The way we work is changing. Traditionally, we went to an office and worked with our team in person, five days a week. But thanks to advancements in technology, that’s no longer the only option. Increasingly, people are splitting their time between the office and home. This trend is called the hybrid work experience. And while it has many advantages, it can also be challenging from an end user perspective and an IT perspective.

That’s where enhanced technology solutions come in. Providing tools that make remote and collaborative working easier ensures the hybrid work experience is seamless and productive for everyone. In this blog post, we further explore how enhanced technology solutions are improving the hybrid work experience and some of the benefits you can expect.

Improved Communication And Collaboration

One of the challenges of the hybrid work experience is maintaining effective communication and collaboration between employees who are in the office and those who are working from home. Enhanced technology solutions have made it easier for employees to stay connected and collaborate on projects, regardless of location. This is especially helpful since reported in 2021 that “nearly 60 percent of remote workers said their company operates in two to five time zones.” Forward-thinking technology solutions allow organizations to improve communication and collaboration among their hybrid workforces.

Dell Technologies’ recent product launch includes the . Its features are designed to meet the needs of collaboration, delivering improved audio quality for both the user and others on the call. Neural noise cancellation helps to reduce unwanted background noise (anyone have loud kids or pets at home?), while distortion reduction delivers louder output levels without feedback. In addition, the proximity microphone adds a brighter, clearer tone to speech, making it easier to be heard in noisy environments. These features can help make the hybrid work experience more efficient and enjoyable for everyone attending your virtual meeting/presentation.

Increased Flexibility And Productivity

Hybrid work also provides employees with increased flexibility and productivity. For example, a cloud-based document management system can allow employees to access files from anywhere, making it easier to work from home. By investing in such solutions, employers can make the hybrid work experience more efficient and effective for all involved.

Dell’s portfolio, which includes the , , and more, is a new way of working that delivers an enhanced technology experience by combining the best of the office and remote workplaces. With Dell Optimizer, workers can connect to two wired or wireless networks at once for faster data transfers and downloads. It also delivers less buffering and up to 30% lower latency. Bandwidth management prioritizes conference apps while working from anywhere. Automatic network switching connects to a stronger network when one is available. These types of hybrid work experiences are designed to optimize employee productivity and collaboration while providing enhanced security and control.

Improved Security Measures

Security is always a concern when it comes to technology, but it becomes even more important when businesses adopt a hybrid work model. With enhanced security measures like two-factor authentication and data encryption, businesses can protect their data from being accessed by unauthorized individuals, whether they are in the office or working from home.

The hybrid work experience is the new norm, and Dell Technologies is at the forefront of this with its commercial portfolio that includes an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) software suite. This allows users to have a more intelligent PC with built-in AI, which comes in handy for the concealment of sensitive information if an onlooker or intruder is detected. In addition, the PC can automatically dim when the user looks away from the screen to protect data and conserve power.

Dell Technologies Enriches The Hybrid Work Experience

With the rise of the hybrid workforce, Dell Technologies has developed new products and features to address the unique needs of this increasingly mobile population. They have made it a priority to create a productive experience for employees who are constantly switching between in-person and virtual work. With the latest Dell commercial portfolio, IT teams are better able to select the necessary tools and technologies that enable employees to collaborate seamlessly, work intelligently, and stay secure. By providing enhanced technology solutions, Dell is helping to make the hybrid work experience more productive and efficient.

The hybrid work model is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. And with these enhanced technology solutions, businesses can improve communication and collaboration to increase flexibility and productivity, which can help you meet your enterprise goals.

Contact our experts today if your business would like to learn more about creating a holistic hybrid workplace solution. We have experience across all Dell systems and can help create custom solutions for your hybrid team.

Next Steps: Improve your hybrid work experience by downloading our tech brief, .

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Gone are the days of working solely from the office. Although there are perks to working on-site such as better security and network connectivity, most people do enjoy being able to work from anywhere. It’s no surprise that of executives are accommodating hybrid work. Employees have a new outlook when it comes to work since COVID, and that is why businesses are figuring out a better post-pandemic office strategy for their teams.

Ensuring enterprise technology works the way it’s supposed to is probably the most important aspect of hybrid or remote work. Updated technology can empower employees to work more efficiently by being able to collaborate easier as well as have 24/7 access to information needed for their job. Hybrid workplace technology can also gain better insights on troubleshooting IT issues. As the leader of the Client Product Group at Dell Technologies, , states, “Hybrid work is no longer an afterthought or a privilege, it is the standard. While employees are moving between locations to get work done, creating a productive experience is the priority.”

An Advanced Hybrid Work Solution

New research from tells us that “44% of people want their leaders to empower them to choose their preferred working pattern and provide the necessary tools and infrastructure to do their jobs.” To better support any post-pandemic office strategy, organizations need to invest in powerful technology from better laptops to upgraded security features.

Having a hybrid work solution such as Dell’s new portfolio that includes Latitude PCs can help organizations upgrade PCs to stay up to date with security, efficiency, and more. Here are a few reasons why upgrading your hybrid workplace technology is vital for any business.

1. Improve Privacy

Major security incidents are happening more frequently than ever and are continuing to rise. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure your hybrid workplace solution can fight security vulnerabilities. Dell’s latest commercial portfolio has an integrated artificial intelligence software suite that powers intelligent PCs. One of its many capabilities is allowing users to hide sensitive data on their screen from a suspected intruder. The PC will also automatically dim once the user looks away in order to protect data and preserve power. It may be easier to protect all employees when working on-site, but as hybrid work is here to stay, businesses must adapt with a post-pandemic office strategy such as .

2. Maximize Performance

Implementing hybrid work causes many enterprises to rethink team communication and collaboration strategies. Finding tools that can free employees from needing to work on-site every day is an important aspect of hybrid work. There needs to be a seamless transition for team members to track projects, share files efficiently, and communicate through video and other means. Hybrid work solutions like Dell Optimizer includes multi-network connection, which allows users to connect to a number of wired or wireless networks at once. This leads to quicker data transfers and downloads so employees can work with more efficiency and ease.

3. Enhance Innovation

Upgrading technologies in any business can truly propel innovation by making many work processes more efficient. For example, Dell Optimizer has features that improve background noise cancellation while on a call. Also, the Latitude PCs from Dell make it easier to work from anywhere with the latest 5G and Wi-Fi 6E tools. These types of hybrid workplace technology advancements can give users and IT admins more flexibility, allowing for more productivity and a better work-life balance. Creating a workplace culture that values personal time and ensures employees have all of the necessary tools to get their job done can boost innovation. Team members will be more likely to reach their full potential when they can easily be productive, connected, and centered.

Conclusion

When deciding what devices to use for your post-pandemic office strategy, it’s important to determine which device types will make workflows and daily tasks easier while also protecting sensitive data when employees are working in the office or somewhere else.

There is no doubt that a hybrid workforce is the norm for many companies now and in the future. This concept lends itself to flexibility, innovation, and productivity. Along with that, the right hybrid workplace technology is essential in supporting this new way of working. Organizations equipped with updated digital tools such as Dell’s new technology portfolio aimed at enhancing hybrid work can create a better environment for employees and help power operations.

If your business would like to learn more about creating a hybrid workplace solution that can help your team and organization grow, contact our experts today. We have experience across all Dell systems and can help create custom solutions for your hybrid team to reach organization goals.

Next Steps: Enhance your hybrid work experience by downloading our tech brief, .

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In today’s uncertain business climate, it’s critical to make sure your enterprise places itself at the forefront of innovation and leverages data effectively and efficiently to make decisions. A Connected CIO sets the tone for their team, playing a crucial role in adopting new and efficient technologies that encourage the use of data to lead innovation.

In the last year, CIOs who made digital transformation and data a top priority are now reaping the rewards of increased agility, productivity, and ongoing data-driven value. If you’re wondering how you can use data to lead innovation and become a connected leader for your enterprise, this article will provide the clarity you are seeking.

Why Using Data To Lead Innovation Is Important

Utilizing data to lead innovation is critical for enterprises that want to stay at the forefront of the data era. Embracing a data-first, data-anywhere approach as new technologies emerge is crucial for driving organizations forward, as seen in the following statistics:

• say their ability to collect, analyze, and act on data has made it easier to adapt and survive.
• agree that extracting valuable insights from data will be more important for their business than ever before.

• Organizations that increased their use of digital channels to reach customers or citizens are to be top performers than trailing ones.
• Organizations have increased the amount of data they manage by an since 2016.

Enterprises that access greater amounts of information can use this data to lead innovation. Being digitally connected allows your business to collect, analyze, and utilize relevant data to make informed decisions quickly.

Beyond the ability to collect and analyze information faster, the pandemic has also pushed enterprises to simultaneously face accelerated demand for a digital presence and shift work structures to a remote and hybrid environment. It’s imperative that your workforce can regularly access the data they need from anywhere. This requires modern devices and a flexible, responsive IT environment that keeps productivity, security, and cost-effectiveness a high priority.

Connected CIOs who prioritize a digital, data-driven workforce will create a long-term, sustainable strategy to ensure their teams have the right resources and devices to be productive from anywhere. By doing so, CIOs empower their workers to leverage data to lead innovation.

How Can I Use Data To Lead Innovation?

Traditional IT solutions inhibit the flow of data from where it’s gathered and stored to how it’s accessed by employees. This obstruction results in important business decisions being based on outdated and inaccurate information. When data can be accessed quickly and easily, enterprises are able to make the best decisions possible using complete and up-to-date information.

To effectively use data to lead innovation, you need modern strategies and technologies to accommodate the exploding volume of data coming from multiple locations. As a result, digital leaders have moved away from centralized data storage concepts to free their AI and ML workloads to analyze data in real-time, regardless of location.

Why CIOs Need To Set The Tone For Data To Lead Innovation

As a Connected CIO, your deeper understanding of your enterprise’s needs will enable you to use data to lead innovation. You will also be better prepared to handle new and unknown challenges. With your bird’s-eye view of the organization’s goals and processes, you can access data quickly and confidently to make swift decisions when faced with shifting business needs.

Additionally, you can guide your organization to prioritize digital transformation initiatives that improve agility, enable teams to work from anywhere, and encourage the use of data to lead innovation. As the person sitting at the top of the pyramid for your enterprise’s technology sector, you have the power to influence and encourage your team to adopt and use these new data-led initiatives.

Turn Your Data Into Insights and Action

With WEI and Dell Technologies, you can rest assured that you will have a team in your corner focused on creating integrated solutions that turn your data into insights and action. We make sure you’re up to date on market trends and cut through the noise to help you understand which solutions provide their worth in enterprise environments like yours.

NEXT STEPS: to identify five key factors for driving digital innovation in your enterprise.

Contact us at WEI to find out how we can guide you in making important IT decisions for your company.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has forever reshaped the way we work. At the onset of the pandemic, companies were forced to rapidly transition to working from home. A year and a half later, it appears remote working won’t be fading away anytime soon. One found that 87% of professionals hope to continue working from home, even after the pandemic is over.

As a result, the pandemic has also impacted talent recruitment and retention. Employers are having a difficult time attracting and retaining high-quality employees and a are coming to the conclusion that a of work is the most effective solution. With this model, employees can decide whether they want to work from home or work in the office.

However, once enterprises decide to utilize a hybrid work model, the next problem is ensuring users have the technology they need to be successful.

Keep reading to learn three reasons why investing in cutting-edge, modern technology will successfully guide your business forward in the new era of remote working.

1. Improves Employee Experience

Having up-to-date technology, like modern desktops and laptops, empowers the remote workforce to be productive day in and day out by making work easier and more enjoyable. Giving your team the right tools will allow them to reach their full potential by accessing resources and staying connected to their team members, whether they are working remotely or working in an office.

Additionally, having the right tools boosts employee retention. When you make a great first impression on new hires by offering the latest and greatest technology, their productivity is strong right away. This also strengthens the company culture and improves employee morale. When it comes down to it, offering a positive employee experience starts with providing team members the tools they need to do their work technology is a huge part of that.

2. Modern Technology Ensures Business Continuity

When you invest in , you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing your employees in the office and remote aren’t being bogged down by slow and bothersome systems. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about little things like hardware or software incompatibility and inconsistent internet connectivity.

Having modern technologies allows every employee to access internal resources and applications. If you’re worried about unauthorized logins or if an employee accidentally downloads a virus, invest in modern PC lifecycle management platforms (MPCLM) that enable IT to manage machines remotely. You’ll be able to ensure your remote workforce and in-office employees are always working productively when you invest in new desktops and laptops alongside modern IT tools to keep your business connected.

3. It Allows Your Remote Workforce To Innovate

Modern technologies offer a variety of benefits, but the most important by far is innovation.

By ensuring your remote workforce has the tools they need to succeed, you empower your team to reach their full potential at work every day. Through these modern technologies, you enable your team to have real-time connectivity and collaboration, which allows your team to brainstorm, test and implement new ideas faster than ever before.

This, in turn, speeds product development and reduces time to market, which offers your enterprise a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Additionally, it helps your team find and focus on high-value activities, further boosting engagement and output. Empowering remote employees is the key to success when growing your company and allowing them to have the technology to guide them is absolutely essential.

Dell’s Technology Solutions Can Help You Find Success

It boils down to this: Choosing which desktop and laptop devices will power your operations is the most important decision you can make for your remote workforce. With Dell’s wide range of models and excellent specifications you can’t pick incorrectly. Partnering with an organization like WEI can also help with this decision and build a program that helps empower your remote employees.

Are You Ready To Transform Your Remote Workforce?

is committed to helping enterprises transform the way they do business. To support this, innovation is at the forefront of all their solutions, enabling you to transform your infrastructure and accelerate the innovation you need to stay competitive. If you’re ready to make the change now, contact WEI to begin building a custom solution for your business. We have expertise across all Dell systems and can help architect a custom solution to achieve your desired business outcomes.

NEXT STEPS: this executive brief to learn the TOP FIVE factors for driving digital innovation in your enterprise.

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After being popularized and exploding onto the IT scene almost a decade ago, the usage and management of containers is still evolving as new and more efficient organization strategies and tools are developed.

is one such tool. It was released in 2014 and over the last several years, has grown to be one of the most frequently utilized container management platforms.

That said, its popularity does nothing to simplify its core concepts and for executives, even those with an IT background, it can be hard to understand just how important and useful Kubernetes really is.

To make the conversation easier, we’ve pulled the top four things enterprise leadership should know about Kubernetes from ‘s Kubernetes for Executives report and other sources, and shared them in the article below.

1. What is Kubernetes?

The first step to understanding the benefits of Kubernetes (Koo-burr-NET-eez) is to actually learn what it is. This is typically the part that creates the most confusion for non-technical members of leadership teams.

As described on , “Kubernetes is a portable, extensible, open-source platform for managing containerized workloads and services, that facilitates both declarative configuration and automation.”

Depending on your own technical knowledge, that explanation might seem pretty simple or it may require further explanation. To start with, what is a container and what are they used for?

In VMware’s words, “ encapsulate applications and make them portable.” Essentially, containers provide a way to keep software running under identical conditions when it is moved from one computing environment to another. As an example, this might be migrating an application from a test environment into production.

For today’s enterprises, containers offer a sort of “plug and play” method for administration, development, and distribution of applications and their relevant dependencies.

Kubernetes goes one step further and offers scalable, automatic management and administration for distributed systems at the container level and serves as a starting platform for developers, while also preserving user choice and flexibility.

2. What are the benefits?

At its core, Kubernetes is an API-based, scalable and extensible solution, supported in all major public clouds and with a growing community of open-source solutions that complement its essential features.

Among its other benefits, Kubernetes offers the following, :

• Service discovery and load balancing
• Storage orchestration
• Automated rollouts and rollbacks
• Automatic bin packing
• Self-healing
• Secret and configuration management

For a non-technical audience, Kubernetes can best be described as an automated system that eliminates many of the manual provisioning and other tasks required for container management.

Its components, which are easily replaceable to allow the system to be extended to new requirements and environments, work together to coordinate activities and react to events.

3. Why Your Enterprise Needs Kubernetes

As shared by VMware, Kubernetes benefits the enterprise at multiple levels, from the IT teams that administer the digital environment, to application developers, and all the way up to CIOs.

The bottom line is:

• Kubernetes reduces the amount of time administrators need to spend on container management, allowing them to focus on more complex and beneficial tasks.
• It allows enterprises to deliver new software and products more quickly.
• Kubernetes improves infrastructure and application availability, resulting in increased productivity at every level of the enterprise.
• It improves security by allowing application developers to play an active role in designing securable application.

4. How To Get Started With Kubernetes

Starting your journey to Kubernetes adoption can seem daunting, especially for those enterprises that have yet to fully embrace cloud computing technologies. However, the rewards of taking the leap are undeniable, especially for those enterprises the prioritize software development.

If you aren’t sure where to get started, VMware and can help you pave your way forward.

Are Your Looking For A Partner On Your Journey To Kubernetes?

VMware offers enterprises solutions that will help them manage and run consistent infrastructure, across on-premises data centers and public clouds, improving user experience and overall business operations. Their innovative approach to container orchestration offers architecture that is easy to deploy and manage, increasing enterprise agility and flexibility.

NEXT STEPS: Is your organization using containers?

Click below to grab your copy of our FREE EBOOK, “The IT Leader’s Guide to Using Containers in Today’s Digital World.”

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Someday, the daily struggle and uncertainty of the pandemic will only be a memory. However, the way we do business has been forever altered and remote workforces are likely here to stay.

In early 2020, companies were forced to rapidly transition to working from home. More than a year later, as vaccines roll out and the virus subsides, it appears as though the remote work trend won’t be going away any time soon. In fact, one found that 87% of professionals hope they can continue working from home.

Although the want teams to return to the office, employers are increasingly coming to the realization that they might have a hard time attracting and retaining top talent if they don’t allow their teams to work remotely. For this reason, the majority of employers are moving forward with plans to continue with a remote workforce or implement a , where some folks work from the office and others work from home.

To support hybrid or remote workforces, companies need to invest in powerful laptops that enable employees to do their best work, regardless of their location. Utilizing laptops is one way to be sure your users have the tools they need to be successful.

Here are five reasons the right technology will help your organization get to the next level and thrive in the new era of distributed work.

1. Boosting the employee experience

With the right tools in place, you’re equipping your team with what they need to reach their full potential. Instead of struggling to access resources or stay connected to the team, employees that are given Dell laptops are empowered to work productively day in and day out, using up-to-date technology that makes work easier and more enjoyable.

Utilizing new technology can also help your enterprise make a great first impression with new hires, which increases productivity and engagement while strengthening company culture. This, in turn, boosts retention.

2. Facilitating meaningful connections

A found that 45% of workers missed the social interactions they had with their coworkers after being forced to transition to remote work.

Although technology can’t completely replace face-to-face interactions, it can help remote workforces stay connected to their teams. New cloud-based project management tools and real-time chat platforms are allowing users to work collaboratively from home. And when coworkers need to talk through something in more depth, they can hop on a video call in a few clicks and “see” each other for a little face time.

That said, these new communication tools and platforms need hardware they can run efficiently on. There are few things more frustrating for employees than having to fight against their technology during video calls or missing important messages due to computer malfunctions.

With the right tools, your remote workforce can collaborate together on an increasing number of projects and form meaningful connections with each other, which makes work more social once again, just in a different way.

3. Keeping operations humming along

When you invest in modern technology, you enable your remote workforce to work with purpose and accomplish more. On top of that, you won’t have to worry as much about things such as incompatibility, slow-loading machines and a wonky internet connection that moves at a snail’s pace.

Worried that your employees will invariably download viruses and malware, misconfigure their devices and otherwise misuse their machines? Don’t be. You can also invest in modern PC lifecycle management platforms (MPCLM) that enable IT to manage machines remotely.

4. Future-proofing your tech infrastructure

By embracing the power of modern devices and tools that enable IT to easily manage them over the internet, organizations are able to future-proof their technology stance. When new solutions emerge, IT administrators can roll them out to the machines of all users automatically, empowering companies to always ensure they’re providing their employees with the best tools for the job.

Thanks to MPCLM technology, IT can deliver bespoke digital solutions to employees rapidly, without having to endure lengthy procurement and provisioning processes on a continuous basis. At the same time, IT can also test laptops and desktops remotely to ensure they are operating at optimal capacity. They can also train employees to make sure they can use every tool productively.

5. Accelerating innovation

Each of these benefits adds up to the biggest one: innovation.

By ensuring that your employees have the tools they need to succeed, and that those tools evolve with the times, you empower your team to reach their full potential at work every day. Through real-time connectivity and collaboration, the hardware you rely on can enable your team to brainstorm, test and implement new ideas faster than ever before.

This, in turn, helps you bring new products to market faster, accelerating innovation and driving competitive advantage while working more diligently to delight your customers.

Utilize Dell Laptops For Your Hybrid Workforce

What it boils down to is this: Choosing which laptops and desktop devices will power your operations is one of the biggest decisions you can make.

With so much on the line, you really can’t afford to pick the wrong models. And this is precisely why it makes sense to join forces with a partner organization that can help you build the perfect solution for your business instead of doing it on your own.

come at variety of price points and offer different options for storage, operating systems, and features. Dell laptops can also be tailored to suit the needs of each user to match the work they will be doing.

Dell also offers a number of 2-in-1 models that function as both a laptop and tablet, offering increased flexibility for your users for meetings, presentations, note taking, and more.

Are Your Looking For A Partner To Support Your Remote Workforce?

is committed to helping enterprises transform the way they do business. To support this, innovation is at the forefront of all their solutions, enabling you to transform your infrastructure and accelerate the innovation you need to stay competitive. We have expertise across all Dell systems and can help architect a custom solution to achieve your desired business outcomes.

NEXT STEPS: Your business needs infrastructure that is flexible enough to support a hybrid workforce. Take a look at the TOP TEN reasons why enterprise IT leaders run their business on Dell VxRail in our paper below.

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Today, there is an impetus among IT leaders to build stronger digital foundations, enabling their companies to head off future disruptions and secure long-term business success.

New, cloud-based operating models featuring greater speed, agility, and scalability can support the digital transformation enterprises across industries require. By leveraging cutting edge technologies to improve their use of data-driven insights, high-performing organizations can utilize these findings to drive business forward.

Redefining Digital Transformation

Although the benefits of digital transformation are well understood, its success takes on new meaning as we look to improve operations, customer experiences, and security in 2021. Technology leaders must identify the pressing challenges and opportunities of the day and work with business leaders to identify domains that are top priorities for change.

As describes, “the authentic, nimble, connected and collaborative companies will win in 2021 and beyond.” Here we examine some of the key lessons learned from 2020, followed by five considerations you should take into account as you accelerate digital innovation in your own company.

Speeding Up Innovation

Change in markets, supply chains, and expectations of customers and employees alike in 2020 taught us that many of the systems and processes that have supported us for years will not provide the lasting agility we need. It was companies that had already established the right partnerships and cloud-based technologies who responded to the COVID-19 crisis with success.

As shared by Dell in their report, prior to the disruptions of 2020, many companies found that their digital transformation efforts were lagging behind. As a result of the rapid change of the past year, enterprises are “bracing themselves for a challenging chapter ahead,” and prioritizing digital innovation throughout the business. In fact, according to Dell, 41% of companies surveyed for their report accelerated all or most of their digital transformation programs in 2020.

This is especially true for companies forced into a remote-work model who now perceive it as an important practice they will continue in some capacity for years to come. Struggling with new cybersecurity challenges forced companies to reimagine their technologies and best practices. Of the companies that fast-tracked their digital transformation efforts, Dell reported that the number one program prioritized was strengthening cybersecurity defenses.

Now, technology leaders must not only revisit these changes to assess them for long-term viability, but they must also find opportunities to introduce the agility they witnessed in 2020 into their business models. Automating key processes, adopting advanced analytics, and improving channels for customer engagement and response are all viable options.

Five Considerations To Start Accelerating Innovation Today

Today, we face an urgency for creativity in digital transformation and for greater receptivity to those changes among business leaders. Technology leaders can take the best lessons learned from 2020 and use them to improve digital strategies moving forward.

1. Speed and agility are determining factors for success.

Whether reviewing and implementing a new strategy or reallocating resources in the event of a crisis, enterprises with greater speed and agility, enhanced through digital transformation, are simply more successful. Cloud technologies helped leading companies minimize friction in business processes and arrive at value more quickly when their customers needed it most.

Of the companies surveyed by Dell, 74% reported they were currently investing in multi-cloud technology and 35% reported they would be investing within the next three years.

2. Renew focus on customers, build more holistic relationships.

Both consumer and business priorities have changed. There is a new impetus to reexamine what customer centricity means for B2B and B2C customers and how companies can deliver on enduring needs and expectations through new digital capabilities and experiences.

According to Dell, 74% of digital leaders set up new digital channels to support customers during the pandemic.

3. Cybersecurity requirements are evolving as our companies and employees evolve.

New cybersecurity threats emerged in 2020, and existing vulnerabilities also worsened as we changed the way we work. Transitioning employees to remote-work environments exposed vulnerabilities, for example. Now, data privacy and security concerns are more likely to create barriers to the digital transformation companies require.

Cybersecurity solutions must become core investments over the next three years to make the transformation in other areas of the business possible. Companies will need the right technologies and teams in place as they embrace other innovations, such as 5G infrastructure or democratized analytics.

As previously mentioned, Dell found that IT leaders are prioritizing cybersecurity efforts above all else, with 82% percent reporting a current investment in cybersecurity and privacy technology.

4. Workforces also need to transform.

Tech leaders cannot expect new technology adoption alone to solve their problems. They need employees who understand transformation, who can use those technologies to realize their goals.

Tech leaders should identify existing and new talent gaps alongside their digital transformation efforts. They should also identify digital solutions that present realistic opportunities in terms of closing up talent gaps to realize the capabilities they need. They can then “triage” their approach to closing that gap with three strategies: hiring new talent, reskilling existing employees, and automating processes for which manual work is no longer needed.

5. We need to keep learning, even as we scale.

Among other things, the events of 2020 presented business leaders with learning opportunities. They forced most companies to pivot dramatically, with varying degrees of success. But our learning hasn’t ended, in fact, companies must have an ingrained responsiveness as part of their operations so that they can succeed if either global or local crises strike again.

Helping You Prepare For What’s Next

is committed to helping enterprises transform the way they do business. To support this, innovation is at the forefront of all their solutions, enabling you to transform your infrastructure and accelerate the innovation you need to stay competitive. For more information about Dell’s capabilities and how their solutions can future-proof your digital transformation, contact WEI. We have expertise across all Dell systems and can help architect a custom solution to achieve your desired business outcomes.

NEXT STEPS: You might also be interested in this video we created in partnership with Dell to help you prepare for the Edge. Find out if your enterprise is really ready to mange data at the Edge in this short video below.

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Batman and Superman. Iron Man and Captain America. Everyone loves when two giants in their own right come together for the common good. Simply put, everyone loves a superhero team up. Enter and .

Each offers a variety of solutions that propel enterprises through digital transformation and modernization efforts, including key cloud computing solutions. Through their partnership, HPE and Nutanix have gone one step further by offering enterprises a complete private cloud infrastructure integrated with software.

HPE And Nutanix Are Helping Enterprises Take Control Of The Cloud

As previously mentioned, HPE and Nutanix each stand in their own right when it comes to cloud computing.

In one corner you have , a fully managed, scalable IT infrastructure service, which offers enterprises a cloud-like consumption model for on-premises infrastructure. With GreenLake, HPE has cast aside the one-size-fits-all approach to supported technology by allowing enterprises to choose the most appropriate supported HPE or third-party technology. HPE also offers flexible pay-as-go models and makes it easy for enterprises to scale to their exact needs.

In the other corner is the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform, a complete IT infrastructure which has the agility, scalability, and simplicity of the cloud, and the security, performance, and cost predictability of traditional on-premises infrastructure. Nutanix Enterprise Cloud offers additional benefit by spreading all data and processes across the entire cluster, which improves resource utilization, scalability, and performance predictability.

HPE And Nutanix Combined

Together, Nutanix and HPE are reinventing the way IT organizations build cloud infrastructure by combining the best of public cloud with the security and control of private cloud.

First up is , which feature built in integration with Nutanix software. Engineered to provide an infrastructure stack which is delivered either as an up-front purchase or as-a-service, this joint venture offers support for (VDI), built-in data protection, and additional third-party integrations right out of the box.

In terms of VDI, HPE ProLiant DX systems offer improved user performance and scalability, without the burden of high capital costs. IT organizations also have full remote replication capabilities, as well as backup to local systems, a remote site, or to the cloud.

In addition to the ProLiant DX systems, HPE and Nutanix have also collaborated to offer , which expands HPE GreenLake to run the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud as-a-service to support key areas.

For databases, HPE GreenLake with Nutanix mitigates common management challenges that come about due to the use of traditional infrastructure to support high-performance database operations. By streamlining database deployment, management, and operations, HPE GreenLake frees IT up for more complex and strategic projects.

Amongst its numerous other benefits, offers enterprises faster and easier deployment and management of VDI, as well as desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) infrastructure. HPE GreenLake with Nutanix also simplifies bring-your-own-device and choose-your-own-device programs through the distribution of applications through SaaS models.

Additionally, the focus on private cloud infrastructure, supported by hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), allows enterprises to consolidate siloed workloads into just one management platform. HPE GreenLake with Nutanix also offers one-click database deployment, management, and operations, simplifying the management process even further.

[Featured Video]
The Hype is Real with Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Overall, HPE GreenLake with Nutanix and the ProLiant DX family of systems are offering enterprises additional flexibility, security, and efficiency when it comes to cloud computing, as well as flexible billing options and support for remote workforces.

Ready to Master The Cloud With HPE And Nutanix?

While many enterprises have made moves to adopt cloud computing, truly mastering the cloud is another thing entirely. HPE and Nutanix are both leading the charge in the development of cloud software and through their partnership, they are offering the cloud solutions enterprises need to succeed in today’s digital world. If you’re ready to make the change now, contact WEI to begin building a custom solution for your business.

[Featured Video]
Real Tech with WEI – Episode 1: HPE ProLiant Gen 10 Servers

Take a closer look at the HPE ProLiant family of servers and find out why the HPE Gen10 rack servers have earned the title of “World’s Most Secure Industry Standard Servers” in this episode of Real Tech with WEI featuring WEI Solutions Architect, Jay Cardin.

The post HPE and Nutanix – The IT Modernization Dream Team appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

When it comes to service delivery, there has never been more pressure on IT teams than today. With rapid adoption of digital technology and the prioritization of responsiveness, employees, customers, vendors, and enterprise leaders expect digital needs to be fulfilled faster than IT can often provide.

For this reason, IT leaders must improve the speed and efficiency of service delivery in order to keep business moving forward and stay ahead of the game when it comes to these new technologies.

IT-as-a-Service (ITaaS) has been a buzzword for some time, and the industry is at a point where best practices for implementing ITaaS have been developed and the benefits have been proven to be effective, making the transition to ITaaS all the more attractive for enterprise IT organizations.

Five critical steps every IT organization should take to transform IT service delivery:

1. Promote self-service IT
2. Quickly integrate and optimize
3. Establish policy and controls
4. Provide seamless delivery
5. Plan for Day-2 and beyond

By linking together all of the tools and technologies in a way that acknowledges the people and process challenges of modernization, you can improve control and agility at the same time. Let’s take a closer look at these 5 steps to examine what is involved so that you can effectively plan your ITaaS delivery strategy.

Self-service for all

If an IT organization can’t get ahead of service requests, there will never be time for digital innovation. For this reason, promoting self-service for end-users is paramount. Whether the request involves providing access to business critical apps, spinning up a new (VM) or cloud resources, cutting through the noise and allowing employees to find the answers they need quickly, easily, and securely, will free up IT for long-term digital transformation initiatives.

As a secondary bonus, self-service cuts down on instances of , where users bypass the IT service stream entirely, whether due to impatience, wait times, or any other reason, and go off in search of answers themselves. Not only does this pose increased security risks, it can result in increased costs.

Integration and optimization

A majority of enterprises are running a mix of several platforms and clouds, with new options being added all the time. For this reason, utilizing software that promotes third-party integration is a game changer when it comes to optimizing your environment for efficiency. To fully take advantage of the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and automation, IT must have visibility and integration across the network.

Controls and policy

Third on the list is establishing effective role-based access control (RBAC). Regardless of your desired governance model, utilizing RBAC to effectively manage user access, provide self-service and automation, while still ensuring security, is a key piece of the IT service delivery puzzle.

Seamless delivery

Speeding up product delivery a high-priority goal for many IT organizations. That said, hurrying along the development of software development is of no use if the delivery and implementation process does not quicken as well. By bringing together development and implementation, IT organizations can create a seamless path for efficient delivery.

Post-implementation administration (Day-2 Ops and beyond!)

Automation will be your friend for managing Day-2 operations. While the provisioning process is accelerated through the above strategies, it’s also crucial to include lifecycle management as part of the IT service delivery equation. IT leaders are often expected to push out new applications or services as quickly as possible, but IT’s job doesn’t end once the new technology goes live. After that first day, IT is responsible for the administration and management of every new technology and ensuring that lifecycle management, including monitoring, logging, and data management, is part of your long-term plan for IT service delivery is key to preventing roadblocks in the future.

Consider transforming IT service delivery with Morpheus

Morpheus originally began as an in-house agnostic application automation platform and has now grown to serve some of the largest Fortune 1000 companies and service providers in the world. Offering CloudOps, DevOps, SecOps, and FinOps as a unified platform, Morpheus drives innovation and propels enterprises forward.

There is no single product or “magic bullet” that can make your digital transformation initiatives an instant success, but Morpheus stands behind their agnostic automation and orchestration platform as a catalyst to help you get there faster and provide the freedom to quickly adapt to an ever-changing landscape.

Regardless of where you are in your digital transformation or innovation journey, can provide the platform and tools your enterprise needs to promote efficiency, reliability, and speed throughout IT service delivery.

Questions about Morpheus? WEI has the answers.

WEI’s engineering team has vast experience helping IT organizations in several industries implement automation across infrastructure, cloud, and application management. Our goal is to help you simplify the management of your unique IT environment, while also ensuring all your business goals are met. Our experience with Morpheus will prove to be a critical factor in your assessment of their automation and orchestration platform. Contact us today to learn more about how Morpheus can work in your environment and what implementation will look like. We’re here to help.

NEXT STEPS: The speed and agility benefits of hybrid cloud provide a way to accelerate digital transformation, while maintaining control and security. You might be interested in our white paper below as a helpful resource on your digital transformation journey. Click below to read our paper, “How Hybrid Cloud Can Launch Your Digital Transformation” today.

The post 5 Critical Steps To Transform IT Service Delivery appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The driver that wins the big race does not get as much credit for the win if he simply drove the fastest car on the track. After all, logic says the driver should win. A recent trend in data storage has been to migrate to all flash array storage solutions. Flash drives are certainly faster than HDD disks. For those enterprises that implement AFA storage arrays, performance is definitely fast, which it should be using the logic of the fastest racecar. However, there are companies that are achieving ultrafast performance without having to pay the premium price for high performance storage media. Now that is real innovation.

The high cost of Flash Storage

While SDD may be the fastest disk on the street, it does not make AFA a best alternative. Just as the fastest car on the track is also most likely the most expensive one, AFA storage solutions are costly. A single SSD disk is more than an HDD. The price differential for a single disk may be negligible, but the more storage you need, the more that price differential multiplies. Now imagine if your organization utilizes 100 petabytes of data. Suddenly that price differential is spiraling upwards in the same exponential fashion as your . Despite its costliness, many storage vendors are introducing AFA solutions as the easy way to increase the turbo performance to your storage.

Not all data is equal

This does not mean that SSD is not a viable solution. You certainly have some data that you can justify the need for flash storage. However, that is key term, “some”. Every company has a data profile that emulates a triangle. The small share of data that justifies high-value high-performance resides at the top. The wide base of the triangle represents the majority of your data that consists of lesser value. It can also tolerate greater latency. This is why despite the appeal of performance, AFA solutions still only account for 15 percent of the total footprint of external storage capacity sold today.

Do not confuse speed with innovation

Storage innovation equates to more than just speed, and hardware innovation is not the only approach to deliver it. Infinidat is proof of this. In fact, Gartner names Infinidat as a leader in the 2019 Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage. Gartner does not designate you a leader just because you have the fastest hardware. They do so because you deliver innovation on multiple fronts. Infinidat set about to create a solution specifically designed for petabyte storage environments, one that does more than just store bits and bytes, but provides a competitive edge for petabyte enterprise environments. The result was the creation of an entirely new approach to building and scaling storage infrastructure called the array.

What Infinidat delivers

Infinibox utilizes hybrid architecture that incorporates HDD disks as well as an allotment of SSD drives to deliver the right mix of media storage. Don’t associate the integration of HDD with decreased performance however. In fact, Infinibox is faster than AFA storage. How is this possible? Through innovative design that incorporates DRAM caching as well a machine learning algorithm called Neural Cache that uses I/O history to recognize data correlations in data access patterns in order to optimize future performance.

Infinibox delivers more than just high throughput and microsecond latency. Its single 42U rack provides over 8PB of effective storage capacity. Infinibox maximizes disk utilization through highly efficient thin provisioning, continuous space reclamation, space-efficient snapshots and inline data compression. Those enterprises that require more even more capacity but have unpredictable future growth can take advantage of Infinidat’s flexible consumption option called (COD). With COD, companies only pay for the storage presented to their storage and applications. When more storage is needed, they simply pay for it to have added capacity unveiled.

Infinidat created Infinibox from the ground up for high availability and reliability. It’s self-healing architecture incorporates a hardware redundancy design of (n+2) that helps enable rapid recovery form any component failure. Its resilient design can withstand the failure of up to 12 drives and provide reliability at a level of seven nines.

Security is another aspect in which Infinidat separates itself from AFA solutions. Encryption and traditional approaches to data reduction by nature do not coexist for AFA designs. Infinidat overcomes this challenge by incorporating a approach towards encryption. Thanks to 30 years of collective innovation, Infinibox is able to deliver reduced TCO objectives for both encrypted and non-encrypted data.

Economics at petabyte scale

Large companies are always trying to leverage their inherent economies of scale to their own advantage. Infinibox allows companies to unify their data center-scale pools of storage to overcome the conflicting desires of faster and less expensive performance. With a power load of only 4 watts per usable terabyte, Infinidat customers can quickly garner significant power savings in addition to reduced disk media costs. Savings is also achieved by consolidating the storage footprint through data reduction. When you add it all up, it is no wonder that CFOs as well as CIOs are embracing Infinidat to help them build competitive advantages by attaining superior data services while coinciding realizing substantial cost savings in operational costs. For petabyte enterprise environments, you no longer have to scale your budgets in the same exponential fashion as your data capacity growth. With Infinidat, you can be the first to cross the finish line, without breaking the bank.

NEXT STEPS: Find out why CIOs and CFOs love Infinidat in this video.

The post Infinidat Delivers Petabyte Scale, Performance and Innovation appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Writer’s note: Every Thursday in November and December, this blog will highlight the SDN solution, Cisco ACI. As market acceptance and adoption increases for SDN, IT professionals can count on WEI to fairly evaluate the market leading SDN solutions available today.

Several analysts have predicted a rise in the adoption of SDN and software-defined technologies in the years ahead. We stand by the prediction as our networking solution engineers often get asked about our experience implementing the market leading available today. Read through this example of how WEI assisted its customer with a data center relocation and consolidation project that was enhanced by the implementation of Cisco ACI — which presents a new networking model that leverages policy-based networking.

Challenge

A Fortune 100 Communications company was faced with a data center relocation initiative as their building lease was about to expire. The company saw this relocation as an opportunity to consolidate their existing data center and build a new state-of-the-art data center with infrastructure built for today, and for the future.

The customer was faced with the following challenges:

• The building lease expiration posed a tight deadline, especially for relocating a data center of this size
• This data center housed the customer’s VDI environment, Telecom equipment and Business Applications, making it critical to minimize downtime and impact to employees
• could not be compromised

Given WEI’s vast experience managing data center relocations coupled with experience implementing software defined networking solutions, the customer brought in WEI to manage the data center consolidation, relocation, and integration of net new infrastructure, as well as the implementation of the

Solution

As a supplier of the customer’s data center components (servers, storage, and networking), WEI already understood the existing IT environment and was able to get started quickly. WEI’s project management team brought together the three stakeholder groups, the Data Center Infrastructure Manager, and the Server and Networking teams, to understand business goals and requirements. The Data Center Infrastructure Manager required the new data center to run on DC power. Since WEI is the only in the region with DC power options available, WEI staged all the equipment in our Data Center Demo Lab over an 8-week period replicating the customer’s environment with servers, storage, and software defined networking with Cisco ACI.

The hardware and software configuration was done collaboratively among WEI, Cisco and the customer’s networking team during a week-long testing and training session in WEI’s Knowledge Transfer Center. This was a huge time-saver for the customer because they did not have to wait for the new data center install to be complete in order to start testing Cisco ACI in their updated environment.

WEI also led the data center build and played a major role in the physical install with the Rack and Stack of 70 cabinets by WEI integration and engineering teams.

Outcome

The decision to implement Cisco ACI was a key factor in the success of the consolidation and relocation because its backbone infrastructure allowed the data center to be set up quickly. ACI features automatic fabric deployment and configuration with single point of management by the . Only one rack had to be configured and then the APIC pushed the configuration to the 70 racks in the new data center, which saved a significant amount of time.

Cisco ACI allows for:

• More portability for applications across different data centers
• Automation of IT tasks, such as switch configuration and deployment
• Policy-based networking with no limitations on the number of VLANS
• More secure network with built-in microsegmentation
• Accelerated data center application deployment

Cisco ACI and the engineers from WEI transformed the customer’s traditional data center networking model to one that is policy-based. As new applications are developed or added, the customer has the infrastructure in place to allow for security and connectivity to be built around the application, rather than the network.

“WEI is Cisco ACI certified and is one of the very few IT solutions providers worldwide with experience implementing Cisco ACI in production environments.”

– Greg LaBrie, WEI Director of Technology Solutions and Services

This project was the largest Cisco ACI implementation in a production environment in the United States. The goal of this data center relocation was to build an efficient, secure data center that can scale, and it gave the customer a new greenfield production environment. The success of this implementation will be mirrored and rolled out in the customer’s data centers across the country.

Next Steps

Ask us about and how it fits into your roadmap of IT priorities and projects.

The post Cisco ACI Case Study: Data Center Relocation and Innovation appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

At WEI, we pride ourselves on fostering strong client partnerships and truly believe that their success is our success. Our company was recently featured in an article by CVS Health, a longtime partner of WEI, for our assistance with the and integration. We began working with CVS Health more than five years ago, when we were hired to replace keyboards and memory DIMMS in all of their 7,000 pharmacies.

Now, we are a trusted primary partner and vendor, and our relationship has evolved into several new collaborative and custom IT solutions. The article, written by Tanya Isley, details why WEI, Target and CVS Health make such a great team and how the partnership has benefited all parties. Read the article here.

Retail Data Center in a Box

Get a behind the scenes look at this monumental project in this WEI and CVS Health success story video below.

“We took the time to really understand how these keyboards were used in the stores, how the pharmacists were interacting with their application and some of the special key functions that were involved,” said Dave Fafel, our chief architect. “We were able to come up with a unique solution that CVS Health adopted. It not only reduced costs tremendously but actually enhanced the way that pharmacists used their keyboards to interact with their application.”

According to Lynda Egan, Senior Manager, IT Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Management for CVS Health, “We selected WEI because the company continues to deliver meaningful cost savings to the company, as well as innovative solutions that move our business forward. They rolled out tablets to all the stores, which is another example of the contributions they have made recently. Now, with the Target integration, WEI continues to deliver great work, on time, on budget and with flawless execution.”

This isn’t the first time CVS Health has honored WEI for our excellent work developing custom IT solutions; they recently named us the 2015 Innovator of the Year.

Thank you to CVS Health for recognizing our hard work! We are honored to be your partner and look forward to an ongoing relationship fueled by innovation and creative problem solving. For more information about our work with CVS Health and the Innovator of the Year award, see the video below! If you’d like to learn more about our custom IT solutions, please .

A Partnership Built on Innovation and Collaboration

A WEI and CVS Health story

The post WEI Helps CVS Health and Target Pharmacy with Custom IT Solution appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The post WEI Named to the 2016 CRN Tech Elite 250 List appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Our work for CVS Health began a few years ago with the addition of inexpensive keyboards and memory DIMMs, but the partnership has evolved into several collaborative and custom IT solutions. Now, WEI is one of CVS’ primary partners and vendors.

Our innovative New England technology team is always available and willing to go above and beyond for clients and partners. The work with CVS Health brought several IT visionaries to China in search of new solutions and fixes for complex issues. To quote WEI’s CEO, Belisario Rosas, in his award acceptance speech, “I really want to thank CVS for this award, but I especially want to thank the WEI team, because they’re the ones that make this possible.”

The work our company did for CVS Health also helped to earn us MBE Member of the Week by the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC). The WEI team is beyond grateful for the recognition and already looking ahead to more challenging, exciting projects with CVS Health.

For more information about WEI and our work with CVS Health, check out . If you’d like to learn more about our , please contact us today.

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