Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Archives

What Can Your AEC Firm Control During Times of Uncertainty?

IronOrbit May 5, 2020

What Can Your AEC Firm Control During Times Of Uncertainty?

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Author: John McMahon

Read time: 8min

Even as architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) companies anticipate project delays they are bracing for the unexpected. There’s the two trillion dollar infrastructure bill. Is it going to happen? Unless you’ve got a crystal ball, a lucky rabbit’s foot, and a divining rod all calibrated to the right frequency, your guess is as good as mine.

You rely on industry lobbyists to push infrastructure spending, Whether or when it happens, is out of your control. The big government money isn’t coming quickly. Coronavirus continues to cause volatility in every sphere. Nearly half of all AEC firms expect to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Many anticipate their projects to be postponed. So, all of this begs the question. What can AEC firms control in a time of uncertainty?

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1. Today’s Work

I know that it sounds simplistic, but sometimes the simplest truths are the most important. Tomorrow we can’t control, so we have to focus on what we can do (and get done) today.

Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “The future depends on what you do today” — and he’s not wrong.

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2. Spending

Likely, your firm has already had to tighten its belt. Projects delayed and on hold are squeezing you. You can’t close the company wallet entirely while you ride out the storm.

Companies that choose their spending carefully will thrive. That’s true in general, but especially true during times like these. When things get back to normal, companies that choose to close their wallets and wait out the storm might find themselves behind. It might even be difficult to compete on a level playing field. Putting some financial resources into departments like marketing, internal sales, and human resources (searching for that perfect addition to the firm) during this time can pay off big.

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3. Technology Utilization

In our current work-from-home climate, architectural, engineering, and construction firms across the country – big and small – have had to lean on cloud technologies like VoIP phones and hosted desktops to keep workflow rolling. Cloud computing also helps them stay in touch with employees, vendors, sub-trades, and clients. Right now, technology is something that you can control. If what your firm has got now isn’t working for you, or if you want something better, better is out there! And you’d probably be surprised how quickly and easily it can all be implemented.

Most firms will continue to use the cloud-based technologies they have discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic long after the crisis has ended. So, taking the “technology bull” by the horns now and taking control of your future IT environment, is a good call (understatement).

If you’d like some advice or assistance in how your firm’s technology can be improved upon, the IronOrbit team would be glad to have that conversation with you.

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4. Care for Employees, Vendors, and Clients

The AEC firms that are going to come out ahead are the ones that focused on relationships. Relationship building is one of the things you can control. Anyone can pick up the phone or send an email to check in on a colleague or client – and you should. It’s good business. It’s also the kind of cement that can hold relationships together through thick and thin.

Steve Pavlina, author of Personal Development for Smart People, said, “Treat your business relationships like friendships (or potential friendships). Formality puts up walls, and walls don’t foster good business relationships. No one is loyal to a wall… except the one in China.”

By investing care, concern, support, and if needed financial resources into employees, vendors, and clients now, you foster a relationship that will pay dividends in terms of business when things get rolling again.

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5. Compliance

As hard as it is, compliance with federal and state closures, social distancing, and isolation is something that you have under your control.

As things begin to open again, those restrictions begin to relax. Implementing ongoing safeguards in the workplace is also under your control.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has changed the way the world looks at contagion, and the behavioral effects of the virus upon clients and employees alike will be with us for some time to come. There are sure to be an increased number of new safety measures.

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6. Charity and Cheer

Remember the last time all the employees or your firm pitched in to take on a project that benefited someone who needed help. Remember what it felt like? Call it the power of positive intent or just goodwill. It’s amazing what good it does for the morale of a firm.

This week, in our town, a truck will pull into the parking lot of the local Salvation Army Church. Because this is a time when some people have a scarcity of food supply. We will distribute 50,000 pounds of potatoes and French fries to folks who need them.

Why?

Because a farmer somewhere knew he could do something.

So, your AEC firm has no potatoes… No surprise there.

But with some thinking and a little imagination, I’m sure you can find some way to band together. Become helpful to someone less fortunate during this time – and there’s always someone less fortunate.

We’re all in this together. And ever-so-slowly, we’re coming out of this crisis together. There’s one thing the leadership of every AEC firm in the nation has under their control. They can choose to be charitable. They can nurture an attitude of cheer and possibility thinking among their employees.

Great Britain may have gotten through WWII with the motto, “Keep Calm and Carry On” but that stoic side of bravery has never been the American way. Instead, every crisis has seen business owners step up to the plate. They do what they can (charity and cheer). A happy warrior to assist in combating the enemy.

Today is no different.

Sure, you may not be able to give to every charity that you would like to support. Your firm may be one of the thousands across the USA that have had to apply for federal loans to keep afloat. It’s a tight spot we’re all in.

But we’re all in it together. It’s an expression you hear a lot nowadays, and it’s true.

These are difficult and uncertain times. You need a solutions provider who can partner with you. IT experts who can pivot and adjust to your needs as they change.

We can help

If you’d like to learn more about how we can transform your AEC firm
into a secure virtual computing powerhouse, give us a call

(888) 753-5060

Or click below to learn more about our AEC solutions.

AEC Solutions

The Coronarvirus Tests Global Readiness for Remote Work

John McMahon March 10, 2020 Cloud Migration, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

As the threat of a coronavirus pandemic wipes away trillions of market value dollars, the largest mass exodus from the traditional office is underway.

The coronavirus threat pushes the question, “Are we ready to have our employees work from home?” Organizations want to do whatever they can to help contain the spread of the virus.

One of the top healthcare conferences of the year HIMSS canceled at the last minute. Everyone knows why. The canceled HIMSS conference was only the first of a series of conference cancellations this month. How many more conferences are going to be canceled. Only time will tell. A click survey online shows that Google, Intel, FaceBook and Twitter have canceled many of their conference plans. The South by Southwest, or SXSW Conference, has not yet buckled under pressure to cancel.

Andrew Keshner reports in a MarketWatch article that, “As the Coronavirus spreads, companies are increasingly weighing if they should, or even can, have workers do their jobs from home.” The article goes on to announce that Twitter told its 5,000 employees around the world to work from home. The BBC News reports Twitter’s head of human resources Jennifer Christie said, “Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus for us – and the world around us.” Twitter has been developing ways for employees to work from home. Their mandate moving forward is to enable anyone, anywhere to work at Twitter. Twitter’s began moving to a more mobile workforce before the coronavirus. Now, many companies are taking steps to enable employees to work from home. Asian-based organizations, the ones that could, have already implemented work-from-home options. Several giant multi-national companies such as Citigroup have restricted travel to Asia.

The Best Advice: Plan and Prepare

The media seems to report on the idea that there are only 2 states you can exist in. One is ignorant bliss. The second is a state of panic. There’s a wide territory between those two extremes. People should not panic. They should be aware of what’s going on, have an appropriate level of concern, and respond. People need to consider what’s going on so that they can take action. Managing risk is an important part of life. It’s also an important part of leading a business. Understand the risk. Understand what might happen, and make decisions to keep business moving.

Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, has announced they can’t contain the coronavirus. So that means we’re down to implementing mitigation strategies. This means the CDC is going for non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). This translates to things like closing schools. Mitigating strategies also include preventing people from attending large gatherings. If necessary, issue self-imposed quarantine orders. If self-imposed quarantines don’t work, CDC will issue a contained quarantine order. This means there’s no choice in the matter.

The CDC recommends that companies encourage telework. “For employees who are able to telework, the supervisor should encourage employees to telework instead of coming into the workplace until symptoms are completely resolved. Ensure that you have the information technology and infrastructure needed to support multiple employees who may be able to work from home.” There have been technologies enabling employees to work remotely for some time now. And the interest has grown over the years. It has been a matter of just deciding to offer that flexibility to your employees. Managers have to determine the ratio of working in the office with working at home. It’s more of a leadership decision rather than any limitation of the technology. But the coronavirus threat will certainly act as a catalyst accelerating the adoption of remote collaboration tools. Most companies will be forced to have their employees stay home. Microsoft has announced free upgrades. Office 365 users can now make full use of the video conferencing and recording features of Microsoft Teams.

Businesses can replace in-person meetings with video and increase networking options. Now is a good time for businesses of all kinds to start preparing. If you don’t have the infrastructure already in place, start planning it. Most organizations are not prepared for wide-spread enablement of remote departments. Many are still evaluating requirements and solutions. Workers can work as effectively at home than in the office. Research indicates employees are even more productive working from their home offices.

Moving to The Cloud Has never Made More Sense Than Now

Cloud technology and remote workspaces enable organizations to be flexible with their staff. It’s also an attractive incentive while recruiting talented employees. Astute business leaders want to be in a better position to offer remote collaboration tools to their employees. They want to establish parameters in which work-from-home culture thrives. Jennifer Howe, VP of SMMA an architectural firm in Boston, and acting president of the ACEC Massachusetts said,” Remote workspaces are invaluable these days. You can’t recruit and retain talent without that kind of flexibility.”

A recent article on the Fortune website calls it the “world’s largest work-from-home experiment.” There are millions of businesses all over the world trying to stay productive amidst this growing crisis. The article goes into detail on the level of upheaval for companies. This is particularly true in Southeast Asian countries. “One of the most unsettling factors for employees is the rapidly-changing impact of the virus. It is prompting daily changes in corporate directives. We’re seeing that kind of impact in the states as more and more cities declare a state of emergency.

A giant experiment is underway to see how well new technologies can enable successful mass remote working for employees.

Managers worry the exodus from the office will lower productivity. There have been many studies done to support that the exact opposite is true. Productivity doesn’t go down. It goes up. The 2017 Stanford University Research is often quoted. That study found a 13% increase in productivity. A study conducted at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office showed remote workers had a 4.4% increase in output. The consulting firm Deloitte did a recent survey that found 82% of white-collar workers using flexible work options.

What Does Remote Work Look Like?

Unlike companies that are designed from the start to hire work-from-anywhere employees, traditional in-office companies have to decide how this will work. Management has to set parameters on how remote-work happens. They have to communicate to their employees what the expectations are. How will the team stay in contact with each other throughout the day? What is the level of responsiveness needed? Does your staff need to access robust programs like Autocad, Maya 3D, or Adobe After Effects? If so, then how, on a technical level, is that going to happen? For example, GPU hungry programs will need to be hosted on a virtual server. The work-in-progress files will have to be stored in some central location. This is also something that isn’t accomplished overnight. Now is a good time to start having those discussions.

The worst thing you could do is not do anything. Business leaders shouldn’t ignore the situation as it continues to escalate. Ask yourself, if this continues, would your company be able to operate productively. To what extent will your company be forced to stop its activity altogether?

At some point, we are all going to enter the coronavirus tunnel and make it through to the other side. The collective experience will force us to redefine the way we work. We will consider how we interact with each other. Who operates as a self-starter? Who needs closer supervision?

**Alvin Toffler** was a writer, businessman, and futurist He envisioned the digital revolution long before it happened and foresaw the remote workforce as an inevitable 21st Century trend.

The idea of remote work is not a new one. It goes back 50 years. Futurist writer Alvin Toffler wrote about remote work in his 1980 book THE THIRD WAVE. “When we suddenly make available technologies that can place a low-cost “work station” in any home, providing it with a “smart” typewriter, perhaps, along with a facsimile machine or computer console and teleconferencing equipment, the possibilities for home work are radically extended.”

Cloud technology enables a home computer…a “low-cost workstation” as Toffler calls it, or any mobile device for that matter. The home computer, smartphone, or tablet essentially serves as a dumb terminal. The processing power actually comes from a virtual desktop. For all practical purposes, it’s just like working from your office. You have access to the same emails, the same software applications, and the exact same files.

Right now, the coronavirus is forcing us to reconsider work-from-home scenarios. Moving personnel to a more comfortable and safer work-from-home environment has its benefits. For some businesses, this means building some kind of infrastructure.

I’d like to close with a question posed near the end of the Forbes article. “If you are an employer and you have the power to offer greater freedom to your workers, should you not being thinking about how to do so?”

VDI Planning: 4 Key Pitfalls to Avoid

IronOrbit February 18, 2020 Desktop as a Service, Hosted Virtual Desktops, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

What is VDI?

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) enables virtualized desktops hosted on remote servers on the Internet. Reducing the need for hardware while improving flexibility, VDI offers practical benefits as well as a hefty return on investment. There is a strong business case to be made. According to the IDC, “The Business Value of VMware Horizon,” of January 2016, there is a 5-year return-on-investment of 413 percent. On average, the virtualized desktop costs 71 percent less to buy, deploy, support, maintain, and use over a 5-year period. This is on a per-device basis. Users spend 76 percent less time on device application log-ins. VDI enables companies to make full use of human capital while preventing many IT-related issues. We need all the help we can get to unlock the massive human assets such as talent, empathy, and creativity. You know, the things computers aren’t that good at. There are indeed great advantages to moving to a DaaS environment. There are also many opportunities for making mistakes along the way. Let’s take a look at the 4 most common pitfalls associated with VDI migration.

A TechRepublic article cites a lack of planning as a major pitfall of VDI integration. The article went on to report that companies failed to plan for enough resources. Don’t provision for today or tomorrow. Design an infrastructure that will serve your needs next year and for the years ahead. That article was from 2013. It is just as relevant today.

Decide what are the priorities in your VDI environment.

The problem with most VDI implementation is lack of planning. Internal stakeholders should begin with a comprehensive assessment of the IT environment. Also, consider the individual desktop environment. The VDI landscape has changed over the years. Planning and project management are the key to a successful VDI adoption. The initial steps start with an internal dialogue. It’s a good idea to bring in outside expert advice early in the process. Each company is unique. There are different demands and different expectations. The time and effort put into VDI planning will pay incredible dividends for years.

Here are a few of the most common hurdles. They can be overcome when identified early.

VDI Planning — A Common problem with VDI planning is wanting to include everything.

Don’t Try to Do Everything at Once

The first common issue in rolling out a VDI initiative is trying to do too much at once. This applies to both large and small environments alike. VDI does not look the same at any two companies.

Don’t try to include every attractive feature in your initial implementation. Be focused on meeting key objectives. And be selective. Understand the major features and benefits of VDI. But don’t try to include everything in the beginning. This will only slow down the process. It will also distract you from your key objectives. A white paper by VMware recommends taking a step back. Consider what you’re trying to do. Do this before you even think about IT requirements. Instead of diving straight into technical requirements, such as numbers of servers and sizing of WAN links, begin by exploring user needs, business drivers, and special requirements. These special requirements might include things like: compliance issues; high availability; disaster recovery plans, or even the need for the business to rapidly onboard large numbers of new users due to mergers or acquisitions.

Don’t get stuck on the age-old VDI question. For example, using non-persistent versus persistent desktops in their initial deployment.

A company may never deliver a useable VDI solution if they allow themselves to get stuck on an idea. Let’s say that you determine 99% of its VDI desktops will be non-persistent. Well, you need to know that you’re going to spend countless OpEx and CapEx funds.

Stay Focused on Key Points — Zero in on what’s most important to you in a VDI environment.

Narrow down what you need in the planning stage to get VDI in a solid usable state. Set-up your VDI on a set of lean criteria. You can make additions as you go.

Do an Effective Initial Assessment

The next hurdle is company-specific. It is also often overlooked due to the upfront cost and time. I am referring to the VDI assessment that should be a part of the planning. The VDI assessment is the discovery phase of the project. It will help you isolate and focus on what is most important for your business.

Identify who will be using the VDI solution. The assessment is two parts: discussion and analysis. Be sure the process includes all the stakeholders including those who will be using the virtual desktops. Getting them involved early in the design process will help manage expectations. It will also go a long way in nurturing the acceptance of the resulting VDI environment.

Bring All the Brains to the Table — Bringing all the brains to the table will ensure the existing infrastructure is understood and all solution options are on the table.

Let’s use the example of an HR group that will be using VDI during the initial deployment. There is an initial interview. The agenda includes setting expectations of VDI. Begin by looking at how the company currently uses the computer environment.

Discussions along these lines will establish some parameters.
Do they generally only use a combined set of 4 applications? Do they work at varied times throughout the day? Do they only need a web browser and the ability to email clients on the company network?

You also need to do some data gathering of what traditional desktops are doing during the day. What are the applications used? What is needed for the machines to operate?

Most PCs are oversized with wasted resources. VDI is all about compute and storage density. Determining accurate sizing needs equals more cost savings. There are several tools that can do the 2nd part of this equation but don’t overlook the first.

Don’t Overlook Management and Support Responsibilities

This third point is around IT staff.

Who will be managing the new environment once the consultants have departed? Will you share this duty between existing desktop/infrastructure teams? Or will a new team arise to manage the entire solution? Decide this early on.

Manage a VDI environment requires an engineer who understands several key technologies. They sound know how these technologies affect the virtual desktop. These technologies include but are not limited to:

Networking
Know how users connect to the virtual desktop. Know where to troubleshoot problems like lost connections or poor performance

Compute/Infrastructure
Deep understanding of hypervisors and server infrastructure, depending on the vendor of choice

Security
Knowledge of security products will be inside the virtual desktops and in the network path of VD. This is for troubleshooting purposes.

Desktop Engineering
Basic knowledge for customizing Windows installations and troubleshooting.

Additionally, there are several other ancillary technologies that come in handy. These technologies include DNS, Active Directory, Application Packaging/Delivery, Load Balancing, and Storage.

These skills can come from various class training offerings. Many should come from experience. Knowing how all these different technologies work together in your environment is critical.

Larger companies own many of these technologies.
Separate teams manage them. It is crucial that all the stakeholders be aware of the impact of VDI.

Know who has ownership of the new VDI systems. Make sure there is buy-in from across your IT organization. This is important to establish in the beginning. Everyone needs to be on the same page. This will make training easier. can occur for those needing to ramp up.

This ownership and buy-in include first-line defenders like your typical service desk team. Let them know they’re responsible to field certain common VDI related issues as they come in. Provide education and resources to support them. Service and support is the key benefit of partnering with seasoned VDI consultants.

Don’t Forget the User Experience

As VDI deployment comes together, don’t forget about the user experience.

The User Experience Is Important — User experience is the final litmus test. How the user feels about the experience means the success or failure of VDI or DaaS.

Consider how things were before VDI. Chances are, your employees have been using similar pieces of hardware. They know how their workstation machines perform every day (good or bad). They’ll compare the new VDI environment to what they had before.

This goes back to the assessment stage. Understanding the proper-sizing and performance of each machine is important. It can mean the difference between successful adoption and one that isn’t. It’s also more than that.

If a user now has to login twice to access their Virtual Desktop they will complain. If the machine hangs when opening a video conference they will complain. If patches cause reboots on different days, they will complain. You want to make the change over to VDI as seamless as possible.

The experience should be better, not equal or worse than on a traditional desktop. Make sure you plan to provide the expected performance of each workstation. Allow for a tailored storage solution that is intelligent and optimized for VDI. Consider network crashes. If for whatever reason, they can’t access their virtual desktops, this can also be a problem. Here’s the point. Outside factors can contribute to the total experience on a Virtual Desktop. Many of these factors will be beyond your control.

The successful adoption of VDI means user acceptance. Deliver a desktop-like experience. It means proving the training and support necessary. Company-wide buy-in is key to the success of the whole program. It all begins with planning and making sure you have every brain at the table when that happens.

Cloud Computing, DaaS, Hosted Desktops, Infinity Workspaces, Remote Collaboration Tools, VDI planning, Virtual Desktop, VMware

Top 5 Reasons to Choose IronOrbit VPS Hosting

IronOrbit December 11, 2013 Hosted Virtual Desktops, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

It’s possible to divide a single physical server into multiple virtual private servers (VPS).

These virtual private servers are similar to independent physical servers: they both have a defined amount of processing power (CPU) and storage capacity (RAM and HDD or SSD), which are used to host IT solutions such as applications and virtual desktops.

However, while a physical server’s resources are determined by its hardware, a virtual private server’s resources are determined by a form of software called a virtualization platform; and this provides a VPS with the flexibility to contain as many resources as one-fourth of a physical server (if a business doesn’t need a full physical server and doesn’t want to pay for one) or that of multiple physical servers (if a business has an application or website that needs more processing and storage resources than what is contained in a single physical server).

The cost-efficiency and flexibility of hosted virtual private servers are what causes many businesses to select them over solutions like hosted dedicated servers and hosted terminal servers.

Reasons why Businesses Sign up for IronOrbit VPS Hosting:

Performance. IronOrbit Hosted VPS perform just as well as onsite servers, regardless of the quality of the user’s device or the speed of his or her network. We maximize the performance of our Virtual Private Servers with intuitive, trend-based caching and packet-prioritizing network algorithms.

Security. We provide better security for our Hosted VPS than any other hosting provider. We protect them with firewalls, IPS/IDS, gateway antivirus, content filtering, access control, and 24x7x365 alarm monitoring at our datacenters, among other security measures.

Cost. IronOrbit Virtual Private Servers—even with Orbital Security, Atomic Speed Technology, 24x7x365 technical support, and managed data backups included—cost only a low, flat monthly fee. They also don’t require the purchase of any additional onsite hardware.

Customizability. Businesses can host any IT solution they want on an IronOrbit Virtual Private Server, including applications, virtual desktops, databases, and websites. Other aspects of their Hosted VPS that they can customize include its number of users, amount of data storage, security policies, and authorization settings.

Support. All of our Virtual Private Servers come with 24x7x365 all-inclusive technical support, as well as around-the-clock performance and security monitoring and IT maintenance. As a result, businesses that sign up for IronOrbit VPS Hosting don’t need to hire any additional IT personnel.

To sign up for Hosted Virtual Private Servers that perform better and are more secure, cost-efficient, customizable, and better-supported than the Hosted VPS of any other hosting provider, contact IronOrbit at [email protected] or (888) 753-5060 today!