest of our team here.

You will be working in a busy IT consultancy department of a company who looks after a number of legal firms around West Yorkshire. Predominantly this role is to develop and implement process driven case management workflow and reporting for our Huddersfield based client Ramsdens Solicitors. You will be working on their existing case management and accounts system, FWBS Matter Centre and TFB Partners for Windows respectively. We also want to develop tighter integration with our systems, explore the use of Sharepoint and develop Extranet solutions for our clients.

The role will involve working with the partners, heads of departments, IT Manager, Support Staff and our IT Training Manager to help their systems run smoother and make efficiency savings across the firm. You will be expected to run with projects and be proactively looking for ways to make the firms IT systems more efficient.

You must have a strong background in working in a development, project implementation and advisory roles within a legal firm. You will need to have good coding experience (.NET, SQL 2008 & C#) and be confident about working with case management systems & web development technologies. A strong MS Office knowledge is also required as many of the systems are built on the backbone of the office suite.

If you are interested in working for a firm that is going places and takes their IT system very seriously then please get in contact.
 
 Location Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
 Country UK
 Start Date ASAP
 Rate £25k-£35k basic

Traditionally a server would be the most expensive item in any IT network as they are designed to be on 24 hours a day, seven days a week so the hardware is designed in such a way to accomodate this and therefore more expensive.

Whilst many small businesses and indeed new start ups can see the benefits of owning their own server they can not always afford the initial outlay for the expensive hardware.

So, the solution would be to rent a virtual server. With internet speeds on the increase it is a viable solution to a problem that many small businesses have. We at Fusion can supply a virtual server which has all of the features of a hardware based solution for a small monthly rental cost. The benefits are as follows;

• The server is available all of the time
• Users can work from anywhere with an internet connection
• There are no hidden charges – just one monthly fee
• Backups are done remotley so no need to change tapes etc
• The state of the server is backed up meaning that a full restore is quick an simple
• All emails are stored on the server which is backed up

To find out more about how virtualisation can benefit your business and also the many other features please contact us where one of our consultants will be more than happy to speak to you.

Fusion IT Management offers a support service for IT Managers and we are available to speak to at any time. We can also cover holiday periods, sickness and help out with any major projects.

So if you’re in need of a bit of advice or just want the peice of mind that you’re not alone why not get in touch and speak to one of our team about a bespoke backup support contract?