Ransomware is the Number One Cause of Disaster Recovery (DR) Events

When ransomware infects a company's IT systems, it often leaves the target helpless and at the mercy of the attackers.  Stored and backup data become encrypted, and, as such, are irretrievable unless the attackers demands are met or the system can otherwise be restored from clean backups.  In response, the enterprise scrambles, often in vain, desperately trying to restore systems and data to a point prior to the attack. This disaster recovery process is often manual and time-consuming, resulting in costly downtime. In many cases, businesses (like a hospital, for instance) cannot function without their systems active, so they may feel added pressure to pay the criminals to decrypt their data more timely. It is truly a nightmare.

Some shocking ransomware statistics:

• Since 2016, Ransomware Growth: 700% – Gartner
• Cost of Ransomware in 2019: $11.5 Billion – Fortinet
• Companies that used their DR Plan in Past 24 Months: 80% – Gartner
• Companies that did NOT Meet Their RTO and RPO Objectives: 94% – Gartner

The DRaaS Solution to Ransomware
PTS and its partners are ready to offer an elegant DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service) solution. Backup and DR is simple with VMWare Cloud on AWS.  Backups are deduped and stored on S3 in a steady-state. Runbook automation instantly turns these backups into live VMs during a DR event. You get instant RTO for thousands of VMs. 

10x More Cost Effective. Fail over to on-demand VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC targets using ControlShift DR plans and store forever incremental, native backups in S3. DR sites are ready when needed, in the cloud, whether for testing or actual failover. Pay for SDDC only when you need it while your data is ready to use on low-cost AWS S3. Efficiently fail back with minimal AWS egress charges by transferring only changed and globally deduplicated data. Select from a broad range of DR sites around the world.

Instant RTO Restart from Recent Snapshots or Deep Backups on S3. Easily restart instantly from recent snapshots or backups that are months or years old. With converged backup and DR, you have millions of point-in-time consistent recovery points to choose from, so you can quickly restore your entire data center. That can be critical for ransomware attacks, which often only become apparent months after the initial event. Achieve instant RTO with zero copy and no rehydration as ESX hosts directly mount a live NFS datastore hosted in AWS.

“Developing and delivering transportation solutions requires highly available and secure IT systems even during disasters. Our DR solution had to have low RTO and the high reliability and security of a leading government service that could be audited, tested, and verified regularly. Datrium DRaaS met all our demanding requirements while reducing our TCO by 80%.”

- Michael Beerer
Senior Section Manager Information Systems
Orange County Transportation Authority

Contact PTS to discuss DRaaS options 

to better protect yourself against Ransomware.

PTS Data Center Solutions is Selected by Datrium as a Select Partner for its DRaaS Solution

New DRaaS Select Tier Delivers Efficient, Cost-effective and Cloud-native Disaster Recovery and Backup Solutions to Modernize IT Infrastructures

Datrium delivers the first server flash storage system with the Datrium DVX. Unlike rigid and expensive Arrays or Hyperconverged servers, DVX storage gets its speed from commodity, Bring Your Own (BYO) compute and SSDs on stateless servers, so storage for VMs is simpler to scale, more efficient, and more dynamic. The DVX will be ideal for enterprise applications, including VDI, test and development, and server VM consolidation.

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Datrium, pioneer of the secure multi-cloud data platform for the resilient enterprise, today announced that it has expanded the Datrium Global Partner Network to new regions and introduced a new tier, DRaaS Select. With DRaaS Select partners can better aid customers in their cloud transformation and modernize disaster recovery (DR) and backup processes.

"We've experienced high demand from customers looking to transform their data centers with more cloud-based solutions," said Tim Page, Chief Executive Officer at Datrium. "At Datrium, we pride ourselves on delivering unprecedented flexibility and simplicity to help customers transform their IT. The new and expanded partner program reflects our mission to bring on-demand, failproof and cost-effective DR with VMware Cloud on AWS to enterprises everywhere. This is an exciting time for Datrium and our growing Global Partner Network."

The new DRaaS Select tier provides partners with additional services opportunities and enables them to better guide their customers through DR transformation initiatives and protect them from the growing threat of ransomware. DRaaS Select partners receive the highest level of training and certification in DR with VMware Cloud on AWS so they are uniquely equipped to help organizations protect themselves from disasters in an economical way. Participation in the DRaaS Select tier is by invitation only and is limited to an exclusive set of highly skilled partners in specific geographic regions.

Datrium Partners Bring Cloud-native DR To More IT Organizations
DRaaS is fundamentally changing the DR market with its cloud-native design, built-in backup, instant Recovery Time Objective (RTO), continuous compliance and an on-demand pay-as-you-go model. This presents a unique opportunity to leverage the public cloud and its elastic capabilities to finally deliver DR done right with Datrium DRaaS with VMware Cloud on AWS. Datrium's commitment to the channel and its partners' go-to-market efforts are reflected in the following Partner Network levels:

• DRaaS Select resellers receive advanced training and certification on DRaaS with VMware Cloud on AWS. These partners have the highest level of expertise in DR with built-in backup. DRaaS Select partners can help customers transform their DR processes including providing guidance on Runbook creation and multi-cloud deployment strategies.
• Preferred resellers are provided with new service opportunities and a rich set of program benefits, so together with Datrium they can help companies achieve failproof on-demand DR, achieve their DR compliance objectives, quickly recover from ransomware attacks, modernize their data centers, achieve their hybrid cloud objectives, and design and implement data resilience strategies.
• Authorized resellers can provide services beyond DR, including all around data center modernization, multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies as well as data resilience efforts.

With the Datrium Automatrix, which contains DVX at its core, Datrium and its partners can remove IT infrastructure complexity by delivering a platform that converges backup, mobility, DR and encryption in a single platform.

Since releasing DRaaS to the market in August 2019, Datrium has expanded its DRaaS Select Partner ecosystem and garnered interest in DRaaS Preferred, adding new partnerships across the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines including ASI Solutions and BEarena NZ, Bytes Software, CDW, Champion Solutions Group, Citrus Solutions, DCNEXT Holland, Epaton, Mindsight, Novulutions, Prodec Networks, PTS Data Center Solutions, SISL, Spinnakar, Technologent, and TrustCo.

Read the entire press release here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/datrium-expands-partner-network-to-fuel-cloud-transformation-and-deliver-cloud-based-disaster-recovery-to-enterprises-globally-300999163.html

Why You Should Use a Design/Build Firm for Your Next Data Center Project

A design/build firm is one that manages an entire project as a one-stop shop by handling both the design and construction phases. This approach can save time and money, all while avoiding costly errors that can be caused from things like miscommunication over construction documents. More than one third of non-residential construction is completed using design/build approach.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons to Use a Design/Build Firm to design, build, and maintain your Next Data Center Project: 

1. Communication: One Point of Contact for the Life of Your Data CenterAn experienced Data Center Expert will listen to understand your vision for your data center project. Then, they will provide recommendations and create a design, apply for the town permits, manage the trades, coordinate the equipment purchases, deliveries and start-ups. The firm will also commission the complete system, then develop and manage a comprehensive maintenance plan for the life of your data center. All of these managed services with just one phone call.
2. Expertise: A Data Center Design/Build Firm Does Just One Thing, and Does it Very WellSimilar to the medical industry, when you specialize in something, you become very proficient at it over time. When an engineering company concentrates on every aspect of a single specialty, to design, build, and maintain a data center, it becomes an incredible resource to the data center industry as a whole. Take advantage of this experience and expertise.
3. Experience: Access to Vetted Manufactures and ContractorsA Design/Build firm that specializes in data centers knows the most reliable equipment, the OEMs offering the best value, and the best contractors in the business. This is because they have worked with them every day, over many years, and have solidified a mutually beneficial relationship. Only the best have risen to the top (and have stayed there), and have earned their respect and business over the course of these many projects.
4. Innovation: Get the Inside Scoop on the Latest TechnologiesWhen a Design/Build Firm’s sole focus is on finding the most productive, reliable, and cost-effective approach to build and maintain a data center, they know the latest innovations, as well as the latest flops. They have done their due diligence toward recommending the most suitable design for current business requirements, with the capability of accommodating future growth.
5. Continuity: Get One Bill and One Dedicated Rep to Coordinate all Aspects of Your Data Center ProjectCoordinating up to 30 different vendors, contractors and equipment providers while working with your enterprise is a full time job. By utilizing a Data Center Design/Build Firm, you save both time and money. This will result in freeing up resources to better enable you to concentrate on your job.
6. Cost Savings: Achieve Cost Savings by Bundling all Services, Equipment and LaborTypically, if you group your purchases, you can negotiate a better price. Similarly, a Design/Build Firm is focused on offering a better price for bundled equipment, services, and labor, since they can handle all aspects of the project.  The alternative of hiring separate service providers for each area of their expertise, will most likely result in higher overall costs, and increases the likelihood of miscommunication, missed deadlines due to coordination shortcomings, among other things. Having an experienced Data Center Project Manager to coordinate the efforts of multiple groups is key.
7. Positioned for a Long Term RelationshipSuccessful Design/Build Firms have become established over hundreds of projects and thousands of man-hours in an effort to have the competitive edge they now enjoy. They are not going away any time soon, so you can expect a working relationship to last some time.
8. Accountability: No More Finger PointingWhen a single firm handles all aspects of a project, most of the communication takes place among employees of that same firm, each working in a unified manner toward a common goal. The firm takes responsibility for the project’s success, and holds its employees accountable every step of the way.
9. Collaboration: The Design/Build Team Works Together as a Unit.Using many different contractors on the same project is much more likely to create issues from scheduling to miscommunication to finger-pointing.  When a single team is dedicated to the project, these obstacles are greatly minimized, or even eliminated entirely.
10. Time Savings: Time is Saved Due to Concurrent ActivitiesA Design/Build Firm can manage several tasks concurrently and far more efficiently than several disjoint teams. It is not uncommon for the firm to build while designing, or design while procuring. In this way, the project can be delivered more quickly and smoothly, while still maintaining a high level of quality.

PTS Data Center Solutions, Inc. has been in business since 1998, and has completed several hundred data center projects, including all aspects of data center designing, building, and maintaining. Contact PTS for all your data center projects.

Webinar 10/31/2019 (New Date): Best Practices for Disaster Recovery with Datrium & PTS Data Center Solutions

Disaster Recovery has been out of reach for many companies due to the cost, complexity, and brittle nature of traditional DR solutions. With the increasing threat of Ransomware attacks, which are up from 300% from 2018, implementing effective disaster recovery strategies, security and business continuity has never been more critical.

With the recent release of Datrium Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) with VMware Cloud on AWS, you can now get everything you need for failproof on-demand DR to the public cloud in one SaaS solution. For a fraction of the cost of current DR solutions, you can get on-demand DR in the public cloud and eliminate your secondary DR sites. It keeps your data safe and secure, and it delivers failproof recovery and failback.

Here are some of the benefits:

• Achieve immediate and on-demand failover to the cloud with VMware Cloud on AWS
• Eliminate virtual machine conversion and lengthy rehydration
• Leverage S3 for cost-effective cloud storage
• Smoothly resume operations and transition back from a DR environment

Join us for a free webinar on Thursday, October 31st at 12pm EDT and learn about Datrium DRaaS, and how Datrium and PTS Data Center Solutions have partnered to help organizations achieve their multi-cloud objectives, modernize their data centers and achieve failproof DR in the public cloud. For more than 20 years, PTS has been helping IT teams solve some of their most difficult challenges.

• Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019
• Time: 12pm EDT
• Duration: 60 Minutes
• Speakers:
  • Jeff Parker, Field CTO at Datrium, and
  • Peter Sacco, President and Founder of PTS Data Center Solutions

We hope you can join us!

Can’t attend live? Register and we’ll send you
a link to the on-demand recording.

Top 10 Reasons Why you Should Modernize your Data Center

There are many factors influencing how suitable a given data center is at meeting the needs of the organization that is utilizing it.  Inevitably, executives are forced to deal with the challenges of upkeep, and in considering upgrades, must decide whether outsourcing or modernizing is the better route.  In either case, the existing infrastructure will ultimately need to be upgraded or replaced.

When attempting to accommodate the evolving needs of the company, older facilities might reveal limitations of space (both physical space, and data storage space), inefficient cooling, and/or an inflexible existing power infrastructure. Similarly, end-of-life components pose a risk, as well as a slew of other age-related data center issues.  It may be time to consider modernization options.

Reasons why you should modernize your existing data center:

1. You have a several upgrade options that can be both simple, and cost-effective. Companies can buy time by identifying and consolidating underutilized assets, improving cooling, expanding UPS infrastructure, utilizing high-density PODs, and upping preventative maintenance practices. This can often be done within tight budgets.
2. Modernizing carries a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Owning and operating your own data center is still cheaper than outsourcing (colocation or public cloud).
3. Your current data center is on the brink of failure. If you have been operating for an extended time, you likely have unserviceable parts that may be about to fail.
4. High-density PODs may provide seamless migration options. High-density PODs contain high-density racks with dedicated row-based cooling, and operate as a unit. You can abandon the “room” onsite and move to a POD, allowing for a seamless migration to a new environment.
5. Your service options (including replacement part procurement) are past End-Of-Life dates. When (not if), things go wrong with your current data center, you may find yourself past expiration for vendor support. You may also discover that replacement parts may be difficult to procure, if available at all.
6. Your current data center is horribly inefficient. If you haven’t analyzed your data center consumption recently, the extremely high power bills, among other things, might indicate how inefficient your data center might be operating. Upgraded data center will have dramatically increased efficiency, resulting in lower energy costs, and lower emissions.
7. Your current data center no longer meets your needs. If you capacity and efficiency ratings aren’t meeting your current (and future) needs, then it’s becomes necessary to upgrade.
8. You need a more reliable site. Upgraded data center will greatly improve a site’s long-term reliability, and will provide peace of mind due to its increased predictability.
9. There may be Accounting, Insurance, and/or Tax benefits. Pods may be classified as equipment vs building, potentially offering accounting, tax, and/or insurance benefits depending on the location and policies.
10. Converged IT/OT technologies reduce costs. High-efficiency operations technologies (power, cooling, monitoring) have merged with IT infrastructure, creating massive reductions in data center operational costs.

Top 10 Reasons to Outsource Your IT Support Desk

Delivering IT services to users is a necessary function to ensure the success of any company. Businesses typically have their own IT team, that they have come to rely upon with varying degrees of success. It is the responsibility of the internal IT team to keep things operational, secure, and efficient. However, navigating the requirements of the rapidly-changing IT landscape has presented quite a challenge for internal IT teams.

 When problems become too difficult to manage effectively in-house, it's time to outsource this function to a professional managed service provider to continuously monitor, maintain and manage the technology. The managed service provider can provide a team better suited to the task, and the existing IT staff can then focus their energies on growing the business.

These are the Top 10 Reasons to Outsource your IT Support Desk:

1. Staffed Helpdesk Available 24/7/365 Most organizations have limited IT staff that are not available on-call, are off on holidays and weekends, or are unreachable or unavailable after normal business hours. If you cannot reach IT support outside of business hours, it equates to lost productivity.
2. Automated Patch Management Windows Update Services just doesn’t work. Most IT departments have limited visibility into what patches may cause bigger issues and/or may not interoperate well with their environment. Conversely, managed providers perform extensive regression tests against the patches, and automate the distribution to production servers with little to no IT involvement.
3. Access to Vendor/Industry Best Practices Vendors often share knowledge of the most intimate details about their products with their business partners and certified professionals. This leaves IT blind to trends and best practices, unless they are aligned with a managed provider. Certification can be invaluable to troubleshooting with failure isolation and remediation on a specific technology. That means less downtime and increased productivity.
4. Service Level Assurance Most enterprises do not have visibility into their own service delivery metrics that ensure incident response, mean time to repair, and system restore times. Managed providers draft and level set acceptable metrics to the business, and have the tools to measure their level of success in satisfying the requirement.
5. Existing IT Staff can Focus on Business Needs Leaving the general IT Operations function to a managed provider allows existing IT staff to focus on more pressing needs of the business, and/or the team’s high visibility projects.
6. Reduce Labor Costs Smaller IT teams are not as cost-effective in managing IT as their enterprise counterparts. SMB’s can level the playing field when partnering with a managed provider. A managed provider can ensure scalability for an IT team, and can scale personnel resources at a lower rate than an individual small business.
7. Less Downtime Most companies do not measure their systems availability times, but industry reporting suggests that most companies maintain below 99.9% uptime on their systems. Managed providers deliver 99.99%. The gap of that downtime is measured in days per year, not hours, and can cost a company over $250k in lost revenue per hour.
8. Increased User Productivity Improving response times, fixing the root cause of reported issues, and making sure the fix is permanent can improve the output of your team. Managed providers follow up service calls with customer satisfaction surveys to measure their successes and failures.
9. Greater (Proactive) Security Antivirus, anti-spyware, spam, encryption, patch management, intrusion detection, periodic penetration testing, centralized firewall management, application traffic validation are all technologies aimed to improve the security of a business’s data. Most companies are not adequately staffed to manage security at an effective level. Once a breach has occurred, existing IT teams are mostly reactive,  whereas a managed provider is constantly monitoring and proactively remediating.
10. Better Asset and Software Licensing Management Managed providers must track and document assets in order to invoice a customer accurately and in a timely manner. They have the appropriate tools in place to perform this function in real time, thus taking the burden off the IT department. Warranties can be better leveraged to reduce CAPEX costs by unnecessarily replacing equipment that is under warranty. In the same manner, Finance departments can better manage their capital assets by being notified of disposed assets, so that it can be properly taken off the books.

Contact Us or call (201) 644-9699 today to discuss IT Managed Services

Handling Heavy Data Center Equipment: Is it Time to Buy a Lift System?

Some data center servers and rack-mounted equipment can weigh over 800 pounds. For data center employees working among narrow aisles, and sometimes working overhead, this can lead to hazardous conditions for both the employees and the IT equipment itself. Work-related injuries could cost a company hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Sensitive IT equipment, if dropped or moved incorrectly, could sustain irreparable damage.

10 Things To Know Before Buying A Data Center Lift System

The Right Tool for Moving Data Center IT Equipment Moving IT equipment in a data center requires purpose-built tools reduce or eliminate injuries and damage to equipment.  The tools must be designed specifically to handle the data center workspace: narrow aisles, tight turns, rack height accommodation, single-person operation, etc.

Some features in considering a Data Center Equipment Lift System:

• Certified for use in data centers
• Designed specifically to move data center IT equipment
• Ambidextrous operation from multiple operator positions
• Rigid and stable platform
• Overhead safety to prevent overhead damage to the facility
• Ability to secure equipment to the device platform
• Precision up/down movement
• Bi-directional sliding tray
• Full height allowance for full range of data center cabinet
• Braking system to prevent movement during lifting and installation
• Casters/wheels to allow movement without damaging data center floor
• Proper load capacity for devices being moved
• Lifting speed
• Manual vs electric lift

Good: Manual Operation, Medium weight capacity, basic control

Better: Powered Operation, Medium weight capacity, precise control 

Best: Powered Operation, Heavy weight capacity, micro-precise control

Purchase a Data Center Equipment (Server, Rack, Battery, etc) Lift System

Top 6 Ways Audio/Visual (A/V) Can Improve Your Business

Audio/Visual technologies are dramatically improving the modern workplace. While traditional offices are changing rapidly, with open plan environments, huddle rooms, and mobile/remote working, these challenges must be met with technology in order for these spaces to continue to work effectively. This is especially true when connecting people in different geographies.

The way we work has evolved over time, and the technology necessarily should also evolve. Intuitive collaboration tools are transforming the way teams work. An understanding of how to apply current workplace technologies to meeting spaces and environments of all sizes will ensure your enterprise can remain productive and efficient, while eliminating the connection headaches of the past.

Here are the Top 6 Ways A/V Can Improve Your Business:

1. Fluent Communications from Any Device Users no longer have to draw a distinction between an audio conference, video conference and/or web presentation. In addition, customers don’t need to have separate providers/accounts for each. Instead, products like Zoom or Microsoft Teams allow call attendees to join the call from whatever device they have available. Office users can join from a conference room or from their computer. Mobile users can join on their smartphone or tablet. All participants can be on video and share/view content on the call – all using a single service; no more siloed communications.
    
2. Start Meetings On Time By inviting the room itself to the meeting along with the remote attendees, the meeting is sure to start on time – and with just a touch of a button. Every aspect of the room can be accurately controlled, including, but not limited to: lighting, multimedia integration, email schedules, and meeting and presentation control.
    
3. No More Worrying About Having the Right Connector BYOD wireless content sharing allows anyone to share content from any device (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, etc.). No more dongles, and no more worrying about finding the “right” cable or adapter.
    
4. Extend Branding & Corporate Communication Into Common Areas & Conference Rooms Effective use of digital signage ensures the timely delivery of information to all people, be they clients, employees, or vendors.  This eliminates the need for the labor and expense of printing posters and static signage.
    
5. End Conference Room Squatting Conference room scheduling panels installed at the room entrance allow rooms to be scheduled in advance, and/or booked ad hoc. The schedule for each room is easily displayed with the touch of a button. Room analytics are also available to measure usage and occupancy to provide actionable data on resource utilization.
    
6. A/V is Not Just for Auditoriums, Large Rooms, and Board Rooms A/V systems that enable calls, as well as share/view content, have become very affordable and easy to implement and use.  This makes them very effective solutions for both small & medium spaces, too, which is where most of the real day-to-day work and collaboration happen.

Contact PTS on 201-337-3833 to learn how A/V can improve your business

Top Advantages of Upgrading to PoE LED Lights for Your Commercial Spaces

Power over Ethernet (PoE)-based LED lighting has been available for several years. Due to the recent (2018) release of the IEEE Approved Draft Standard for Power-over-Ethernet, the LED lighting industry has started devoting attention to this technology. The new standard includes significant enhancements for LED lighting systems. The main improvement is the specification for up to 90W of delivered power for cable lengths of up to 100m through the use of all four pairs of wires. This allows for daisy chaining of several luminaires, which can simplify the installation process.

Other enhancements include improved efficiency for current PoE levels of 25.5W of delivered power, as the power loss in the cable is reduced by approximately half. For example, power sourcing equipment operating under the previous standard needed to supply a minimum of 30W to ensure that the power device receives 25.5W because as much as 4.5W can be lost in the Ethernet cable. Powering the same device under the new standard will reduce losses to less than 2.25W, translating to about a 7% efficiency increase.

Top Advantages of Upgrading to PoE LED Lights for Your Commercial Spaces:

1. Lower Installation and Operational Cost With UPoE ports (60 watts) powering two 2x2 lights each, PoE costs the same and often less than traditional AC lighting in new  construction and deep retrofit.  A simple 2x4 system in a Class A office space with custom and tunable fixtures can be built for less than $17 per square foot, installed! With the rollout of high power PoE (90 watts), Capex will be consistently lower than AC, while providing dozens of feature-rich applications. Opex results are similar, but emergency maintained lights can be remotely tested every month/year, yielding significant savings. Additionally, since lighting accounts for 35% of your building’s electrical load, LEDs reduce this draw by 50-90%, as compared to a line-voltage system.
2. LEDs Provide More Light per Watt LED lights can provide more lumens per watt than both fluorescent and incandescent lights. LEDs can provide 160 lumens per watt versus 80 lumens per watt versus for fluorescent, and 20 and 14 lumens per watt for incandescent lights.
3. Easy Modifications to Lighting Circuitry and Control A PoE LED lighting systems works with nearly any LED light, including UL924 PoE emergency lighting options. Additionally, conventional line-voltage systems have to be hardwired to match the layout of the space. If the space is re-organized and new walls go up, most often the lighting has to be re-circuited and its controls modified, which require an electrician and, therefore, more time and cost. With a PoE system, changes in circuiting and control are made at the software level, thereby making changes fast, easy, and virtually cost free.
4. Lighting Control is Software-Based By combining power and control onto a single network connection, it is very simple to create comfortable, healthy and productive work environments. It makes every light an internet-of-things (IoT) IP-enabled appliance. In addition, wall switches, sensors and other low power accessories attach to any node.  Also, the software is easy to use; devices are automatically discovered and configured through a drag-and-drop function.
5. Real-Time Room-Level Monitoring and Reporting Many sensors are available to support daylight harvesting, light level, motion, temperature, humidity, CO2 and other environmental conditions to ensure customers save as much energy as possible, while providing outstanding light quality. As such, room-level environmental condition monitoring and reporting is greatly simplified. Not only can lighting optionally be controlled by occupancy sensors, but room-level occupancy can be tracked and analyzed to determine space utilization statistics via the software.
6. Real-Time Energy Monitoring and Reporting Besides tracking and analyzing occupancy, it is also possible to track real-time energy usage on an LED-by-LED, room-by-room, and/or building-by-building basis. The outcome is a platform that enables building managers to customize the user experience without giving up the ability to conserve energy. Doing so enables businesses to future-proof their digital ceiling infrastructure to grow with new applications.
7. Advanced Color Scene Control, Including Circadian Rhythm Color tuning can be used to create visually stunning environments that can be programmed and scheduled with just a few button clicks. Furthermore, tuning color temperature and syncing with circadian rhythm will improve productivity, and health and wellness in the workplace. High quality lighting has been scientifically proven to improve altertness, thinking, concentration, mood, morale, and sleep. At the same time, quality lighting helps reduce absenteeism, errors, accidents, eye strain, fatigue, headaches, hyperactivity, cardiovascular events, and obesity!
8. Leverage Existing IT System Management Tools and Personnel A lot of time and money was spent optimizing the tools and processes used to manage the organization’s IT systems. The IT personnel and/or the outsourced managed services provider are typically adept at monitoring, responding, and fixing problems as they arise. All these tools, processes, personnel, and experience can now be leveraged to manage the lighting, as well as all the IoT devices connected to it.

 Contact PTS on 201-337-3833 for help with PoE LED Lighting

New Office Technologies Improve Efficiency, Cost, and Management in the Workplace

Businesses are connecting more devices, people, and processes in their attempt to gain a competitive advantage, and are undergoing a digital workplace transformation. The Digital Workplace extends the benefits of the Internet of Things (IoT), changes the way buildings operate, and how workers connect to the technologies in place. When fully implemented, the Digital Workplace will offer building occupants a combination of information, efficiency, convenience, security, and comfort. Operating costs are lower, and more detailed analytics are now possible across the system. Deeper insight means improved efficiency, and, ultimately, smarter business decisions.

Lower Costs and Simpler Management

The Digital Workplace yields major cost savings by converging previously disparate networks over a single, centrally controlled architecture using IP and Power over Ethernet (PoE). The Digital Workplace delivers the essential capabilities needed to make these cost savings a reality:

• Reduced power and lighting costs
• Streamlined maintenance
• Simplified installations
• Reduced operating expenses
• Optimized energy efficiency
• Shift from capital investments to operational savings

Digital Workplace Efficiency:

• Lower-cost, more efficient workplaces: The Digital Workplace lowers the cost of workplace system installation, operation, and management through unified communications and centralized control of global facilities. As a result, it is easier to automate workplace services.
• Transformative new experiences: Different systems (lighting, heating, and air conditioning, as well as communications, A/V, physical security and access control) can now easily and securely work together. They can adapt to users’ needs in real time to make spaces work better for individuals, groups, functions, and teams, while significantly improving the productivity, safety, and comfort of facility occupants.
• New business insights through analytics: By combining connected endpoints with sensors, organizations gain deeper insights into how employees, customers, and guests utilize indoor spaces. You can adapt workspaces to improve productivity and efficiency, and make better use of valuable real estate. You can also glean concrete data to inform decision making about facility operations and planning.
• Increased/seamless security: Advanced security features provide comprehensive threat intelligence and defense by using the network as a sensor and enforcer.

Free Download: Workplace Technology Planning Checklist

Download this FREE CHECKLIST to ensure you don’t forget the cost of any of the technologies you will use in your next commercial/industrial workplace renovation or new construction project…

Contact PTS on 201-337-3833 when you're ready to make your smart building even smarter.