By Joe McKendrick
December 14, 2011
Forbes

If anything, 2011 should be remembered as the “Year of the Cloud.” The past year was an energizing one in terms of the advancement of cloud computing. The cloud approach was adopted by many organizations, and most vendors have now gotten into the game as well.  What will 2012 bring?  A possible motto for the upcoming year may be “Cloud First; But Show Me the Money.” Cloud will become simply be the accepted way of acquiring IT services and new applications. However,  companies are tight with their IT budgets and want to see the value — and the pass that cloud has received because it has been so new and different is wearing off.

As we wrap up the year, it’s time to take a look ahead at what 2012 will bring:

Read full article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2011/12/14/10-ways-cloud-computing-will-disrupt-our-businesses-in-2012/

By Erika Tracy
November 28, 2011

Virtual environments are growing at an increasingly steady pace. And the further you go with virtualization, the more you need to be able to simplify the processes and service levels to ensure less hands-on with more productivity.  So how are you managing your existing virtual environment?  Are you taking advantage of all the latest technology to help you to gain visibility, intelligent automation and proactive management?  If not, then please watch the demo of VMware’s vCenter Operations to see how you can achieve simplified management of your virtual farm.

Watch vCenter Video

The IT Jobs of Tomorrow By Chris Pyle, President & CEO, Champion Solutions Group

Recently, I read the article below from Tom Shinder, a Principal Knowledge Engineer with Microsoft.  It is the first good roles and responsibilities description I have seen for Private Cloud Personnel.  I think anyone who is managing a datacenter today must consider what the jobs of tomorrow will be for the next generation data center.  How are you going to groom your current personnel for tomorrow’s demands? What career paths are you offering your staff? Is your HR manager keen to what the IT staffing needs will be in the future?  I think Tom Shinder did a great job of describing these positions.   After you read his article below I think you might want to take a hard look at your current job descriptions and how they might change.

Till next time.

Cheers! 

IT is Dead! By Chris Pyle, President & CEO, Champion Solutions Group

Today I had a meeting with a VP of Sales at one of our mid market clients.  I asked him how he views his IT department.  You know what he said?  He told me that he doesn't even talk to IT anymore.  He said that all of his sales reps are using the Microsoft CRM cloud application we sold him; and that if he needs anything, he calls our support line. He also uses Microsoft Office 365 for all email, calendaring, and web meetings.  I then asked about keeping the sales team’s laptops running, etc.  He said that they now let the sales team use the BYOC method (Bring Your Own Computer) to work.  Many are using slates, iPads and tablets. Their company gives them a stipend very similar to a phone stipend; and they can use their own “computer” to access almost everything they need  in the cloud.  

Is this the new normal? Is the IT Department dead? Or at least dead as we know it today?  We have migrated more than 100 companies to some form of cloud computing, and have 125 other companies in our pipeline.   Champion proactively manages hundreds of servers and desktops; and backs up numerous petabytes of storage. The reality is that for the first time IT departments have real competition; and business owners and business line managers have a choice, and no longer need to be held captive by their IT departments.

FINALLY an Agreement on Defining what the CLOUD is! By Chris Pyle, President & CEO, Champion Solutions Group

If you’re like me, your sick and tired of trying to understand what the cloud truly is!  Every vendor has a different idea.  Co-workers have their idea.  And the media has its idea.  Well, I recently read a very short white paper about what constitutes a "cloud."  The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has put together a definition that almost all “EXPERTS” can agree upon.  If you are planning on deploying a private, public, or hybrid cloud solution, I would strongly suggest that you look at these definitions and share them with your teammates and vendors to make sure that everyone is thinking with one mind and speaking with one voice regarding what YOUR CLOUD is.  And remember, always work to engage a partner that represents you in your cloud journey.

Microsoft Recognizes Champion Solutions Group – 2011 Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year

Champion Also Receives Microsoft’s 2011 Cloud Practice Award

Boca Raton, FL— July 22, 2011 Last Week, Microsoft proudly announced the 2011 Partner Award winners during a ceremony at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles, CA. The Field Partner Awards Program gives Microsoft the opportunity to recognize its top partners at a global event. It acknowledges the extraordinary contributions of Microsoft partners serving small, mid-market and enterprise commercial customers throughout the past fiscal year.

Champion Solutions Group was recognized as the 2011 Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year. Champion was honored among the top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.  Champion also received Microsoft’s Cloud Practice award.

“Champion is honored to receive these prestigious awards from Microsoft,” commented Chris Pyle, Champion CEO. “This summer has been special to our organization. Champion received the Business Transformation Award from CRN Magazine, named one of the  “30 Cloud VARs That Get It” by Everything Channel’s CRN Magazine, and was recognized as one of the Best Places to Work by the South Florida Business Journal. These awards are an acknowledgement of Champion’s commitment to our clients to take cost out of their model while making the organization more productive, compliant, and secure.”

Champion was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services, as well as demonstrating excellent cloud project management for their clients. The Cloud Partner of the Year Award recognizes that Champion is seen as an innovator in the area of Cloud in their respective markets.

About Champion Solutions Group
Champion Solutions Group is an Independent Solutions Provider focused on cloud and virtualization services and data management solutions that reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve application availability for more than thirty years.  Champion’s active customer base has grown by 42% in the past twelve months. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, Champion services organizations along the east coast and into Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

For more information, please visit Champion at championcloudservices.com or call us at 1-800-771-7000.

Cloud Computing Moves Into New Growth Phase By Chris Pyle, President and CEO, Champion Solutions Group

I thought I would share this article that I saw on Investors.com, which is part of Investor’s Business Daily.  For the past 18 months Champion Solutions Group has been working with hundreds of companies on developing their Cloud Strategies. In that time, we have migrated more than 65 clients to the public cloud and have incorporated the use of hybrid clouds in many others.  I know that many of you out there are considering the cloud as the next practice of delivering quality IT services to your user environment. This article does a good job of explaining that this “CLOUD THING” isn’t just a passing idea but is real business.