Cloud Technology Solutions » Articles

Rob Harcourt Appointed SMB Sales Manager

Joe Woodford — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:13:52 +0000

Cloud Technology Solutions have appointed Rob Harcourt to the role of Sales Manager. Rob takes responsibility for driving sales in the SMB market in the UK. Prior to his appointment Rob held positions at ANS Group and latterly Account Director at Salford Software.

Based at the Manchester head office, Rob brings with him extensive experience in the IT industry with a proven track record of developing business, increasing market share and driving revenue

“I am looking forward to working with Cloud Technology Solutions to grow the business in line with our expansion plans. The opportunity to develop a dynamic team within the Google marketplace is a fantastic challenge.”

Commenting on his appointment, James , CEO of Cloud Technology Solutions said, “I am delighted to welcome Rob to the company, he joins us with a wealth of experience in the IT industry. Rob’s experience, skills and drive will play a fundamental role in developing our future growth as well as providing experience and knowledge”.

Go Google Takes The Pain Out of Cloud Migration

Joe Woodford — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:00:34 +0000

A new service designed to help businesses migrate critical services to the Cloud has been launched by Cloud Technology Solutions (CTS). The service Go Google, is the first-of-its-kind specifically designed as a one-stop-shop for businesses looking to easily and cost-effectively migrate to the Cloud.

James Doggart, Managing Director of CTS explained. “Our Go Google offering is unique – it is the only service in the world where an organisation can purchase Google Apps, get set-up, migrated, supported and trained all in one place. This will change the way businesses migrate to the Cloud as it is all done online. So there is no need to speak to a sales person or have endless meetings to scope the project out and then manage it.”

Such a unique service is possible because of CTS’ CloudMigrator solution, the world’s leading Google Apps migration tool. It is the only solution that can migrate from all major e-mail platforms and has already helped migrate nearly 1 million users to the Cloud from organisations of all sizes across the globe.

James continued: “We have deliberately unpicked traditional IT models with this approach. It offers the easiest and most cost-effective way of migrating to the Cloud and because it is scalable it works if an organisation has one user or 10,000. What’s more, there are no hidden costs or add-ons. It costs £60 per user for the first year and then reduces in subsequent years. We even offer a free trial so organisations can see the benefits before they sign-up.”

As well as providing access to all the Google Apps for Business tools including Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Chat and Google+ with hangouts, the service also includes full training and support.

“Training and support are an important part of the overall package,” concluded James. “They help to ensure that users can quickly get to grips with the new applications and ensure their organisation can enjoy the collaboration benefits that Google Apps delivers. We are so confident that people will benefit from Google Apps that we’ll even pay for a company to migrate. If they sign up we’ll give them Google Apps free for a month, only after then will they be asked to pay. So really, it is a no-risk offer.”

To find out more, visit our Go Google Pages

Cloud Technology Solutions Extends Deal With CIMtrek To Augment Its IBM Lotus To Cloud Migration Capability

Joe Woodford — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:54:40 +0000

The partnership deal between CIMtrek and Cloud Technology Solutions has been extended to include new products and capabilities offered by each company.

The partnership between Cloud Technology Solutions (CTS), and CIMtrek, encompasses CTS’s Email migration from Notes to Google and Exchange tools and CIMtrek’s new Application migration from Notes to Microsoft SharePoint. This reciprocal agreement will deliver a comprehensive, easy and cost effective way of migrating, testing and supporting legacy business processes on a massive, secure, cloud infrastructure.

Both companies will offer each other’s technology to their respective resellers and partner channels as well as to end user organizations.
Cloud Technology Solutions is a leader in the migration of on-premise messaging and collaboration tools. CIMtrek has a rapidly expanding customer base and was awarded the status of ‘Cool Vendor’ by Gartner Group within twelve months of launch.

“We are seeing an increased demand for our products and services around the world. The one component we have been missing is mail migration – this extended partnership plugs that gap and will enable our customers to migrate all of their Notes estate to a new cloud or on premise environment encompassing Java and Microsoft technologies,” said Jon Pyke, CEO and Founder of CIMtrek.

“We are very excited to be extending our relationship with CIMtrek, the ability to offer turnkey application migrations from Notes, as well as moving an organisation’s email estate to the cloud is extremely compelling to people looking to move away from the Notes platform” added James Doggart, CEO of Cloud Technology Solutions.

“The combined tools and experience this deal brings makes moving away from Notes easier, more automated and cheaper than ever. By moving to the cloud customers can establish themselves on a current platform, future proof their needs, find the required current skills easier and more importantly scale.”

‘Cloud boom drives CTS Higher’

Rosie Kaye — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:10:30 +0000

Increasing demand from businesses to store their data on 'the cloud' has sparked a boom for a Manchester IT company, Cloud Technology Solutions

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS PRESS RELEASE 2nd July 2012 – Business Desk

Cloud Technology Solutions, a leading Google partner in the UK has trebled its profit in FY2011, ending March 31, 2012. Profit jumped from £40,000 in FY2010 to £120,000 in FY2011. Turnover for the period was £954,000, more than doubling turnover the previous year of £435,000.

The company attributes its continued growth to the move by organisations towards cloud computing in order to realise the benefits of the consumption and delivery of IT services and applications based on the Internet as well as its CloudMigrator tool which is experiencing demand from international customers.

“We’ve migrated over 500,000 users to the cloud since we began and the move towards cloud-based email and other mission critical enterprise wide applications is growing,” explains James Doggart, CEO, CTS.

“Cloud computing reduces the cost of server and data maintenance, allows greater collaboration and also adheres to a ‘greener’ agenda for companies looking to minimise their carbon footprint.”

CTS attributes much of its success to having developed its own ‘CloudMigrator’ tool which allows it to move enterprises over from legacy based email systems into the cloud – including Gmail and Microsoft Office365.

“There’s no other migrator tool like it on the market, so much so, that we have many international companies that simply can’t migrate large numbers of users from their legacy systems to the cloud without our help,” said James Doggart.

“We’ve seen very promising growth in hard economic times and we’ve also doubled the number of employees in the last twelve months – with a tailing wind, I’m sure we can continue to do so.”

Read more on Business Desk and Manchester Evening News.

Break through the haze: Have a clear view on cloud computing with these top ten tips.

admin — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:53:18 +0000

I think it’s fair to say that the hype around I.T this year is ‘Cloud.’ Everything has been repackaged, redesigned, or some companies have simply put the word cloud at the beginning of every product name! Either way, 2012 is already looking to be the time of adoption. Companies are no longer deciding whether to move, but rather when and how they should move to the cloud. Joining the trend doesn’t have to be difficult – so long as you have done your homework and sketched out a plan, you’ll be floating with the rest before you know it. So don’t wait for your server to breakdown, get cloud ready with these tips…

Get Ahead in the Clouds.

Whether it’s just a need for a cheaper email system or a holistic solution for your entire company infrastructure, cloud computing has more than just one way to meet business needs. Why don’t you try and do your own cloud assessment. Then speak to a cloud advisor for free, or have a look around yourself to see if the software you use is offered or can be moved to the cloud. More often than not you’ll find the cloud offering is a much cheaper option.

Turbulent free.

Once a cloud solution has been decided on, you need to choose the best way to make the move. Take email, traditionally people believe that an uprooting of an existing email system can be hugely disruptive, but if planned properly and with today’s tools this can happen without your users even noticing. Once complete, your new account will be loaded with your existing emails, calendar entries, attachments, and contacts. To make sure you’ve got the right tool for the job, check online for comparisons.

Getting used to new surroundings…

Lots of people think that adapting to a new way of computing will be one of the most difficult stages. Go with a cloud solutions company that can help map out your journey and support you once you’re there. There are many products and offerings on the market which can provide all sorts of training from e-learning, to on site training, and 24/7 telephone support.

Do the Maths…

The beauty of cloud computing is that it is easily measurable with no unexpected add on costs. You wouldn’t expect to pay for more electricity than you’ve consumed – and that’s exactly how cloud computing works, you only pay for what you use. If done properly, the transparent pricing model can help your business see the return on investment quickly. A lot of businesses don’t differentiate between “keeping the lights on” and “innovation”. Most business spend 70% of their IT budget on maintaining existing systems and 30% on new ways of working, cloud allows you to reverse this.

Smile! You’re on camera.

Make the most of your company’s communication. Cloud services offer so much more than just email. With everyone getting wrapped up in new technology, we can often get caught in a game of email tennis, but sometimes you need more than that. Innovative technology means you can reach the other side of the world for a business meeting, or present to a room of people via video calling. Give your employees the tools they need to communicate better and more effectively.

Those that play together, stay together.

Empower your employees to work to the best of their abilities – together. When working on a document in the cloud, multiple users are able to contribute and edit at the same time, optimising creativity and increasing productivity. So get used to ‘sharing’ documents rather than attaching different versions to emails – not only will this reduce your bandwidth, but produce just one document, in one place, for all to see.

Maximise mobility

Provide your workers with off site access. No longer are employees restricted to working behind a desk in office hours. Most employers offer some sort of mobile phone package and laptop. If you are one of them – make sure your employees are using them! Traveling away from the office can often slow productivity; store everything you may need in the cloud, and by making sure your workers are loaded with apps and docs, business can keep running wherever, whenever by simply signing in.

A site for sore eyes

With company policies in one place, and staff events in another, its often tricky to keep employees up-to-date. Maximising your cloud solution with Google Sites for example, can centralise all company information. Google allows you to create your own intranet on their infrastructure, with all the important stuff kept together in one place for employees to see.

Take away the headache of getting another bug.

Spam and Anti Virus should be things from the past. The hassle of having to constantly clear out unwanted emails or update your AV software can effect productivity. Cloud computing has the highest level of Internet security possible, but some ‘private cloud’ providers may not offer the security you expect. Be sure to check the cloud provider has been independently verified.

Beware of the grey-areas…

In the past few years the word ‘cloud’ has been used many times and has become somewhat of an I.T buzzword. Many companies provide ‘private cloud' solutions, but do check that their offerings are what you really need. To achieve the true benefits of the cloud – cost reduction, security, and agility – here’s a final checklist:

1. No extra software needs to be loaded on to local machines – all anti-virus, spam filters, and disaster recovery should be built in to your cloud solution.
2. All major access devices i.e. smartphones and tablets are supported.
3. The solution features 99.9% + up time service level agreements. There should be no planned down time, and the price plan should have no hidden costs.

For advice on our cloud computing products with Google, our migration and integration services, and our app development, feel free to contact a member of our team.

Total Cost of Ownership

Paul Lees — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:43:25 +0000

Google offer tools for you to calculate the huge savings you can make with the move to Google Apps. Visit Google for an interactive tool that will demonstrate the savings you can make at www.gonegoogle.com.

Total Cost of Ownership is an important set of metrics particularly when we are in recession. The potentially large savings in costs are quite often the most important reason to consider a public cloud offering such as Google Premier Apps. We have attempted to illustrate this below with a like for like comparison of a new Microsoft Exchange installation vs a new Google Premier Apps installation for an organisation with 2500 messaging and collaboration users. Of course we don’t claim the list of costs to be exhaustive and it also doesn’t take in to consideration write downs and depreciation so we have offered you a free download to the blank template for you to use yourself.

Why Google ?

Steve Kaye — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:42:07 +0000

Ten years ago your access to the best technology was at the office. Now it’s not unlikely that your home computer or device is better than anything they give you at the office. And consumer applications such YouTube, Picasa, Blogger, Facebook and Twitter change the way you create, store and share information. What advances have been made at work? Have your email, word processing and collaboration applications improved at the same rate?

Google Apps is not Google’s version of what already exists

We’re building on what works well and expanding into the future. Companies that are growing are doing so by maximizing their employee productivity. Ideas such as cross-functional teams, telecommuting and mobility have changed the landscape of the corporate worker. We believe it’s time their toolkits adapt with them. We once used screwdrivers and hammers, we now use power drills and nail guns. We once used client based email and word processing, we’re now ready for the Cloud. We’re ready for Google Apps.

For a useful overview of the various functions and modules that is Google Apps click here.

Why Cloud Computing?

Steve Kaye — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:40:44 +0000

Cloud computing is the IT markets attempt to illustrate where your programs and data are hosted and operated on the internet. This means that both the software and the information within it live on centrally located servers rather than on your premises on desktop computers and servers. This also means that all you need to access this information is a browser whether that browser lives on your desktop machine at work or at home or on a mobile device such as a phone. Examples of browsers are Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla.

Cloud computing also delivers the first phases of transforming the access, management and financial aspects of computing to a Utility/Grid type model such as the supply of electricity, water and gas that is on demand, can be switched on and off, and more easily defined costs and benefits. One other significant benefit is that it is much easier to communicate and collaborate with others. Cloud Computing is about choice. It’s not the right approach for everything.

Times when Cloud Computing are not relevant are when you need a lot of computing power for intensive in house applications or when legal or political obligations force you to maintain your corporate data in house. So if you’re an accountant working in the public sector with a requirement to produce and design very complex 3 layer pivot tabled spreadsheets then it isn’t for you!

20% of all the worlds email will live in the cloud by 2012 – Gartner 2009

Why is the adoption of Cloud Computing accellerating?

Google is one player in this space and they claim that 3000 new businesses are signing up daily. What’s driving this mass migration? There are several important factors:

Home IT users are demanding the same levels of collaboration and communication at work as they have at home. This is driven by the internet and social networks, the use of programs such as Ebay, online banking, twitter, MySpace, Amazon etc.
Businesses can no longer afford to keep up with maintaining in house core systems such as email. An average of 70% of budget is spent on maintenance or just keeping the lights on according to Gartner.
Businesses need their IT people to focus time and effort on solutions that are the core to the company’s success and not on desktop productivity which should now be treated as a utility.
Businesses are looking to dependable, easily managed and affordable solutions that will reduce their overall IT spend significantly.
Businesses need to collaborate and communicate globally with their employees, customers and even their perceived competition.