Network Help for Small Businesses

Meanwhile, all server, workstation, and laptop computers sold in the last few years already have the ability to run in 64-bit mode. As a Microsoft Gold Partner with years of experience helping businesses carry out network-wide upgrades, Progent can help you understand the costs and benefits of moving to 64-bit processing, design an efficient migration strategy that minimizes operational disruptions, and provide affordable, expert remote support to assist you in upgrading your existing computers and software.

The advantages of 64-bit computing go beyond gigantic spreadsheets. Software is more stable, system performance improves, memory capacity expands, security can be more extensive, and more servers can be consolidated through virtualization. These advantages equate to more uptime, increased productivity, better data protection, and lower equipment costs. Yet for most small businesses, 64-bit computing is still a great untapped resource.

Sticking with 32-bit software and under utilizing 64-bit hardware seems to make no business sense, but in fact there are serious obstacles to migrating to 64-bit computing that have prompted companies to hold back. There is no seamless path for replacing a 32-bit operating system with a 64-bit equivalent. The upgrade requires a clean installation, which means reinstalling existing applications, backing up and restoring data, and installing new 64-bit drivers. In some cases, it can be difficult or impossible to find 64-bit drivers for older peripherals. To avoid business disruption and minimize technical risk, a 64-bit migration demands careful planning and extensive experience.

Advantages of Upgrading to 64-bit Processing
The advantages of 64-bit vs. 32-bit computing may appear to be subtle and hard to quantify, but they are significant. The memory allocation techniques used in 32-bit systems are essentially a technical band-aid that undermines system stability. RAM-starved applications are often not allowed to utilize existing RAM because the operating system is unable to assign it effectively. This results in programs freezing or running fitfully even though a computer appears to have plenty of available memory. Also, 64-bit operating systems allow far more addressable memory than 32-bit ones and crunch more data per clock cycle. You can also go from one RAM-intensive application to another more quickly while running in a 64-bit environment. Fundamentally, 64-bit computing makes systems more stable, more scalable, and more efficient, which in turn makes businesses more productive.

Microsoft's x64 Software
Microsoft's “x64” software supports the 64-bit CPUs used in most computers now installed in office IT systems. (Microsoft's "Itanium" platform is limited to special high-end processors and is intended for environments that require massive multi-processing.) Prior to the release of Office 2010, most Microsoft desktop programs such as Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 were offered solely in 32-bit versions, which can still be used on x64 Windows. The new family of Office 2010 offers significant enhancements. As an example, Excel 2010 is available in a 64-bit version that permits you to build spreadsheets with huge databases that are not limited to the 2-gigabyte maximum file size imposed by previous versions of Office Excel.

Microsoft offers true x64 versions of key Microsoft Server platforms, including Microsoft Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Exchange Server 2010 and 2007, Commerce Server, Microsoft BizTalk Server, plus System Center Operations Manager. Microsoft Windows Server x64 editions are priced and licensed the same as 32-bit editions, so typically it costs nothing extra for 64-bit server operating systems or machines.

For client computers, Microsoft supplies Windows 7 and Windows 8 in same-price 64-bit versions that provide high stability, scalability, and performance. As with all upgrades from 32- to 64-bit operating systems, the move up can’t be done without effort. Each desktop PC and server needs a clean setup that involves reconfiguring application software, saving and recovering data files, and installing 64-bit drivers. On the other hand, for most current desktop PCs, and for all PCs running Microsoft Windows XP, any release of Microsoft Windows 7 or 8 will require you to carry out a clean install. This being the case, there will never be a better opportunity to upgrade to x64 computing on the workstation, since it will require scarcely any additional work.

How Progent Can Help You to Upgrade to 64-bit Computing
In addition to helping your organization to understand the practical benefits, costs, and technical variables associated with upgrading to 64-bit processing, Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified consultants can help you plan, document, implement, administer, and troubleshoot a network-wide move to 64-bit server and client OS software and applications. Progent can help you pilot your 64-bit environment to make sure it supports all of the key 32-bit programs which you want to keep plus the new 64-bit versions of applications you wish to run. If moving to Windows 7 or Windows 8 is included in your 64-bit migration strategy, Progent's Windows 7 experts and Windows 8 consultants can assist you to decide which desktop computers and applications can or should be preserved, and design a migration procedure that is minimally disruptive to your network operations.

Other ways Progent's consultants can assist your business to migrate to x64 computing include:

• Progent's experience delivering remote computer support services can save you effort and expense over the course of your x64 upgrade, and Progent's background working with internal IT staffs and delivering technical information transfer to them can improve the efficiency of your network support staff.

• Progent's certified Cisco CCIE network engineers can verify that your network infrastructure is optimized to accommodate your x64 processing environment, that it is easy to monitor, administer, and troubleshoot, and that it provides a high degree of data protection and fault tolerance.

• Progent's business continuity engineers can help you in creating and testing a workplace recovery strategy that includes your 64-bit servers. Progent's Microsoft certified Data Protection Manager engineering professionals can help you to configure Microsoft System Center DPM to support continuous remote backup with the capability of rapid system restoration.

• Progent's CISM and CISA certified security experts can help you create a company-wide security plan that deploys some of the new security mechanisms included with 64-bit server platforms. Progent can also perform security vulnerability checking to assess or validate your network's compliance with industry or government security requirements.

• Progent's virtualization consultants can show you how to utilize 64-bit virtual server technology to conserve equipment, simplify administration, enhance fault tolerance, lower colocation and hosting costs, and speed up restoration time in case of a catastrophic breakdown.

• Progent's webinar training classes can help get both your IT support staff and your office employees up to date rapidly and affordably by delivering interactive online virtual training specialized for your network requirements and business processes.