Network Support for Small Organizations

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 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.

Benefits of Moving Up to 64-bit Computing
The advantages of 64-bit vs. 32-bit processing may appear to be vague and hard to quantify, but they are real. The RAM allocation schemes utilized by 32-bit operating systems are essentially an engineering band-aid that undermines system stability. Memory-starved programs are sometimes not able to utilize existing memory because the operating system cannot assign it efficiently. This results in programs shutting down or running erratically even when a machine seems to have plenty of available memory. Also, 64-bit software platforms allow far more physical RAM than 32-bit ones and process more information per CPU cycle. You can also jump from one memory-hungry application to another more quickly when you are using a 64-bit system. Basically, 64-bit computing makes environments more stable, more scalable, and more efficient, which makes companies more productive.

Microsoft's 64-bit Computing Initiative
Microsoft's “x64” technology supports the 64-bit CPUs found in most computers currently installed in business IT environments. (Microsoft's 64-bit "Itanium" software is limited to special high-end processors and is intended for environments that need large-scale multi-processing.) Prior to the availability of Office 2010, most Microsoft desktop applications such as Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 were available solely in 32-bit editions, which can nevertheless be used on x64 platforms. The new family of Office 2010 offers significant enhancements. For example, Microsoft Excel 2010 is offered in a 64-bit edition that allows you to build spreadsheets with enormous databases that are not restricted to the 2-gigabyte maximum file size imposed by 32-bit releases of Microsoft Office Excel.

Microsoft has developed native x64 versions of key Microsoft Server platforms, including Microsoft Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and 2005, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Commerce Server 2007, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, plus Operations Manager. Microsoft Windows Server 64-bit versions are priced and licensed identically to 32-bit versions, so typically you pay nothing extra for 64-bit server software or machines.

For desktop PCs, Microsoft supplies Windows 7 and Windows 8 in same-price 64-bit editions that offer high dependability, scalability, and throughput. Like all upgrades from 32-bit to 64-bit operating systems, the move up can't be done seamlessly. Each workstation and server requires a clean setup that involves reconfiguring applications, saving and restoring data, and installing 64-bit drivers. In fact, for most in-place workstations, and for every PC powered by Windows XP, any release of Windows 7 or Windows 8 will require you to perform a "from scratch" install. This being the case, there has never been a better time to migrate to 64-bit processing on the workstation, since it will involve little extra work.

How Progent Can Help You to Migrate to 64-bit Processing
Besides assisting your organization to understand the business advantages, expenses, and technical variables associated with upgrading to 64-bit processing, Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can help you plan, document, implement, manage, and troubleshoot a system-wide move to 64-bit server and client operating systems and applications. Progent can help you pilot your 64-bit environment to verify that it handles all of the important 32-bit applications that you intend to retain plus the new 64-bit versions of applications you wish to run. If moving to Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 is included in your 64-bit upgrade plan, Progent's Windows 7 engineers, Windows 8.1 consultants, and Windows 10 evaluation and migration consultants can assist you to decide which workstation computers and programs can or ought to be retained, and outline an upgrade procedure that is minimally disruptive to your network productivity.

Additional ways Progent can assist you to upgrade to x64 computing include:

• Progent's expertise providing online computer consulting and support can save your business effort and expense during your 64-bit upgrade, and Progent's background working with in-house support personnel and providing technical knowledge transfer to them can improve the efficiency of your network support team.

• Progent's Cisco CCIE network consultants can verify that your network infrastructure is optimized to support your 64-bit processing solution, that it is easy to monitor, manage, and troubleshoot, and that it provides a high level of security and fault tolerance.

• Progent's business continuity consulting professionals can help you in developing and testing a workplace recovery strategy that incorporates your x64 servers. Progent's Microsoft certified Microsoft System Center System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) engineering professionals can assist you to deploy Microsoft System Center SCDPM to support automated remote backup with the advantage of rapid system restoration.

• Progent's CISM and CISA security experts can assist you create a company-wide security strategy that deploys some of the powerful security mechanisms included with x64 servers. Progent can also perform security vulnerability checking to evaluate or verify your company's compliance with mandated security standards.

• Progent's virtualization consultants can show you how to utilize 64-bit virtual server solutions to leverage your hardware, streamline administration, improve fault tolerance, cut colocation and hosting costs, and speed up recovery time in case of a disaster.

• Progent's live online training classes can help bring both your IT management team and your desktop workers up to speed rapidly and affordably by providing remote virtual training customized for your computing environment and business procedures.