Inevitably, these devices will make their way into the enterprise. In fact, this is already happening today.  The top two work activities that people want to do on their iPads are (1) read and respond to business email and (2) view, edit and create documents and presentations. Perhaps most telling is that an incredible 91% of respondents said they want to access business productivity applications like Microsoft Office on their iPads.

The good news is that Citrix Receiver enables all of these new tablets and smartphones to run Microsoft Windows, transforming them from entertaining consumer gadgets into serious workplace tools. This is another example of why the partnership between Microsoft and Citrix is so significant. Together, we make it possible for users to have everything they love about Windows and all of their go-to business applications on any device of their choosing.

The only problem is that many IT departments are unaware that they can securely support Microsoft Windows on these devices using Citrix Receiver. Which is why we encourage everyone to visit www.ipadsatwork.com and join the movement to help IT professionals learn how Citrix Receiver empowers them to deliver Windows and Office applications to iPads, Droids or the latest Chrome OS-based Notebooks, making these devices secure, viable and productive options in the enterprise.

This is a profound change for our industry and promises to open many new doors for Citrix and Microsoft – as well as the thousands (even millions!) of users who want to access Windows and Office applications from any device they may choose, anytime, anywhere. Behold the future of virtual computing.

* Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2011 and Beyond: IT’s Growing Transparency, November 2010

Article above posted from Citrix Community; author Kim Woodward

Now through January 31st 2011, CNS will be providing a free new iPad to companies that move forward with any new Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop project installation. Contact us for complete details.

This IT-as-a-Service software is only available through Lanamark partners like CNS. We’ll help you optimize across your physical and virtual infrastructure, providing you with all that the Terminal Services Analysis Pack offers:

• agent-less data collection to gather detailed user access, bandwidth consumption
• application usage and terminal server performance metrics across hosted applications and hosted shared desktops
• complete visibility into which users are accessing terminal servers what applications they are using, when those applications are used and what resources are consumed by individual users and applications across terminal servers
• tracking of unique and concurrent users across published applications as well as Microsoft (Terminal Services Client Access License) and Citrix license requirements

Ask CNS to deliver Lanamark’s Terminal Services Analysis Pack to you today!

What harm can an HTML file do? Plenty, according to Barracuda Labs!

Dave Michmerhuizen published a must read email security update to the Barracuda Labs Internet Security Blog, HTML is Not Harmless – Email Security Update.

In this update see examples that show why HTML attachments are as threatening as other attachment types. You will see examples of spams tied to current Google trending topics, hackers emailing malicious JavaScript sites straight to email inboxes, and fake anti-virus site redirects.

Don’t get fooled (again?) by a seemingly innocent HTML email attachment. It can do plenty of damage!

HTML is Not Harmless – Email Security Update

With the advent of the iPhone’s ability to connect directly to an Exchange server through ActiveSync, it became unnecessary to involve the IT department, the process of connection was simple and it just worked.

There is little doubt that the explosion of mobile technology has made life much easier for staying up on emails, contacts and appointments. The ability to directly tie your smartphone (iPhone, Android, etc.) and now tablet (iPad) directly into your corporate Exchange server means that you are never out of touch.

However, there are serious implications to adding business accounts to your personal mobile devices:

• Intermixing of business and personal email, calendar and contacts, without individual account password protection.
  • Full access to business information by your family and friends, who have access to your mobile device.

• Exchange Remote Wipe – Microsoft offers very efficient tools for removing connections to mobile devices, however these tools also wipe all your personal information as well.
  • Microsoft gives company IT departments access to wipe all data from “unknown” devices (a.k.a. your phone). A remote wipe can fully erase all data on a computing device once you log into your email account.

Good for Enterprise™ provides a means for isolating and securing your business communication accounts as well as protecting your personal information from remote wipes. Without compromising IT security and control, this powerful mobility suite supports mobile collaboration on popular handhelds like iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Good for Enterprise proven security architecture has even been adopted by top Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. All mobile devices can be managed from one web-based portal and access to information is available all the time using Good’s architecture to support and track mobile connections to critical data.

Good for Enterprise™ Overview:

Good for Enterprise is a suite of productivity and management tools that enable you to provide mobile users secure access to corporate data and applications.

• Support for Apple iOS (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad), Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian (Nokia)
• End-to-end 192-bit AES encryption and FIPS certification
• Compatible with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino email servers
• Real-time visibility for mobile devices and software versions
• Good’s server is deployed behind corporate firewall using a secure outbound connection on port 443.

Good Mobile Control – Centrally managed web-based portal, with over-the-air configuration

• Lock down device functionality, such as camera, wi-fi and Bluetooth features
• Over-the-air set up for fast and easy deployment
• Policy-based management by user groups.
• End User Self Service options, permitting the users to set up their own access to the corporate network
• Deploy and update third-party software on mobile devices over the air
• Control which applications are permitted
• Remote wipe of a lost or stolen mobile unit

Good Mobile Messaging – dedicated secure mobile communication applications

• Email, calendar, contacts, RSS Feeds and IM applications are separate from device’s native mobile apps
• Required user authentication for access
• Email viewing preferences include single or double-line display as well as email conversation
• Full calendar and appointment support – check meeting participants free/busy status, view appointments by day or month
• Contact management – add, delete, edit and search within your corporate directory
• View rich content attachments (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.)        
• Consistent user interface across all mobile platforms

Good Mobile Access – mobile device VPN to corporate network

• Allows mobile device apps to access secured corporate databases and servers
• Managed through Good Mobile Control Web console
• Easy to implement with over-the-air management and security
• Provides end-to-end 192-bit AES encryption and FIPS 140-2 certification
• Ability to block certain protocols; HTTP, TCP, FTP, Telnet, SMTP, etc.
• Push policies and updates to mobile devices

For more information about adding business accounts to your mobile devices, contact Capital Network Solutions!

 The original article can be found at http://go.techtarget.com/r/10359311/1667444

Desktop virtualization is something that companies — rather than consumers — use, and therefore, we usually assume any discussion about this topic pertains to the Windows systems. But now that Apple is cool again, and iPhone’s and Macs are making their way into business environments, we should take a look at desktop virtualization with Macs.

And even if you don’t think this is true today, eventually some executive is going to knock on your door and ask if you can integrate their Mac.

The good news is there’s a lot you can do with a Mac and an iPhone in the corporate desktop world. Let’s start with the iPhone, since it’s easiest.

The iPhone is a client device, so it’s a safe bet that people are going to want to use their iPhone’s to access the corporate desktop infrastructure. Fortunately, there are a lot of different clients for the iPhone.

With Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop, there’s a Citrix Receiver (the new name for the ICA client) for the iPhone. It has been around for about eight months, and Version 2.0 is around the corner. Like all Citrix clients, the Receiver for iPhone is free.

If you’re using VMware View, Wyse has released an application called PocketCloud that can be used to connect to your View environments. (Great app, stupid name!) Since PocketCloud can be used to connect to any remote host via pure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), you can also use it for remote administration or to connect straight to Windows XP desktops. PocketCloud is cool, but it’s going to cost you about $30 per user from the Apple App Store.

There are also some free RDP clients for the cost-conscious, such as iRDesktop and Remote Desktop Lite.

If you have Mac users who want to connect to your virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) or Terminal Server-based desktops, there are a lot of great choices here, too.

The Citrix ICA Client for the Mac is really good now, as is Microsoft’s new Version 2 of its Remote Desktop Connection client for Mac. And Quest Software recently released a Mac client that also supports its VDI and Terminal Server products.

Of course, you can also run Windows desktop virtual machines (VMs) directly on your Mac clients. VMware Fusion, Parallels Workstation and VirtualBox all have Mac versions of their Windows products. And if you’d like to be able to manage, secure and centrally deploy your client-based VMs, you’ll be happy to know that MokaFive‘s client-based desktop virtualization product runs great on a Mac!

This is great — but it’s all about accessing Windows desktops from a Mac client. What if you have Mac desktops and applications you want to deliver to your users, either Mac or non-Mac?

There’s a solution there, too.

A company called Aqua Connect has a product called Aqua Connect Terminal Services that converts an ordinary Mac host (or server) into a Terminal Server, allowing anyone to connect to the Mac desktop via RDP. And you get it all — the dock, Mac apps, everything — from your remote client!

All in-all, this is some great news. While you might not like Macs, at least you’ll be able to support them!

CNS was part of the Beta test for Windows 7 and most of  our tech’s have been using it since Q1 2009. According to Dave Murphy, head of CNS Managed Services, Windows 7 provides all the core elements that enterprise users seek, plus a little something extra.  “Windows 7 is all about performance and stability,” stated Murphy. “This operating system, to simply put it, just works”. 

 “We recommend replacing systems instead of upgrading your older computer to Windows 7,” says Murphy. Upfront planning and testing is key to a smooth transition. CNS can assist you with  the most important stage of planning – assessing your environment.  During our assessments we review your current infrastructure, data, business applications and how end-users work.  It is vital that the solution be based on how your business users work not just how the technology works.  Read More.

Why Windows 7 for the Enterprise:

Make users productive anywhere
Employees can work with fewer interruptions because Windows 7 delivers solid performance and reliability from day one. With DirectAccess, mobile users can simply and more securely access corporate resources when out of the office. BranchCache makes users in branch offices with slow connections more productive by speeding access to frequently accessed files and Web pages.

Enhance security and control
Windows 7 helps deliver increased flexibility with securing computers and data. Organizations can worry less about sensitive data on lost laptops or USB drives because, in addition to protecting internal hard disks, Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption encrypts external thumb drives and hard disks with BitLocker to Go, and provides recovery keys so that the data is accessible when needed. For enterprises that demand the highest levels of compliance, IT professionals can use new application-blocking tools in AppLocker to dictate which applications can run on user computers, providing yet another way to limit the risk of malicious software.

Streamline PC management
Whether IT professionals manage and deploy desktops, laptops, or virtual environments, Windows 7 makes the job easier. Advanced image management and deployment tools enable IT professionals to add, remove, and report on drivers, language packs, and updates, and push those system images to desktops using less network bandwidth. New scripting and automation capabilities based on Windows PowerShell 2.0 reduce the costs of managing and troubleshooting computers. For enterprises making the leap to client virtualization, Windows 7 helps you more easily maintain virtual machine images with the same tools used for physical images and provide a richer user experience over remote connections.

Now that the market has an operating system worthy of an upgrade, many analysts are predicting demand to soar for desktop and OS refreshes. This is mainly due to the pent up demand that has been building over the last three years as enterprises tabled projects over concerns over the economy. Those concerns have not been brushed aside completely; many organizations are looking for strategies to ‘economically’ refresh their desktop infrastructure.

Register for this event

When: Thursday, November 19th Time: 8:30 am to 2:00 pm
Where: New Horizons CLC of Sacramento
1750 Creekside Oaks Drive Suite
150 Sacramento, CA 95833 (Map)

Gifts and Giveaways: Attendees will be entered into a raffle to win Microsoft Xboxes and Zunes MP3 players along with other prizes. Must be present to win.

Agenda:

8:30 to 9:00 Registration
9:00 to 10:30 MS Windows 7/ Server 2008 R2 “Better together”
Speaker: Manjnath Ajjampur from Microsoft
This session will cover features such as Branch Cache, Direct Access, and what to expect when you deploy Windows 7 together with a Windows Server 2008 R2 server infrastructure.
10:30 to 11:30 MS Windows 7/ Server 2008 Licensing Options 101
Speaker: Catherine Henrick, En Pointe Technologies
We will be providing the licensing information you need to make your licensing transition as smooth as possible, including OEM to Enterprise Agreement Contracts + new key process.
11:30 to 12:00 First Look Overview Windows 7 Client Desktop
Speaker: New Horizons CLC of Sacramento
We will be presenting Windows 7 Client Desktop productivity, improved security and control, streamlined PC management, trouble shooting, support and more.
12:00 to 12:30 Refreshments Provided
12:30 to 1:30 Tackling the IT Cost Challenge
Speaker: Ron Miller, Intel
Understand the IT Business Value model that will help you demonstrate ROI for IT projects. We’ll also present insights on client manageability, vPro, and Win 7 programs that can help reduce costs.
1:30 to 2:00 Microsoft Data Protection Manager
Speaker: Dave Murphy, CNS (Microsoft Gold Partner)
Looking for a better way to protect and recover your business data from key business applications like SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, or file shares on Windows 2003/2008 Servers? You will not want to miss this presentation of Microsoft Data Protection Manager Solution.

Here’s a sample from the post…

“The Microsoft Technet Borg Collective thought they’d help us all out a little.  Maybe not just a little: they offered no fewer than 77 tips for Windows 7.

 There’s much in that tip-list to like, though it gets pretty geeky.  Still, in the spirit of fair play, I thought I’d lob seven modest tips back in their direction. Because Windows 7 doesn’t exactly leave Apple’s UI designers wondering ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’…”