digital partners_™ Apple Corporate Sales • Professional Systems Integrators

As business professionals become more mobile, the need for secure file sharing capabilities continues to grow. Currently, many professionals have turned to consumer-level programs like Dropbox and Google Docs, exposing company data to major security risks and creating compliance nightmares for IT departments in regulated industries.

This week GroupLogic rolled out a secure Enterprise File Sharing solution called activEcho that addresses the critical needs of all key constituents – users, the business, IT, security and compliance groups – to allow for secure and efficient collaboration.  At dpi, we’ve been an authorized reseller for the full GroupLogic product line since 2003 and are excited to add activEcho to our comprehensive suite of IT services for the enterprise.

activEcho combines a high level of security and control for IT departments with a seamless end user experience.  It’s flexible deployment model works in a wide variety of multi-platform infrastructures, allowing IT pros to deploy activEcho inside their firewall, in the DMZ, or in a private cloud on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems.

All documents are encrypted by an administrator-defined encryption cipher, both while in use and while at rest. In addition, the activEcho server tracks all versions of the files, allowing for recovery of past editions.

Access to documents is granted to internal users through Active Directory credentials, allowing for seamless file sharing between colleagues through AD groups and administrative control over which AD logins can access specific documents.  Collaborating with external service providers is made possible by authentication via an activEcho invitation.

At dpi, our systems architects have real world experience in large-scale device deployment and management in multi-platform environments. We have cultivated strong partnerships with the leading providers of MDM and mobile-related software including the full GroupLogic product line, JAMF Casper Suite, MobileIron and more.

To learn more about a mobile device management solution from dpi, click here or call (314)-863-8008.

Apple announced the new iPad Wednesday at an invitation-only event held in San Francisco where Chief Executive Tim Cook said the iPad is “reinventing portable computing.”The new devices, which will be available to consumers on March 16, feature superior graphics, high speed 4G LTE web browsing capability, an improved camera, and a new Apple A5X chip with quad-core graphics.

For business users, the new iPad means greater mobility. Users now have the ability to roam worldwide on 3G networks and access faster 4G LTE networks through Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the US. In addition, the new iPad has taken on features of the iPhone 4GS, including voice dictation and the ability to create a personal hot spot with the device.

At dpi, we offer enterprise customers real-world experience in deploying and securing iOS devices. We leverage our strategic partnerships with the leading providers of mobile device management software and accessories to implement complete end-to-end solutions that allow companies to securely take advantage of the amazing features of the iPad. In addition, we’re experts at integrating Apple and its ecosystem in multi-platform environments and offer Apple certified support, repairs and training for IT professionals.

digital partners is currently taking pre-orders for the new iPad, which will be available for customers on March 16. To learn more about a custom iPad solution or to pre-order your new iPads from dpi, click here or call 866-679-6227.

The biggest disruptive force in the computer equipment market is not [the cloud], but Apple. – Andrew Bartels

In his Global Tech Market Outlook for 2012, Andrew Bartels, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, focused not on the major shifts in Enterprise computing in the cloud, but that Apple is taking the workforce by storm.

This year Apple will sell an estimated $19 billion in Macs and iPads to enterprises. The growth marks a 58% increase over corporate spending in 2011. What was once a small trend with executives insisting on their own Macs, has now spread across departments. More and more employees are requesting to use the operating systems they use at home. The result? More Apple computers in the workplace.

The upsurge is also fueled by the demand for an increasingly mobile sales force. iPads have become the standard as corporations see how easily sales materials can be demonstrated as well as day-to-day operations managed on the go. Apple has reacted by ramping up corporate sales through reselling partners.

As an Apple reseller for close to twenty years, digital partners is uniquely positioned to use its longstanding relationship with Apple to help its clients get volume discounts. If your enterprise is playing catch up with integrating Macs and iPads, give us a call. Our systems engineers can answer questions about integration and our Apple specialists can help you find the right hardware for every position.

Every year successful companies take a fresh look at how they can improve practices and continue to grow. For most companies, no matter the industry, this is often work smarter, not harder. Being safe and streamlined is the result of smart thinking, not sweat-drenched work.

One place smart practices fuel growth is in enterprise data centers. Companies with electronic storage risk damaged equipment or injured technicians. Server boxes are bulky, often heavy, and cost thousands of dollars to replace.

With one easy addition to your server space arsenal, companies can lower operating costs, reduce risk of energy, and streamline server deployment. ServerLIFT solutions are designed to safely and efficiently lift servers and IT equipment in today’s data center environment. Both manual and fully controllable electric server lifts are available and have form factors designed specifically by data center employees to meet the toughest challenges with loading and unloading servers.

digital partners is a ServerLift authorized reseller and can work with your data center teams to find the best-fit server lift for your environment. This year, think smarter by eliminating extra risk and costs by adding the one tool that will aid your data management team to be more productive than ever. Give us a call to find out more or get a quote on the ServerLIFT SL-500X or the SL-300X.

A recent article from Forrester Research reviewed the challenges that Information Technology and Operations teams faced in 2011 and listed the growing challenges in the coming year. Concerns with transitions from local storage to backup in the Cloud, mobile device management, and hardware updates have moved to front and center for IT planning. Above all is the need for IT departments to demonstrate value.

As companies look ahead to appropriate budgets for 2012, it is important to focus not only on operations maintenance, but also on increased agility and mobility. Securing data across mobile devices like smart phones and iPads is essential. Your company’s digital assets should be easily accessible but only to those within the corporation. Our mobile device management (MDM) and security team work with companies to conduct MDM security audits and pre-assessments for MDM tools like MobileIron. Set up a beginning of the year review with digital partners to see how you can save money for all four quarters by securing and managing your mobile devices.

Updating systems with digital partners has never been easier. Through our strengthened relationships with Adobe, Autodesk, and Apple, we can help you build department-specific bundles with the hardware and software you need. Our service team can help you configure and deploy machines. Call dpi’s Enterprise specialists to find out more about beginning of the year specials and bundles.

Preparing for 2012 does not have to be difficult. Hardware refreshes and mobile device management are great value propositions. Contact digital partners for answers to your questions and some hands-on help.

digital partners is excited to announce our new trio of app development training classes to prepare you to design and develop the next great app. Budding developers and app experts alike can gain new skills by enrolling to take beginner, intermediate, and advanced level classes, as well as other advanced topics.

It’s easy to enroll. Just give us a call and let us know which course you’d like to take. We’ll take down your information and provide you with more details about the class and costs.

Software Development on iOS devices

Apple provides a development environment named Xcode for software development on their platforms including iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad as well as Macs. The preferred language used to develop is called Objective-C. The goal of the classes is to provide a practical course on development for these mobile devices while also covering the key aspects of the Objective-C language.

None of the classes teach basic programming. It is expected that any participants taking any of the courses, including the beginner course, have a working software development knowledge on any platform and they also understood typical code constructs like if checks, iterative loops, debugging and object-oriented programming paradigm.