With all of the enterprise solutions available in the market today every enterprise should implement these cost effective solutions this year.

1. Operating System Updates

An outdated Operating System can lead to many inefficiencies including document compatibility, mobile device integration and overall security risks. When Apple released their latest Operating System, OS X Mountain Lion, it included over 200 new features including Built-In Sharing, Encrypted Backup and iCloud Document Library (See full list) which are all great for improving enterprise efficiency and a good indication of where the industry is trending.

In some cases an enterprise does not feel comfortable immediately switching to a new Operating System. In these situations a plan should be established to align the enterprise’s current processes with the new Operating System capabilities and functions. A well executed conversion plan will help employees prepare for the new System while lowering the risk of data loss.

2. Computer Repair

With the normal wear and tear of an office environment computers will physically break down over time. Some common issues may be broken fans, unresponsive USB ports, insufficient RAM or damaged motherboards.  These issues can lead to slower computer processing, usability issues and overall decrease in employee moral. In some cases, after repairs are quoted, an enterprise will forgo the computer repair process and consider new machines all together.

3. Cloud Computing

At times an enterprise’s budget may not allow for System Updates or Computer Repairs, in these situations consider incorporating Cloud Computing.

CouldTweak.com provides a great expatiation of Cloud Computing:

 What is Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is gaining popularity since last few years. It is a computing model that uses shared infrastructure to provide computing resources to companies dynamically over a cloud, such as internet. It enables companies to use data storage, software applications, and computer processing power owned and maintained by cloud service providers through the internet or proprietary network of the service provider.

A cloud is a very cost effective and innovate solution that enables enterprises to meet their  IT needs. It will lead to lower memory usage on storage devices as well as increased collaboration throughout the business.

Overall, when determining this year’s goals remember the 3 steps: Operating System Updates, Computer Repairs and the Incorporation of the Cloud. With these steps in place an enterprise can begin to lean-out inefficiencies and overall headaches.

digital partners (dpi) is an enterprise consulting, support and computer repair St. Louis business. Please contact us to see how any of the above can be incorporated into your business this year.

For years, Apple has promised the world it would “continue innovating.” With the recent unveiling of new products like the iPad mini and the Retina display for the MacBook Pro and the iPad, we are confident that Apple is standing behind its promise. Earlier today, during one of its infamous Keynote addresses, Apple unveiled exciting new products and cutting-edge upgrades to existing favorites.

With a warm welcome to the iPad family, consumers were introduced to the iPad mini. The small tablet stands at 7.9 inches tall and weighs 0.68 pounds, making it 53 percent lighter than its older sibling, the iPad. The mini’s display has a screen resolution of 1,024×768 pixels, which will allow existing apps to work across both screen sizes of the tablets. The device houses a dual-core A5 processor, a 5-megapixel iSight camera, and a FaceTime high definition (HD) camera. It is equipped with ultrafast wireless, expandable LTE support and a 10-hour battery life. Business and consumer enterprise users alike will appreciate the compactness of the thinner, lighter product that was designed to fit in one hand.

Not to be outdone by its “mini,” the iPad also received attention with impressive upgrades, namely the Retina display. This stunning display was constructed to diminish “pixelation,” meaning that the human eye will not be able to detect the pixels at a typical viewing distance. The iPad fourth generation comes equipped with a dual-core A6X chip with quad-core graphics processor, which will provide twice the performance and processing as its predecessor. Like the mini, the fourth generation tablet features ten hours of battery life, FaceTime HD, expandable LTE support, ultrafast wireless, and the new Lightning connector.

Tablets, big and small, were not the lone stars on the docket. The iMac and MacBook Pro were given makeovers as well. The popular 13-inch MacBook Pro now comes furnished with Retina display that illustrates over four million pixels, and all-flash storage in an even more compacted and light design. The portable notebook is now 20 percent thinner and almost one pound lighter than its current model. But, perhaps the biggest change for Apple’s line of personal computers came with the remodel of the iMac. Showcasing an ultra-thin design that is only 5mm at the edge, and a clear display with reduced reflection (75 percent less than its precursor), many iMac users can agree that the new and improved model was worth the wait. The newest edition also features the latest quad-core graphics, and a new storage option called Fusion Drive that gives flash-like performance with the capacity of a hard drive.

Lastly, the Mac Mini also debuted revisions at the reveal. The revived machine now boasts a dual or quad-intel Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000, and up to 16GB of RAM. In addition the Macintosh device has four USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet, a HDMI port, and an SD slot. These refreshments to the most affordable Mac allow for more capability in its outstanding performance for everyday use.

Contact dpi for more information.

Amongst Apple’s slew of announcements at the Back to Mac Conference one garnered less attention than it should have. Apple’s news that starting January 6th the App Store will offer OS X software downloads is not to be ignored. This is in addition to its already long list of iOS apps by Apple and third party developers featured in the store. The store opening will change how Mac users experience OS X and how businesses manage employee software and licensing.

Simply put, the new Mac App Store will be an all-in-one portal for Mac users to browse, download, and update software. How this translates into workflow for businesses is not as simple however. One issue is license management. How will companies manage end-user App Store accounts and ensure company-wide application updates? Along with licensing concerns arises the issue of budgeting and IT cost management. The App Store, while convenient, does not offer Enterprise pricing. Demand will be high for employees to access the store – especially if they’ve experienced the ease of the iOS App Store on iPads and iPhones. Purchasing through individual accounts will be difficult to monitor and application prices difficult to budget. But the simplicity of the iOS experience on iPhones won’t transfer to the Mac App Store for businesses and it won’t relieve the headache that many IT directors will experience.

iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch users rejoice! Much requested (and much needed) updates to Apple iOS have   been released today for the mobile operating system. iPad users may celebrate the most: the update includes over 100 new features including multitasking, folders, and a unified inbox. The other breakthroughs are both big and small, including:

• AirPrint – Print mail, photos, web pages, and more directly to a printer on a wireless network with an AirPrint-enabled printer.
• AirPlay – Wirelessly stream videos, music, and photos to the new Apple TV, and stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express.
• Find My iPhone, Find My iPad, and Find My iPod touch – The MobileMe feature that helps you locate your missing device and protect its data is now free on any iPhone 4, iPad, or fourth-generation iPod touch running iOS 4.2

Apple unveiled new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops with longer battery lives, faster processors and lower prices today at the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The price on the ultra-thin MacBook Air was also lowered by more than 15 percent. Also introduced was the iPhone 3G S, the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. It will be available starting June 19.

By incorporating the new Nehalem processors into the Xserve Apple has given their servers the same benefits the processors delivered to the new Mac Pros, more power with less energy. While the additional oomph is nice for desktops users, the injection of speed and performance at the server level can increase productivity across an entire workgroup. The new quad-core processors are remarkably efficient, utilizing every last bit of productivity of the processor and cache, and removing bottlenecks to significantly improve “memory bandwidth.” The enhanced speed will benefit those running a wide variety of applications, from mail and calendar to web and database applications, as well as video and audio editing applications. We can’t wait to test one out; it looks really, really fast and it is reported to be extremely quiet.

Along with Sever-class 7200-rpm SATA drives, and 15,000-rpm SAS drives, the new Xserve offers a $500 2.5 inch, 128 GB SSD option (an SSD is essentially solid-state memory acting as a hard drive).
SSD provides an ultra-fast, low-power boot drive alternative. Operating at under 1 watt – versus 12 to 18 watts for a typical spinning drive – this solid-state drive delivers random-access performance that’s up to 20x faster than a SAS drive and up to 48x faster than a SATA drive. And since this 1.8-inch drive is installed in a dedicated location, it doesn’t take up a valuable drive bay, leaving all three bays available for primary storage and RAID applications.

Businesses that have been waiting to upgrade their current servers until they saw what Apple was going to offer should be pleased. The quad-core model starts at $2,999 and the 8-core at $3,599.