In our last newsletter, we discussed embracing the cloud and reviewed the basics. In case you missed it or need a refresher you can check it out here. At a basic level, the cloud’s strength lies in its flexible infrastructure, and the advantages are clear: Cost savings, security, reliability & accessibility. Today, we are going to look at the steps you can take to begin your migration to the cloud. Every business will have its unique cloud migration strategy and your exact roadmap for migrating to the cloud will depend on the size and complexity of your environment. But the good news is Compu-SOLVE is here to help you along every step of your journey!

Cloud email hosting is a perfect and relatively simple first step in testing out the benefits of the cloud. When you use a Cloud-based email system, your corporate emails will reside in an off-site, highly protected location, making it more secure than if it were on-premises. Organizations that switch to Cloud-based email solutions are taking a step in the right direction to further secure their data. And by switching to a Cloud-based email system, you won’t need to worry about version control issues or maintenance issues that may come up. As with most web-based applications, Cloud-based email can simplify your administrative needs.
 

Traditionally, organizations routed internet traffic from branch offices back to a central location to apply security. In today’s branch offices, this centralized security approach has become impractical due to the high cost and performance issues of backhauling traffic. Many remote offices find ways to go direct to the internet for convenience and performance benefits. Cloud based DNS layer security provides the fastest, easiest way to improve your security. It helps improve security visibility, detect compromised systems, and protect your users on and off the network by stopping threats over any port or protocol before they reach your network or endpoints.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) accelerates your business by enabling your own enterprise-class hybrid cloud.  Migrating your organization’s infrastructure to an IaaS solution helps you reduce maintenance of on-premises data centres, save money on hardware costs, and gain real-time business insights. IaaS solutions give you the flexibility to scale your IT resources up and down based on your demand. They also help you quickly provision new applications and increase the reliability of your underlying infrastructure. IaaS lets you bypass the cost and complexity of buying and managing physical servers and data centre infrastructure. Each resource is offered as a separate service component, and you only pay for a particular resource for as long as you need it, including programming for specific time of day availability.

Migrating to the cloud can be complicated; with the many different cloud platforms to choose from, it can be hard to find the right solution for your needs. The Compu-SOLVE team has a wealth of experience with cloud migrations, enabling us to build a cloud migration plan that fits your business needs. We start by reviewing your current network and processes to identify where cloud solutions make sense and provide recommendations on which cloud models will work best to increase your security, productivity, and scalability.  We then build a customized approach for the migration that eliminates or minimizes any disruption to operations and makes the transition as seamless as possible for your users. Following the implementation of the cloud in your organization, our support staff are available for any questions that may arise.

As a proud Cisco partner, it was great to see how Connected North used the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as an opportunity to share learning opportunities for students of all ages across their network of participating schools. This included “Read-alouds” with an Ojibwe educator, reflective art and writing activity with an Inuk artist, a session with an inspiring Residential School Survivor from the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, and a drawing workshop with a Cree artist. Indigenous students were able to engage in many ways with this important topic and share their own experiences.

Thanks to the Connected North program, learning does not stop after September 30th. Connected North fosters student engagement and enhanced education outcomes in remote Indigenous communities. This leading-edge program delivers immersive and interactive education services through Cisco's high definition, two-way TelePresence video technology. The program is made possible through a strong ecosystem of supporters with program delivery managed by TakingITGlobal. The goal is to provide students and teachers with access to content that is engaging and innovative, with the hope of increasing feelings of empowerment in school and in life. If you would like to learn more about Connected North and how you can support the program, visit their website: https://www.connectednorth.org/en/