Tuesday, December 31, 2013

IBM’s 5 in 5: In the Future, Computers Will Learn

IBM Research’s 5 in 5 predictions for this year — five innovations that will change the way we live, from classrooms that learn to cyber guardians, within the next five years. Read the full story here. There are several short, interesting videos including one on Digital Security, a top-of-mind concern for most of us. +Steve Hamm 


Help Invent the New Era of Computing: A contest from IBM 



You can help design this world of the future—where machines learn, reason and interact with people in ways that are more natural to us. As a scientist, an engineer, a marketer, or an entrepreneur, your skills and ideas will be essential for inventing the new era. For consumers of technology, social networking gives you a seat at the table where the future is being designed. Your voices will shape the thinking of technologists and the services they offer to you. This year’s 5 in 5 predictions of innovations that will help transform your world is just a taste of what is to come. 

To stimulate the conversation between technology creator and consumer, IBM is calling on readers to suggest their own novel and perhaps even earth-shifting ideas for putting cognitive systems to work on everybody’s behalf. 

If you have an idea that gets you jazzed, you can submit it as a comment at the end of their blog post. You might even win a free Watson T-Shirt!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Data storage and dental health care

"Losing data is something that no dentist wants to go through. The process of recovering important information such as patient records, insurance claims, and invoices from damaged machines can be taxing, and in some cases impossible."  Read article.


Compliance for Healthcare Organizations
To comply with HIPAA, your organization must securely back up data, retain disclosures, provide physical and technical safeguards, and ensure disaster recovery. VAULT400’s data protection platform simplifies this, with uncompromising performance, brilliant simplicity and a comprehensive breadth of application and platform support.

Protect your healthcare organization and your patient data with UCG's VAULT400 online backup and disaster recovery solutions. Call UCG at 800.211.8798 and start 2014 with peace of mind knowing your data is secure. 


Download technical brief

Thursday, December 26, 2013

5 Ways to Prevent a Catastrophic Data Loss in Your Business

A timely article worth sharing from +Resource Nation 

"When it comes to your business, data can be your most precious asset. Think of the catastrophe that would follow a sudden hardware failure that caused a massive loss of data or a theft that resulted in your customers’ data landing in unknown hands. Under these worst-case scenarios, such losses could be devastating to even the strongest of businesses. Having your company’s data vanish before your eyes without a backup plan in place can cost you more than just a contract or a client. Data breaches cost companies an average of $214 per compromised record, a 2010 study by Symantec and the Ponemon Institute found, and the average organizational cost was approximately $7.2 million. Big Data can cause a big problem if you aren’t prepared for loss incidents." Read more.

What level of confidence do you have in your current solution? 

Consider these key questions when assessing your needs in a backup and recovery solution. Download our VAULT400 PDF to learn more.


Sunday, December 22, 2013

Test Your Roll Swap

Testing your Role Swap is a critical part of your disaster recovery preparedness.Here, our partners at +Maxava HA  explain how Simulated Role Swap is particularly valuable for organizations who struggle to afford downtime to effectively test their DR plan. A Simulated Role Swap delivers the ability to test applications on the backup system without the need to perform a full role swap or fail over.  

Simulated Role Swap

Friday, December 20, 2013

UCG Rolls Out Enterprise Management Software (EMS) Website

For over 15 years, United Computer Group, Inc. (UCG) has worked closely with our business partner, VAI, to offer their S2K Enterprise Management Software to our existing clients and prospects. As a team, UCG and VAI provide a uniquely crafted technology solution designed to meet clients' individual needs. To further support this effort, UCG has launched a new segment of our website focused on Enterprise Management Software


EMS Client Benefits

UCG clients receive a complete Enterprise Management Software solution coupled with UCG's VAULT400 cloud backup, archival/DR, plus service and support excellence from UCG and VAI experts. By integrating S2K EMS with VAULT400, clients have peace of mind that their mission-critical data is safe, secure, and available when needed.  

UCG’s technology roadmap, our shared vision with VAI and IBM, provides companies with a business model based on best industry processes that leverage technology to create and improve performance.

Enterprise Management Software products include solutions for Distribution, Manufacturing, and Multi-channel Retail with industry-specific features for Apparel, Durable Goods, Food, and Pharmaceutical. In addition, web-based software provides mobile access enabling every user in the organization immediate anytime, anywhere computing.

As we expand the breadth and depth of our organization, we help our clients compete at a very high level. By leveraging the flexibility and mobility that the web provides, they have unlimited growth potential.

To learn more about Enterprise Management Software for your business, contact us at 800.211.8798, email ems@ucgrp.com, or visit ucgrp.com/ems.





Monday, December 16, 2013

2013: An IBM i Year In Review


 2013: An IBM i Year In Review

By Alex Woodie, IT Jungle

"As we get ready for 2014, it is worth taking a look back at 2013 and seeing the year that was in the IBM i midrange marketplace. From new servers and operating systems to new security flaws and new business ventures, it was an eventful year. So sit back, grab a beverage, and prepare to reminisce on the IBM i year that was."



Happy Holidays from United Computer Group, Inc.



Friday, December 13, 2013

The IBM i Family

Nice article in IBM Systems Magazine by Steve Will: The IBM i Family




Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Happy Holidays from UCG and Our Terrific Partners at Maxava!




United Computer Group, Inc. and Maxava wish you a happy, healthy, safe, and SECURE holiday season. We look forward to a successful 2014!




Monday, December 09, 2013

A GUIDE to Business Continuity Planning
+Michael Seday

Lessons Learned (1) Plans must be updated and tested frequently (2) All types of threats must be considered (3) Dependencies and inter-dependencies should be carefully analyzed (4) Key personnel may be unavailable (5) Telecommunications are essential




Sunday, December 01, 2013

STILL RELYING ON TAPE TO BACKUP YOUR DATA?


Businesses across the nation still relying on tape backup to protect their data are quickly realizing they are on borrowed time. For many companies, migration from tape backup to secure cloud backup and disaster recovery has moved from the back burner to the number one business priority

Don't let another year slip by while outdated technology compromises your business.

Call United Computer Group at 800.211.8798 to learn more about VAULT400 cloud backup and disaster recovery.  






Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving from United Computer Group, Inc.

In this time of gratitude, we give thanks for our valued clients, partners, and friends. UCG deeply values your business, and strives to provide exceptional products, solutions, and customer care. We hope we have exceeded your expectations in every way. With our most sincere good wishes to you and your family for a very happy Thanksgiving! 

The United Computer Group, Inc. Management Team



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

UCG in San Francisco for EVault's 2013 Americas Partner Conference

We're here in San Francisco through Thursday for the EVault Partner Conference. Looking forward to seeing everyone!  

Jim Kandrac

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Blog and Google +

Soon we will start sharing our Blog posts with Google+.

Updates coming to web site.

Stay tuned:  We have some very exciting updates coming to our website.  This will be of particular value to those evaluating Enterprise Management Software.

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

United Computer Group, Inc. Rolls Out VAULT400 Reports

IBM Systems Magazine gave UCG's VAULT400 Reports a nice shout-out on Page 39 of their November issue. VAULT400 clients have been raving about their new reports since UCG rolled out the initiative this past July. 

VAULT400 Reports is a Web-enabled interface for centralized reporting that contains details of their clients' cloud-protected data. Users receive three types of reports:
  1. Backup status, which lists successful, failed, or missed backups while providing a simple, single-glance view of the overall health of the backup solution.
  2. Grouped Storage Details, providing a breakdown of storage information for each job grouped by computer, customer, and vault.
  3. Storage Totals, including information on total storage that can be obtained for a specific date range showing the storage fluctuation over time.
You can check out samples of VAULT400 Reports on the VAULT400 website. VAULT400 Reports are provided at no additional cost by UCG to VAULT400 subscribers. 








Tuesday, November 05, 2013

UH notifies 7,100 patients of stolen hard drive with personal medical information



University Hospitals has sent letters to more than 7,100 patients letting them know that their personal medical information may have been exposed when a hard drive was stolen from a third party vendor's car in August. (Bill Gugliotta/The Plain Dealer)

As an IT expert specializing in IT data protection and disaster recovery, it's infuriating to read about debacles like this.There is absolutely NO EXCUSE; this is very basic IT 101. United Computer Group recently completed a very successful operating system upgrade for a different local hospital. As a result, their patient data and their reputation will not be compromised. It is imperative, and I strongly encourage UH to quickly do their due diligence. 

Drive stolen on August 8th, data from 19 computers, taking their time to determine exact information on the drive, NOT encrypted. Now engaged with an IT Security firm? Do they think this was a "random" act? A lot of questions here and plenty of blame to go around. So much for HIPAA.

After I fired the IT person(s) responsible, I'd recommend speaking with Cleveland, OH based Jurinnov jurinnov.com

Compliance for Healthcare Organizations is the LAW. Find out more at vault400.com.

Jim Kandrac, Founder and President
United Computer Group, Inc. 
ucgrp.com





Thursday, October 31, 2013

Great story in the November issue of IBM Systems Magazine about International Fidelity Insurance Company. IFIC weathered Hurricane Sandy with a sound H/A solution, provided to them by Maxava business partner, United Computer Group, Inc. Without its DR solution, IFIC would have lost three full days of work, equating to around $2 million in revenue. Click here to read story.


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

High Demand for Cloud Backup and DR Drives Growth for United Computer Group, Inc.

Businesses across the nation still relying on tape backup to protect their data are quickly realizing they are on borrowed time. For many companies, migration from tape backup to secure cloud backup and disaster recovery has moved from the back burner to the number one business priority. As the demand for cloud services continues to grow, companies are making heavy investments to gain market share.

The public cloud services market is forecast to grow 18.5 percent in 2013 to total $131 billion worldwide, up from $111 billion in 2012, according to research firm Gartner, Inc. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), including cloud compute, storage and print services, continued as the fastest-growing segment of the market, growing 42.4 percent in 2012 to $6.1 billion and expected to grow 47.3 percent in 2013 to $9 billion.

Cloud advertising continues to be the largest segment of the cloud services market, comprising 48 percent of the total market in 2012. Gartner predicts that from 2013 through 2016, $677 billion will be spent on cloud services worldwide and about half of that will be spent on cloud advertising.

This shift in thinking comes as no surprise to United Computer Group, Inc. To support its fast-growing cloud backup and disaster recovery business, VAULT400, United Computer Group, Inc. recently invested in an additional $1M of infrastructure. Likewise, UCG partner BlueBridge Networks recently announced a $6 million investment in technology to build the best network and facilities possible.

Some of the biggest challenges businesses are facing are compliance, effective utilization of cloud, high availability and uptime. Companies looking to manage these issues find cost effective solutions with IBM i Solution Edition for VAULT400 cloud backup and disaster recovery. By selecting the IBM i Solution Edition for VAULT400, organizations gain significant IBM i pricing benefits, and an easy-to-manage cloud backup and disaster recovery solution that delivers a low total cost of ownership.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

James Kandrac, President of +United Computer Group, Inc.  discusses niche marketing: interview at 2013 IBM PartnerWorld conference in Las Vegas





Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Jenson USA Rolls with VAULT400 Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions from United Computer Group, Inc.


“I have peace of mind knowing that our data will be there when we need it. Current copies of our data are now stored in three locations. We don’t have to move disks around and we won’t have a bad disk or bad tape take us by surprise. The addition of VAULT400 Hardware DR was a natural next step for us. ”
-  Jeff Bolkovatz, Director of IT

Whether you're pacing traffic, pounding down a trail or setting a new track speed record, cycling is without question, a healthy endeavor. And on the subject of health, US bike sellers rang up $6.1 billion in sales in 2012, according to the National Bicycle Dealers Association. And equally as impressive, 18.5 million bicycles were sold through bike dealers and mass merchant channels, says the Bicycle Manufacturers Association. By year-end, an estimated $1.1 billion in used bicycles were sold through bike shops, mass merchants, sporting goods stores and other retailers, bringing the total size of the bicycle business to $7.3 billion.

One prominent bike merchant, Jenson USA has been serving a large share of the cycling market since 1994. Jenson USA, founded by a competitive racer, is a leading online, and brick and mortar marketer of bicycles, parts, accessories and apparel, head-quartered in Ontario, California. Read more.




Introduction to VAULT400 Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery

UCG's VAULT400 backs up an entire organization's business-critical data to our secure data centers, while supporting all platforms and databases. Data is encrypted and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for immediate online recovery. Great little video!




Learn more by visiting the VAULT400 Resource Library.

+United Computer Group, Inc. has provided a wealth of downloadable information within their VAULT400 Resource Library. You'll find everything from data sheets and technical briefs to webinars and videos. There are numerous industry articles as well.

One recent addition to the library announced the rollout of the IBM i Solution Edition for VAULT400.

“As an IBM Advanced Business Partner, United Computer Group has partnered with IBM for more than 26 years and ensures tight integration of our solutions,” says James Kandrac, President of UCG. “That collaboration has extended to UCG’s participation in the IBM iSeries Advisory Council and includes product design/development to testing and go-to-market strategies.”

The IBM i Solution Edition for VAULT400 is available for both the IBM Power7+ 720 Express and IBM Power7+ 740 Express. Both Power Systems feature the latest IBM processors, which represent a true leap forward to more intelligent systems that reduce complexity, decrease energy consumption, minimize  downtime and drive down operational costs.

Click here for a complimentary risk assessment and pricing analysis. 



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

BACK IT UP FOR BREASTS!


+United Computer Group, Inc. and +James A. Kandrac are certainly doing their part to create awareness and raise money for the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Vaccine. In addition to making a generous donation to "Fight with Finesse", they are donating additional funds for every VAULT400 proposal and signed contract through year-end. 


BACK IT UP FOR BREASTS!

Let's face it: we all know someone with breasts and frankly, we are in favor of them. The difficult reality is that breast cancer is so widespread that most of us now know a breast cancer survivor; someone currently in treatment; or someone who has lost their battle.

UCG recently kicked off fundraising efforts through our donation to the Cleveland Clinic for the breast cancer vaccine developed by Dr. Vincent K. Tuohy. The fundraiser, suitably named “Fight with Finesse”, is being sponsored by local business owner Ramiro Ortega of Finesse Fine Jewelry in Brecksville, Ohio. We matched their $2,500 donation on behalf of UCG employees and VAULT400 clients, but we can do more. 


Read more:  http://ucgrp.com/news/UCG-back-it-up-for-breasts-Q42013.pdf

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Santa Margarita Water District Selects VAULT400

SMWD is the second largest retail water agency in Orange County, California and serves more than 155,000 residents and businesses in Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Maragarita, Coto de Caza, Las Flores, Ladera Ranch and Talega.

As an integral part of the water supply chain in Southern California, SMWD provides customers with quality water and wastewater service – maximizing human, environmental, and financial resources – to help guide South Orange County’s water and wastewater services to the next century.

SWMD management was looking for options to replace tape backups and after reviewing several options, moved forward with a local appliance and iSeries cloud backup provided by UCG’s VAULT400. Daily backups are retained locally for seven days, and replicated for several weeks, months and years to UCG’s VAULT400 cloud.

In addition, SMWD selected a remote hardware DR option. In the event of a disaster, UCG provides a turn-key remote IBM iSeries DR. SMWD simply inputs their encryption key to obtain third party license keys. UCG executes the 50-page DR in < 24 hours and provides VPN access. The data is encrypted at all times at the UCG SAS70 compliant data center in Ohio.  Read complete press release.

Monday, February 18, 2013

VAULT400 Called On to Protect Distributor


Nice article in Four Hundred Stuff by Alex Woodie.


Berjé, a New Jersey-based distributor of aromatic chemicals, has selected United Computer Group's online backup solution, VAULT400, to protect the data residing in its IBM i ERP and WMS systems, UCG announced last week.

Berjé is a global distributor of essential oils and aromatic chemicals to companies in the food, fragrance, and pharmaceutical industries. The company maintains more than 3,000 items in inventory in three distribution centers, located in New Jersey, Illinois, and California.

In support of Berjé's unique business are IBM i applications from VAI, including a manufacturing-focused ERP system installed in 1997 and a WMS package installed in 2005. These IBM i applications are critical to helping Berjé maintain efficiency in warehousing operations, as well as serving its base of large, multi-national customers.  See complete article