Tag: cloud

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MISys Manufacturing Leverages Microsoft Azure Cloud with MISys on Azure

MISys Manufacturing software is designed for small to medium sized manufacturers, providing low cost of ownership and a flexible, modular design. When a business needs to add inventory management, purchasing, MRP, forecasting and scheduling, MISys is the solution that delivers the functionality. Noobeh cloud services has always provided hosting and managed services for MISys and MISys EXT on the Microsoft Azure cloud. Now, MISys Manufacturing has new options to take even more advantage of the power and flexibility of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform:

MISys on Azure

The new cloud deployment options for MISys Manufacturing provide direct support for Microsoft Azure databases and app services. Customers can use their own self-managed Azure subscriptions and the MISys installer can provision the app and database to get it all going. Noobeh helps businesses get started with the Azure cloud, assisting with the setup and deployment of services on the most secure, scalable, and agile platform available. Noobeh services delivered on Microsoft Azure take full advantage of the Microsoft cloud platform and all it has to offer.

While the primary focus of MISys releases starting with v6.4.5.0 have been to have an installer-assisted deployment with Microsoft Azure, the complexity of Microsoft and Azure account and subscription setup can be daunting for even experienced technicians. Noobeh simplifies these processes by assisting businesses with the creation of the accounts and the provisioning and preparation of the services necessary to support a MISys on Azure installation.

Each Noobeh MISys on Azure customer gets their own absolutely private Azure tenant account, which ensures that there is no co-mingling of resources and no possibility of interactions between customer accounts. And Noobeh deploys services with the resources necessary to deliver the right solution for each business client, knowing that adjustments can always be made as business needs change.

MISys Manufacturing can be implemented in a variety of configurations, allowing each deployment to meet the specific needs of the client. Noobeh helps companies deploy MISys Manufacturing software in all its forms, handling the installation and technical configuration whether on-premises, exclusively cloud-based, or hybrid.

Cloud Server | Cloud Database | Cloud Desktops | Cloud Everything

With Noobeh and MISys, you can choose from configurations that keep the desktop/client software local or cloud, have your database on your cloud server or just have a cloud database, or combine the benefits of managed desktops and data by putting the entire system in the cloud.

No matter what accounting solution you use with MISys, Noobeh has an answer for that, too. We’re specialists at hosting QuickBooks and Sage desktop products, and work with businesses using QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct and other web-based solutions. You need your MISys installation and your accounting software to work together? We’ve got that delivery model.

With MISys on Azure and Noobeh, business owners have the assurance that their software can be deployed in a model that meets with their specific needs and budget, and with the flexibility to change and grow along with the business.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Web-based, Hosted and Cloud: The Confusing Journey to Transformation

There is no doubt that businesses of all sizes and types are moving from analog and paper-based to digital and electronic systems. Moving from postal letters to email, “PDF-ing” instead of printing, and EDI rather than manual order entry, businesses are taking on the challenges of transforming their processes one by one.

Cloud computing and virtualization have had a great impact in these areas, providing the foundations for process improvements and higher business intelligence than ever before. Increasingly, businesses are looking to “cloud” to help them do more with their businesses, and to do it better and more profitably.

In looking at cloud – applications, platforms, and services – it is important to understand that different approaches aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. Many businesses implement a combination of technologies and services, creating their own hybrid approach to doing business the way it works for them.

Web-based, Browser-based

When most small business owners think of implementing “cloud” in their operations, the things that initially come to mind are web-based/browser-based applications. Due in large part to how these products are marketed, web-based apps are among the most widely recognized “cloud” type of service.

QuickBooks Online edition is an example of web-based/browser-based application service. It was built to run in a browser, and you access it over the Internet. These types of applications are often referred to as “net native”, because the only exist as Internet-based service. Other examples are NetSuite and Intacct.

The key with these types of application services is that they aren’t just applications; they are subscription services that include the infrastructure and data storage as part of the solution. You access by going to a web URL in a browser, and login and use the system. You own nothing of the system – not the servers its running on, not the application itself, and (if you don’t pay your bill or export your information) not the data.

What makes these systems “cloud” is that they are running on servers – application servers, network server, data servers etc. – that are all meshed to work closely together. You do not have to worry about (in fact, you often won’t even know) exactly where in the world your system is located, and you have no direct contact with or interaction with the infrastructure on which your application and data are running. As far as users are concerned, their application and data exist “in the cloud” … somewhere.

Hosted applications can also be Cloud

Cloud or not cloud really doesn’t have anything to do with whether the software is browser-based versus disk-based (desktop). Cloud really refers to having a ubiquitous network of connected resources which allows for the creation of dynamic, agile, scalable infrastructure. Google Compute, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure are the 3 primary (publicly available) cloud platforms.

Online application services generally use cloud platforms and infrastructure to support their software and data, enabling the delivery of services to large numbers of users regardless of where they are located.

Desktop applications can also be run on cloud infrastructure, enabling businesses to access and use their applications and data regardless of location or device, but to retain all the functionality and capabilities of the more mature desktop solution.

For example, NOOBEH cloud services deploys managed QuickBooks and other desktop applications from the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. With Noobeh’s approach, customers can retain essential control of their infrastructure (Noobeh manages it for them, but it is the customer’s private system), allowing it to be configured to be exactly what the customer needs.

NOOBEH Azure hosting is provided as a subscription service and can be changed or adjusted at any time with just a restart of the system. This agility gives businesses what they need now, but also allows the platform to be adjusted to changing business needs. Not having to purchase or invest ahead of needing new resources, as well as reducing the system size if less is ultimately needed, are among the many benefits of using a true cloud platform. Migrating applications and data from on-premises to cloud platforms allows businesses to reduce or eliminate their reliance on locally installed servers and network systems, which is another step in transforming the business and its capabilities.

When a business elects to migrate from desktop to web-based applications for only some functions, the result is often that other applications and data remain active on the local systems. This forces the business to retain their expensive computers, networks and local IT management services and reduces much of the value of a cloud transformation.

On the other hand, if the business elects to migrate to cloud infrastructure it allows them to migrate all their applications, data, and processes immediately, delivering immediate business benefit and providing the right platform for further improvement.
For most small and growing businesses, it is the elimination of concerns about hardware failures, not having to purchase ahead for possible future needs, and having up-to-date secure and compliant systems that deliver the full value and capability of the cloud.

Business transformation starts with the foundation, and a strong information technology platform becomes the base upon which smarter and more efficient processes are built. Whether your company is just beginning its transformation journey or is well on the way, cloud applications and platforms are integral to helping your business keep moving forward.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Is Your Business IT Ready for Industry 4.0?

Over the past several hundred years there have been trends which revolutionized industry and manufacturing around the world… steps taken in an industrial revolution which advanced the evolution of civilization and life as we know it. The first revolutionary phase was combining mechanization with steam and waterpower, and the second was the combination of mass production with electricity. The third was the rise of electronics, IT systems and automation. We are now at the start of the fourth phase of industrial revolution.

PwC’s Insights suggests that Industry 4.0 “refers to the fourth industrial revolution, which connections machines, people and physical assets into an integrated digital ecosystem that seamlessly generates, analyzes and communicates data, and sometimes takes action on that data without the need for human intervention.”

This next phase advances on concepts introduced through digitization and connected frameworks, tying in the industrial IoT (Internet of Things) and smart manufacturing. This meshed model relies on interconnectivity of systems, lots of automation at high levels, machine learning and AI… all collecting and generating data in real-time.

Where physical operations and production join with smart digital technologies, big data, and machine learning, businesses can forge systems which focus directly on manufacturing and supply chain management, gaining new insights and getting actionable data at all levels.

Virtualizing physical resources and digitization of analog data is now coupled with improved access to and management of the platforms. Rather than building out on-prem physical servers and systems, businesses are finding that the agility, scalability, and fault-tolerance of the cloud is necessary when designing an operation that connects, communicates and collects data, performs intelligent analyses, and potentially acts without people getting directly involved.

Every company is different, but all face a common challenge — the need for connection and access to real-time insights across processes, products, and people.

The consulting team at Mendelson Consulting and our NOOBEH cloud services group know how to get businesses in the best position to implement the tools and services that will propel the operation forward. From the most popular and powerful small business financial software to cloud platforms which enable connectivity in applications and workflows, we understand what it takes to help small businesses transform.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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It’s Not Easy Being Small – Thoughts on the Disruption and Rethinking Business Priorities

The global pandemic has been the source of disruption to business and personal lives for over a year now and businesses have found that, regardless of the challenges they face, business must continue.

With operations and supply chains strained and positive cash flow at a premium, companies everywhere are focusing on the fundamentals while enabling work-from-home and distancing mandates. COVID-19 has, in many ways, become the event that is forcing many businesses (and entire industries!) to rethink how they operate, and to look to transform their global supply chain models.

A fact that can’t be argued with is that the pandemic has exposed where many businesses are vulnerable, being heavily dependent on supplies of raw materials or finished products that are no longer readily available.

What’s also been exposed is the lack of agility in business I.T. infrastructure, as operations struggle to find ways of continuing operations with reduced personnel or users working from various locations and finding that their systems aren’t really helping in those efforts.

“Supporting small manufacturers has probably never been more important that it is now”, said a panelist at the “National Conversation with Manufacturers” session hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP). While larger companies are certainly impacted by what’s happened this year, small manufacturers face the challenge of running a company with a smaller available base of resources, technology and supporting tools.

“The conversation’s participants represented very small manufacturing companies with fewer than 20 workers. They all recounted a mad scramble over the past six months. First, they had to figure out whether their operations were essential enough to stay open under their state-mandated shutdown orders.

Then began the efforts to keep their workers safe, implement cleaning regimens, source protective materials, respond to public health protocols that evolved during the pandemic, determine what emergency support they qualified for, and go through the steps to access funds. All of this was being done with a small staff that needed also to continue getting product out and deal with obstacles to normal operations. Hurdles included delays and disarray in the supply chain, disruption in cash flow, with both account receivable extensions and overnight changes in credit terms, shipping impediments and customers still expecting on-time deliveries.”

https://www.nist.gov/blogs/manufacturing-innovation-blog/sometimes-its-not-easy-being-small-manufacturer?utm_medium=email&utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_campaign=

To add to the troubles, disruptions in global trade with China have created significant impact in supply chains worldwide. Companies who rely on direct and secondary suppliers in China are currently experiencing significant disruption, and this is likely to continue. But it isn’t just China… countries around the globe are experiencing challenges with having enough personnel, materials and technology to deliver their goods.

For so many years, businesses have focused on optimizing their supply chains to minimize costs, reduce inventories, and increase asset utilization. This streamlining has also removed the buffers and the flexibility to absorb disruption. COVID-19 has shown that many companies aren’t aware of their vulnerability when supply chains suffer from a global shock of some type.

So, how can organizations respond to the immediate challenge?

There are steps that businesses can take to help address the changing conditions facing businesses today, and a major item that should be addressed is the alignment of IT systems and support to evolving work requirements. Further, enhancements in operational systems should be made to illuminate the extended supply network and enhance inbound materials visibility, and a new focus on production scheduling agility as well as evaluating alternative outbound logistics options should be approached.

NOOBEH’s cloud solutions have been the foundation for business continuity and operational support throughout these difficult times.

We’ve helped companies around the country implement Microsoft Azure cloud servers where they are able to run their entire operations. From order entry, manufacturing, inventory management, pack and ship, and through to accounting and finance – businesses run their applications, integrations and services that allow them to keep the business operating even with reduced personnel or as their users are forced to work from home. OneDrive and SharePoint file storage, and TEAMS for closer collaboration and simplified access to information, helps hybrid working models and distributed workgroups stay in step with projects and business goals.

As a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider, Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH provide and administer Microsoft 365 and Azure services, enabling us to more closely manage the licensing and computing platform to make sure it works in the best possible way for your business. With NOOBEH managing your services, you get predictable performance at predictable costs, allowing your business to operate without interruption or subscription overages.

As the past year has proven, life is unpredictable. Let Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH help your business implement the cloud services and technologies that will give your organization the ability to adjust to changing conditions because you’ll have the most agile IT platform available.

jm bunny feet

Make Sense?

J

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Cloud for Small Business: Gain Hardware Independence

Small businesses tend to approach their business IT in terms of the tangibles.. the hardware and software they can see and touch.

The desktop PCs where the programs are installed, the server in the back room where the files are stored, and the backup that goes offsite (tapes? discs? usb drives?) is the stuff most small business owners think of when asked about the computing technology they use. This view isn’t very comprehensive when it comes to considering the costs of purchasing and maintaining IT in the business, yet it identifies a major problem with the typical small business IT approach.

The problem is the dependency on the hardware and the reliance of the small business on the operation of individual computers.

The solution to this reliance on on-premises hardware? The cloud.

The solution to the problem isn’t centered on using web-based applications. The real solution to this small business IT problem is cloud platform, like Microsoft Azure. When businesses deploy a private cloud server they get solution that allows them to run all their desktop and network applications and store their data on a virtual platform that isn’t tied to any particular piece of hardware in the office.

Microsoft Azure offers virtual computing resources, managed and secured on Microsoft’s hardware in Microsoft datacenters. Rather than purchasing and maintaining hardware on-premises, business can deploy virtual networks and servers on the Azure platform. This makes the systems far more versatile and resilient than would be affordable to do otherwise. Surprise server hardware failures become a thing of the past, and buying ahead for possible future needs is no longer required because the systems can be upgraded on demand.

Businesses still need desktops where users access their programs and data, but the “desktop” can be a cloud desktop rather than the local PC desktop.

Remote desktops on the cloud server keeps software licensing and business information securely stored on the cloud server rather than being resident on user computers where it is more easily compromised. Users may still browse the internet and do other things with the local PC desktop, but using the cloud desktop for business applications and data means that just about any PC could safely be used for work.

When applications and data are managed on-premises, it makes changing servers or workstations a big deal. 

Changing desktops or servers means that software must be uninstalled and reinstalled, data must be migrated and user profiles and permissions may need to be recreated. When the cloud server is where users get their desktops, computer workstations become interchangeable because nothing is really installed on them other than the connection to the cloud desktop. This is also why traveling laptops and home computers become more secure for business use, because the applications and data are really running on the cloud server and not on the local device.

The cloud platform provides what the business needs without the lock-in to on-premises hardware or SaaS/Web-based software.

Rebuilding servers due to hardware failures, upgrading systems to handle future growth or replacing aging hardware all contribute to the unpredictable cost of managing and maintaining on-premises computer systems. SaaS and web-based software solutions lock-in data and lock-out many future options, yet they don’t address user desktops and the rest of the applications and data the business needs.

Rather than risking outages and lost productivity, businesses are finding that running their systems on a managed cloud platform provides more stability and consistent performance for a reasonable and more predictable cost. Desktop and server software licensing is able to service multiple locations when installed on a cloud server, and workers at home can access the tools to be just as productive as they are in the office (maybe more).

Make Sense?

J

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Using a Remote/Cloud Server is Like the Green Screen Days – Only Better

Remote access and “dumb” terminals have been around for many years, allowing users to connect to computing resources located elsewhere… whether in another room or another state. Using hardware or software called an “emulator”, one computer system is able to behave like another computer system. In the case of the dumb terminals and green-screen devices, the emulator allowed the terminal device to mimic the keyboard layout and screen display properties so they would be recognized and used properly by the remote computer.

Consider that you might want to use your Macbook to connect to a remote Windows server. Microsoft Remote Desktop is an emulator of sorts which allows a local device (PC, Mac or mobile) to emulate the properties of a Windows remote computer so that screen, keyboard and other input devices function.

A cloud hosting environment operates similarly to the timeshare or service bureau systems of the past. You use a terminal – in this case a device or computer connected to the Internet – to operate your applications on the host computer.

The connection used to be over phone or fax lines, with modems making that squealing and squelching noise to let you know the digital handshake was being made. These days, remote access is much quieter, using the Internet as the network rather than making individual phone calls to reach the remote host.

Once your device – the PC, Mac or mobile device you are connecting with – establishes its connection to the cloud server, the computing resources and applications in the cloud environment become available.

Since the cloud server is a Windows environment, we are able to run most Windows-based applications and other network services you would typically find in a business. We manage the environment so your users can focus on running the applications that help them get their work done.

What’s different from the old green-screen terminals of the past is that you can use your modern devices – Windows PCs, Apple computers and iOS or Android mobile devices – and take advantage of the audio, video and other capabilities they support both on and off the cloud platform.

This environment provides you with the best of both worlds – the applications and familiar working environment you need, as well as the flexibility of accessing from any location and using any device.

When your business operates from the hosted cloud server there are no different versions of the software to worry about. All users work on exactly the same system in real-time so there is no more concern about software updates for individual computers, or licensing applications for use in multiple locations.

Files do not need to be moved or converted in order to work with the cloud platform. File are accessed centrally and in real-time so all users are working in the same database at the same time.

No sophisticated technology or training is required to take advantage of our hosting solutions since your users already know how to use Windows and QuickBooks. It’s a simple transition from operating on the local computers to working on the cloud platform.

Once you migrate your systems to your private cloud environment, you’ll wonder how you got along without it.

Make Sense?

J