Cobweb Solutions Blog - The UK's Leading Cloud Provider

Delivering the world’s first Hosted Exchange 2013

We are excited to announce we’re delivering the world’s first Hosted Exchange 2013 solution.

Developed in partnership with Symantec, Parallels and Microsoft, we’re providing a business-class integration of products, designed to enable enterprise customers to communicate securely, efficiently and effectively, whether in the office or on the move.

Building on our long-term relationships with Microsoft, Parallels and Symantec, our Hosted Exchange 2013 solution is available as part of a complete enterprise-ready productivity suite, offering mobile, web and desktop email access with state-of-the-art productivity, security and privacy. The platform is protected by enhanced security services from Symantec, while Parallels provides the server automation and control panels, aggregating many vendors’ services under a central location.

“Both Cobweb and Parallels know that offering a complete solution around Microsoft-hosted applications is critically important to business customers. As Cobweb is now one of the fastest growing Hosted Exchange providers using our service delivery system, it is fantastic to see them create a full service offering with this worldwide premiere,” adds John Zanni, Vice President, Service Provider Marketing & Alliances, Parallels.

New support, new features, new version of Exchange 2013

Our enterprise customers using Hosted Exchange 2010 will be able to migrate in a secure and efficient way to Cobweb Hosted Exchange 2013, without having to worry about IT implementation or upgrade disasters. Our Hosted Exchange solution is based around the Microsoft Exchange 2013 Enterprise edition and will benefit from updates, additional support and new features included in the latest version of the software. As an extension of our platform, we’re also now integrating Microsoft Lync including all forms of business communication: instant messaging, Voice over IP (VoIP) and video conferencing.

“Exchange 2013 allows much more integration with other products and really enhances the features of enterprise-ready unified communication solutions. Lync delivers a familiar and engaging communication experience across a variety of devices and platforms, and enables business customers to work better and be more productive no matter where they are or what device they use.” Abigail Rappoport, Director, Microsoft Office Division

“Within a unique and unified solution, our Hosted Exchange 2013 platform provides businesses with instant, secure deployment and a better way to share email, calendars and contact information while on the move. In 2011, our Hosted Exchange service sales grew an impressive 50 per cent. We are sure the new features included in Hosted Exchange 2013 will be positively received again.” Julian Dyer, CTO, Cobweb

London 2012: The Benefits of Mobile Working

By Julian Dyer, CTO, Cobweb

With ‘the Games’ fast approaching, businesses in London are being encouraged to look at flexible working initiatives to ensure they remain operative during the upcoming summer months. The government has joined the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in its Preparing Your Business for the Games document, recommending organisations to think seriously about allowing staff to work from home. Although this may seem daunting, a flexible working solution will enable companies and their employees to become mobile at a time when transport disruptions and travel delays will be paramount. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of the business benefits of mobile working:

• Reduce office space, accommodation and travel costs
• Lower staff turnover levels, resulting in lower recruitment costs and increased staff morale
• Cut car parking
• Reduce office footprint
• Enable flexible working, helping to achieve the work/life balance
• Increase productivity
• Win talented employees
• Reduce absence levels
• Achieve smarter commuting, reducing the dead time between office locations and meetings
• Increase job satisfaction

Another parameter to take into account should be the increase of BYOD use (or Bring Your Own Device), meaning employees can access corporate networks through their personally-owned laptops, smartphones and tablets. However, the more companies allow employees to access company data through personal devices, the higher the risk of data loss and theft. Providers can help businesses push security policies onto their employees’ personal devices, making sure the data remains protected. Cloud providers can also take security measures to fully secure the platform on which the data exists, with encrypted channels and authentication protocols. Some providers may even offer the ability to wipe a device should an employee terminate their position at the company. A cloud solution has the added benefit to potentially reduce the risk of company data being lost or stolen by employees, as the data resides in a secure data centre and accessed over the Internet, instead of being stored locally on employees’ personal devices.

Flexible and remote working might be scary for managers and business owners, but granting staff this benefit can produce surprising results. Fewer office distractions and a more comfortable environment makes for more efficient work.

The London Olympics have presented a challenge for local businesses. When the Games open on the 27th of July, we'll see how they cope with the pressure. Those who have planned, tested and implemented flexible and remote working practices are likely to have fewer challenges than those who have buried their heads in the sand.

Cobweb Solutions Supports New Charity ‘Give Us Time’

We would like to announce our sponsorship of new charity Give Us Time – a worthy cause that aims to provide holidays to soldiers and their families before they settle back into daily life after combat.

It’s hard to imagine what life is like after a long stretch away from family or after a strenuous tour, where settling back into civilian life can be tough. Part of Afghan Heroes, Give Us Time launches today and is a cause that has been possible thanks to those who have generously donated week-long holidays in second homes, holiday homes and timeshares across the UK and beyond.

Jim Young (Ex-RN) is Project Manager at Cobweb Solutions and supports the cause, saying:

“These soldiers keep us safe in our country; please offer them a safe place to rest or recuperate.”

Offering the use of your holiday home to help Service Personnel adjust to ordinary life can only bring them benefits and will show that we, the general public, support and thank them for the services they provide. If you would like to donate some time to our soldiers and their families, please visit www.giveustime.org.uk and submit your details.

 

Can Hybrid Cloud Really Work?

The recent trend of cloud computing is seeing public, private and hybrid cloud solutions rapidly becoming a mainstream alternative to a purely in-house deployment. For companies growing quickly and requiring more management flexibility, this deployment model represents a great alternative both financially and operationally. Yet there is always a concern that putting the control in the hands of a cloud provider may present a risk.

On Friday 4th May 2012 we’ll be conducting a webinar with our panel of industry leading experts who will share their experience, knowledge and advice on the cloud services model, as well as some up-to-date research to ensure you get the right balance.

The webinar discussion will take place at 10:00 BST and will last one hour, providing viewers with a first-hand insight into some of these cloud projects, how success has been achieved and the lessons learned along the way.

If you’d like to attend the webinar, register soon as there are only limited places available.

The Panel

Dale Vile
CEO of the independent analyst house Freeform Dynamics

As head of the business, Dale looks after Freeform Dynamics’ overall direction and performance, as well as overseeing the company’s primary research activities, which provide ongoing insights into how IT industry developments map onto practical business needs in the Enterprise and SMB mainstream. More…

Kim Richards
IT Technical Manager of Stemcor

Stemcor is the world’s largest independent steel trader with a turnover that exceeded £5bn in 2010. The company trades around 20 million tonnes of steel and steel-making raw materials per annum through a network of 125 offices across the globe. More…

Oliver Moazzezi
Senior Technical Architect at Cobweb and Microsoft Exchange MVP

Oliver Moazzezi is one of a select few to hold a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) title for Exchange, making him one of the most experienced Exchange experts in Europe. He’s also a senior technical architect and has worked at Cobweb for the past ten years. More…

Cobweb Announced as Symantec.cloud UK Partner of the Year

We are delighted to announce that Cobweb has been named Symantec.cloud UK Partner of the Year, at the Symantec Partner Engage 2012 conference, held in Rome. The accolade showcases Cobweb’s excellence in delivering its customers with a low cost messaging and collaboration solution combined with Symantec’s robust security. Beating off stiff competition from all of EMEA Symantec.cloud authorised and certified service provider partners, Cobweb was selected as it demonstrated excellence in all three key criteria. This included incremental revenue, solution and integration capabilities and delivery of innovative business projects.

Mark Davies, Business Development Director, Cobweb said: “We are delighted to have been named Symantec.cloud UK Partner of the Year. This award is testament to Cobweb’s rapid market growth and its ability to integrate the Symantec.cloud service into our Hosted Exchange platform to provide a single seamless solution.”

 If you would like to read the full Symantec Press Release please click Here