What is it that enterprises want in the cloud, and in their cloud provider? While the specifics may vary a bit from company to company, there are some general conclusions that can be drawn.

In a new white paper from the industry research firm Ovum, the "what do we want" question is addressed, in part through a survey of 200 IT decision makers. Asked to rate the factors that influence their decision to invest in cloud services, the leading reason is cost cutting, both in the IT department itself and across the entire operation.More...

Always advancing in providing ways for enterprises to leverage the advantages of the cloud, Sprint has introduced a new IaaS solution that offers an appealing combination of security, flexibility, and simplicity on top of a truly cloud-aware network.

Sprint CloudCompute, announced Monday, integrates the power of CSC's virtualized utility-based computing solution in the cloud with a robust, reliable, and secure network. As a solution, CloudCompute enhances an organization's IT agility. It makes it possible to quickly turn up additional computing resources when needed, or dial them down just as quickly once particular missions are accomplished. More...

Traditionally, of all managed services options, IT was likely to first consider managed network solutions (MNS). It was a natural evolution, partnering with other outside experts who could manage the day-to-day operations of the corporate network while IT in turn could reduce costs and focus resources toward initiatives driving business value for the organization. Then, as network security threats became a growing issue, more enterprises began adopting managed security services. Yet security has been inherent within managed networks all along, beginning even in the network design phase. More...

If we weren’t able to visit with you this week at Interop, or perhaps you skipped the show, you may have missed our announcement about CloudCompute. This new cloud offering provides a secure, private network and seamless connectivity, on-demand provisioning and management, and a single contract and invoice for all services. CloudCompute gives enterprises the ability to operate a more efficient network, paying only for what is used among a range of virtualized solutions.  If you want to know more, read on about CloudCompute.

We are familiar with the traditional drivers of managed services, the quest for ways to lower costs and outsource routine network management so IT can divert resources to strategic initiatives. Yet companies are considering the talent within the managed services provider (MSP) partnership to be one of the determining gauges as to whether a managed services relationship is fruitful.  

Consider these elements: More...

In the beginning, there was MIS. It begat IT, which is now in the process of begatting ET.

No, this isn't a quotation from the tech bible. It is a shorthand description of the evolution that we have seen over the past half century in the way businesses handle technology. Those  early days of dumb terminals  and mainframes – the MIS era – gave way to individual computers that spawned what we now think of whenever we hear "IT." More...

A new approach to cloud-based collaboration, with easy-to-understand plans, is making it easier for mid-sized and smaller businesses to enjoy the benefits of Sprint's Microsoft Office 365 solutions.

These new plans are not only designed to provide more choice and flexibility, but they are accompanied by 20 optional add-on or standalone products. These help a customer "co-create" the solution which best fits their needs, both current and evolving. Sprint has actually taken this co-creation theme further with our award-winning Carefree Cloud services for these add-on and standalone options. This gives the customer the needed deployment and in-life technical support for their ultimate Office 365 solutions. More...

In the old days, IT professionals were reluctant to outsource or seek a partner to help manage company networks. One of the main reasons was the perception of losing control. Today, managed services are much more pervasive across companies of all sizes and that has a lot to do with transparency and trust.

Interestingly, an online customer portal can help ease the concerns of the biggest companies. IT professionals need to know their networks are secure and in good hands. They need to know when threats arise and when they are abated. They need to know how their networks are performing and how they can be optimized. Essentially, IT needs to know they are benefitting from the expertise and assets of its managed service provider. More...

You never know what you might find, even in familiar places, when you go exploring. I'll bet most of you didn't realize that from right here at Seamless Enterprise, you're only a click away from a most interesting graphic about cloud usage and savings.

It's true. Here it is, and in a very easy-to-read format, you can pick up a lot of information about how companies are using the cloud, the effect on their IT departments and IT performance, the savings they're seeing, and security concerns. The information comes from an international survey of 3,645 IT decision makers. More...

The best recommendation for any technology is the success of the company using it. We all learn more from seeing how someone else is putting a technology or a solution to work – and seeing real benefits – than we do from all the marketing materials a vendor can throw at us

With that in mind, we recommend you browse on over to this particular case study in the use of Managed Network Services. It's about Excelitas Technologies and how that company's search for a reliable network provider brought it to Sprint.

In a nutshell, Robert Ersoni, Excelitas' IT Director, wasn't just looking for a high-performing network. He wanted visibility into that network and he wanted to offload the routine duties from his staff, freeing them to focus on more strategic objectives. More...