abs hosting detail page
COLO... COLOCATION... COLLOCATION
Colocation at ABS is available from 1U through 42U cabinets, dedicated caged areas and fully lockable secured server rooms. We can provide whatever solution you require, including comms & data links - via Internet, MPLS VPN LES and dedicated lines. True diverse routing is available as required.
Basic colo can be augmented with a range of Managed Services (see below) - from simple reboot through 24x7x365 guaranteed 'fix' time.
Services can include firewalls, switches, traffic management, spam and virus flitering along with a range of communications and ISP services.
Our secure spacious rural location means that access for you is easy and prices are highly competitive compared to over-subscribed hosting centres in risk and congestion-ridden cities.
COLLOCATION
Provides the resilience of being off your site
Creates the benefits of multiple generator & UPS backup
– without the costs
Avoids the costs of installing diversely routed communications
Contain bandwidth costs and/or congestion at your site
Can release expensive floor space
Provides a secure, controlled environment for equipment
May save costs on cabinets, UPS’s & air-conditioning
OFFSITE BACKUP
WHY YOU NEED OFFSITE BACKUPLEGAL COMPLIANCEBackups need to be secure, securely transported and securely stored to comply with modern legislation and regulations. Documents also need to be reliably recoverable - often for a period of 12+ years.
The average failure rate of a tape based restoration is 30%. Over time this is likely to increase, as tape degrades unless stored under the most meticulous conditions.
Legislation/regulation includes:
- Data Protection Act
- FSA regulations
- Human Rights Legislation
- Inland Revenue
- Customs & Excise
- Trade / professional standards bodies
Failure to guard data effectively can lead to prosecution by/under the above. It also raises issues of Corporate Governance, due diligence and Directors ' Liabilities.
A BETTER SOLUTION
Our offsite backup system provides a more reliable, resilient and recoverable backup methodology. It is also simpler less costly and more effective to manage.
Furthermore it is 'hardware agnostic' - if it can 'see' data it can back it up. This means it can operate over several different hardware platforms and operating systems and backup multiple servers.
MANAGEABILITY
Managing tape backup systems is complex and time-wasting. Often it requires staff to attend 'out of hours ' to change tapes/loaders. It is also reliant on individuals to succeed - if that individual, e.g. due to sickness, doesn't attend and change tapes, the backup system becomes ineffective. Where several servers need to be backed up and where there are multiple platforms, the problem is amplified.
Tape systems are at their worst when it is required to find and recover an individual file. This can take hours, even days, and, because of the unreliability of tape, there 's no guarantee that the file will restore.
What 's more, tape systems are notoriously renowned for not reporting failure. It is not atypical to discover this only when trying to effect a recovery.
In comparison our system offers:
"Offsite backup is a simple, cost-efficient 1st step in building resilience. It's an effective platform for a Business Continuity solution too."
- Automated
- Multi-server
- Multi-platform
- Detailed reporting
- Simple file identification & recovery
- Multiple backup sets
- Self-recovering and reporting
SCALABILITY
As data storage requirements have grown, tape systems have struggled to cope. It is now not uncommon for medium sized businesses to not be able to run the backup they require during the available night-time window available for this. As a result their resilience and integrity can be compromised.
The prevalent tape hardware has changed several times during the last 10 years to provide greater capacity and speed. In addition autoloader cassettes have been utilised to make several tapes available in rapid sequence. More software, greater use of IT, substantial year-on-year growth in email volumes, bigger email attachments and bigger data files have meant that tapes have failed to keep up.
Tape, because it has to spool, is a physically slow way to record and an even slower way to recover files. Tape is also complex. In contrast, our offsite solution offers the following:
- Scalable from Gigabytes through multiple Terabytes of information
- Utilises compression, single file instancing and delta blocking technologies
-These reduce the size of offsite storage and bandwidth requirements
- Can be used over existing or new data connections
- More flexibility in backup windows than tape technologies
- The facility to run multiple backup sets with single file instancing
STAFF TIME SAVINGSIT professionals are a key resource for many businesses. Sometimes it's only the utilisation and development of IT that provides a business with its competitive advantage. Managing backups, particularly of multiple servers and multiple platforms is unproductive use of their time.
This is exasperated when there 's a need to recover anything - from a single file to a server, or more. Our solution:
- Provides a means to manage and automate all backups from one place
- Enables automation of a reliable backup process
- Can create detailed reports of data backed up
- Automatically reports and alerts in the unlikely event of failure
- Vastly speeds up file and server recovery times
- Frees up valuable expensive IT staff time for productive use.
RESILIENCEThe whole raison d 'etre of a backup system is to provide resilience. A backup system that isn't resilient belongs in the 'chocolate fireguard ' museum of dangerous inventions. Dangerous? Yes, because at stake is the very existence of your organisation, the future of your employees, capital of shareholders and place in the market. It's proven that organisations that lose their data and which cannot make a swift and full restoration go out of business.
Offsite backup with us has been designed to provide swift secure and reliable backup and restoration for modern IT systems. Unlike lesser online systems and tapes, it means it works now and will continue to work in the future.
 This highly secure and reliable system can save your business and provides an ideal basis for a Business Continuity Solution. Click on target for more information / to arrange a free trial
SERVER REPLICATION
Server Replication
Server and/or file replication can provide the ultimate in resilience. Where your business is driven by real time commerce (web based or otherwise) losing even a few minutes data can have implications on profitability and/or regulatory compliance.
Effective server replication "Replication technologies span crude to sophisticated with prices to match. ABS effected major cost savings & improvements over our original plan."balances needs, risk, bandwidth, hardware and software costs. We provide a range of solutions that help customers achieve that balance.
As a wholesale POP we also achieve excellent pricing on connectivity - including Internet, ADSL, SDSL, MPLS and LES. This helps reduce the overall costs of our customer's operations.
There is a solution that can be closely matched to the needs of most businesses - including a mix of replication and offsite backup.
Hosted replicated servers can be provided with WORKPLACE RECOVERY SEATING where required - providing the bedrock for Business Continuity plans.
MANGAGED SERVICES
 A managed service is part of ABS’s regular offer. Where your equipment and
software is providing critical services, or resilience to these, this offers
many advantages. It can also provide the benefits of outsourcing – with a
fixed fee and no additional costs. This not only has the advantage of financial
stability, but additionally ensures that key staff time is not eroded.
If you are hosting part of your IT solution with us, a managed service releases
your staff to concentrate on core activities, such as managing central IT
facilities and working on valuable projects that increase productivity, profitability
and competitive edge.
Hosting at ABS for resilience and Business Continuity will ensure that your
valuable resource is outside the immediate power and telecom zones impacting
on your business. If these fail, then your ‘backup resource’ can be brought
into play. Depending on the nature of your business the number, size and location
of your sites, the data centre may be a few miles or a significant distance
from your IT staff’s location.
IT equipment maintenance and failure can both be simple or complex. They
can also be policy driven; in today’s environment viruses and attacks on servers
are evolving and frequent. Good policy often involves configuring a server
to shut down – either in entirety or specific services - if it is attacked.
This can disable the machine, but also protects it from significant collateral
damage. Similarly software can either fail or be vulnerable, with manufacturers
producing patches and service packs to resolve known issues.
Typical Managed Contract types
- Reboot on fall-over
- Hardware maintenance
- Operating system maintenance
- Hardware & operating system maintenance
- Hardware, operating systems & application maintenance
Contracts are tailored to your needs, with guaranteed times provided to attend
the machine and as required guaranteed ‘fix’ times. This can be 24 x 7 x 365
or normal business hours. Fix times can be exceptionally short (e.g. where
an initial remedy involves switching to a replicated machine) and contracts
are tuned to balance cost against availability.
Adding IT skills and resources at minimal cost
A Managed Service is an effective route to add IT skills and
resources. Small, dispersed and specialist IT teams are expensive to run.
Few organisations have the spare personnel capacity required to manage remote
machines. Where your business relies on a few critical machines being available
24 x 7, gearing up to support these can be exceptionally expensive. Locating
them in a resilient data centre is a keystone in providing reliability and
resilience, purchasing a Managed Service Contract to maintain them there means
that your company doesn’t have to gear-up to do this. It can be an exceptionally
cost-efficient solution.
A Managed Service can add IT skills. Hosting equipment under a Managed Service
Agreement can be a highly cost effective alternative to ‘gearing up’ your
own organisation to maintain equipment. Where this equipment is specialist
and requires guaranteed ‘up time’, training costs can be prohibitive. Several
staff will require training – to cover for holidays, sickness, training and
other absences. The considerable costs will include not just training but
the absences this involves. A Managed Service relays this responsibility to
us. Because of economies of scale, our services can be highly cost-effective.
Cutting capital cost
It is of course possible to purchase equipment with manufacturers
warrantees and extended service. Where this suits your business model, access
can be provided for bona fide manufacturers engineers to undertake this.
Where equipment is out of warranty, manufacturers prices are prohibitive or
‘fix’ times too long, we provide an alternative solution.
Keeping stocks of IT components and equipment is risk laden. Often exceptionally
expensive and components may rarely be used. The value of this stock can plummet
astronomically with the next generation of hardware. A history of 20 years
in the IT Service Business has allowed us to manage this effectively. A large
range of stock is carried, enabling the company to manage a wide range of
contracts.
Our extensive expertise allows us to accurately gauge common points of failure,
and buying knowledge to know the availability and lead times of most items.
Fine tuning and a range of ‘loan’ and backup equipment enables us to provide
resumption and continuity of service to suit most needs. Not only does this
keep you in service it relieves you of the capital risks required to do so.
Managed Services offer many benefits.
The benefits of a Managed Service include:
Plus
- Provides the resilience of being off your site
- Creates Business Continuity & Disaster recovery potential
- Creates the benefits of multiple generator & UPS backup – without the
costs
- Avoids the costs of installing diversely routed communications
- Can be used to contain bandwidth costs and/or congestion at your site
- Can release expensive floor space
- Provides a secure, controlled environment for equipment
- Save costs - UPSs, air-conditioning, security
- The facility to ‘tap into’ a considerable technical service resource
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs) – guaranteeing performance & ‘up time’
CITRIX Citrix is a suite
of thin client technologies that facilitate  centralised, efficient IT systems
with secure controlled access. Access can be from LAN, WAN, via mobile, laptops
and PDA's worldwide. Web access options create substantial flexibility. Access
control is granular with policy control of access and application rights dependent
on device and location. Citrix
server farms have the ability to be 'hosted anywhere'. Our superb centre has
its own sub-station, with multiple generator and multi-UPS resilience, caged
secure server rooms and substantial diversely routed comms. This makes it an
ideal site for a Citrix-delivered IT infrastructure. Our offer includes:
- Complete managed hosted IT systems delivered using Citrix
- Semi- managed hosted IT systems delivered via Citrix
- Replicated Citrix farms hosting
- delivering load balancing, disaster-recovery and business continuity
- Offsite backup & replication of complete Citrix systems
with SLA's provided for rebuild and disaster recovery - with workplace
seats
- Design configuration building installation and maintenance of Citrix
systems over your LAN and or WAN
- Competitive pricing on the communications links
for cost-efficient Citrix over a multi-site networks
- Integration, access control setup, network, router & switch supply configuration
and management
Click HERE for more information on Citrix as a Business Continuity tool - or contact us for the complete range of Citrix solutions
MICROSOFT HOSTED SOLUTIONS
Microsoft offer a range of hosted solutions that
provide companies with a 'pay as you go' IT solution that is flexible  and scaleable.
They can offer web access and importantly resilience to the failure of typical star networks - where all services are hosted in head office.
For example, Hosted Exchange email is available with Business Continuity - offering 30 days back email and web access if a site or service is lost. This can be provided with archiving, spam filtering and the complete range of services that make them accessible to home and mobile workers.
This email solution comes complete with all the group calendar and scheduling facilities that a modern business expects and demands - and the familiar productivity of Microsoft Outlook. PAY AS YOU GO
Microsoft's Hosted Solution is predominantly 'Pay As You Go'. There's no hardware or software costs - once you're set up it's a monthly fee per user on most solutions
You also only pay for the accounts you need - which means it's easy to upsize or accomodate seasonal working patterns. It also means that you can avoid expensive harware upgrades that might be necessary just to add a few extra users.
Hosted SharePoint and SQL services are also available.
An important feature of these services is that the responsibility for maintenance, upgrading hardware and software replacement lies with us. Which means you can concentrate on what's core to your business.
OUTSOURCED IT SOLUTIONS
Today the pressure is on IT Management to deliver strategic solutions and
value-added services and development that creates additional efficiency
and competitive advantage.
This is not commensurate with the ‘real-life’ role of many IT departments,
which typically revolves around fire-fighting user errors. Outsourcing IT
is a more viable solution than ever. With more software in use than ever,
and more sophistication and complexity within that software, it is difficult
for smaller IT teams to provide the depth and breadth of expertise required.
If 24 hour operating is required this can also place a substantial financial
burden on a company. Outsourcing is a prime solution – where non core and
specialist IT is deferred to a third party, such as ourselves. A key core
IT team may be retained – this team will typically concentrate on key software
– such as bespoke databases that leverage extra value in productivity and
competitiveness. Your IT Director / can then concentrate on the vital task
of delivering strategic solutions that embrace detailed knowledge of your
organisation and its market.
| IT OBJECTIVES |
|
THE ACTUALITY? |
Deliver
competitive advantage,
productivity improvements
& efficiency |
|
Sort
out user problems,
manage and repair hardware
& software |
Outsourcing is THE solution
Our offer includes IT Service, which has been successfully provided for
20 years. This includes servicing hardware and software on servers, comms
and telecoms systems though PCs, thin clients and printers. SLA's ensure
your IT performance is optimized.
A complete solution can also be provided, including the supply, maintenance
and upgrading of all your IT equipment on a service contract and/or leasing
basis.
Completely hosted solutions are also provided, where we supply your IT
needs remotely from our secure and resilient data centre. This is typically
delivered through Terminal Services, Citrix or even LES circuits, depending
on the nature of your requirements and distances.
For further details, please contact us.
WEB SERVER HOSTING
An ISP for 10 years, our services include:
- Web hosting
- Site design
- Commerce and database facilities
- Firewalls
- Spam filtering
- Domain services
- Hosted SMTP and Microsoft email services
- POP3 mail
- Complete IIS servers
- Extranet hosting
- Remote Intranet gateways
Hosting is available in convenient packages from MB of space to complete servers.
Managed services on sites, databases and complete servers are also available.
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