Computer Help for Small Companies

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.

Advantages of Moving Up to 64-bit Computing
The benefits of 64-bit vs. 32-bit computing may seem subtle and hard to quantify, but they are real. The RAM memory allocation schemes utilized by 32-bit operating systems are essentially an engineering band-aid that limits system stability. Memory-hungry programs are sometimes not able to utilize available memory because the O/S cannot allocate it efficiently. This can be the cause of programs shutting down or performing erratically even when a computer seems to have plenty of unused memory. Also, 64-bit software platforms support much more addressable RAM than 32-bit ones and crunch more information per CPU cycle. You can also jump from one RAM-hungry program to another faster when you are using a 64-bit environment. Basically, 64-bit computing makes systems more stable, more scalable, and faster, which makes businesses more competitive.

Microsoft's x64 Initiative
Microsoft's “x64” software works with the 64-bit CPUs found in virtually all computers now installed in office networks. (Microsoft's 64-bit "Itanium" technology is limited to a few advanced CPUs and is designed for environments that require large-scale multi-processing.) Before the release of Office 2010, most Microsoft desktop programs such as Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 were available only in 32-bit versions, which can nevertheless be run on x64 platforms. The latest family of Office offers dramatic improvements. As an example, Office Excel 2010 is offered in a 64-bit edition that allows you to build spreadsheets with enormous datasets that are not limited to the 2-Gbyte file size imposed by 32-bit versions of Office Excel.

Microsoft has developed native x64 versions of key Microsoft Server platforms, such as Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and 2005, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Commerce Server, BizTalk Server, as well as Operations Manager. Windows Server x64 editions are priced identically to their 32-bit counterparts, so in most circumstances you pay nothing more for 64-bit server operating systems or machines.

For desktop PCs, Microsoft supplies Windows 7 and Windows 8 in same-price x64 versions 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 without effort. Every workstation and server requires a clean setup that entails reconfiguring applications, backing up and recovering data files, and configuring 64-bit device drivers. On the other hand, for typical current workstations, and for all PCs powered by Windows XP, the 32 or 64-bit edition of Windows 7 or 8 will require you to carry out a "from scratch" install. Consequently, there will never be a better opportunity to upgrade to 64-bit computing on the desktop, since it will require little extra effort.

How Progent Can Assist You to Migrate to 64-bit Processing
In addition to helping your organization to understand the practical benefits, costs, and technical risks attached to migrating to 64-bit computing, Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can help you plan, document, carry out, manage, and repair a system-wide migration to 64-bit server and client OS software and business applications. Progent can help you pilot your 64-bit infrastructure to make sure it handles all of the key 32-bit programs which you want to retain plus the latest 64-bit editions of applications you wish to run. If moving to Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 is part of your x64 upgrade plan, Progent's certified Windows 7 engineers, Windows 8.1 migration consultants, and Windows 10 testing and upgrade consultants can assist you to decide which desktop computers and applications can or ought to be retained, and outline a migration process that is the least disturbing to your network productivity.

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

• Progent's experience delivering online network consulting and troubleshooting can save you time and money over the course of your 64-bit upgrade, and Progent's background cooperating with in-house IT personnel and providing technical knowledge sharing to them can increase the effectiveness of your support team.

• Progent's Cisco CCIE network engineers can verify that your network architecture is optimized to support your 64-bit processing environment, that it is easy to monitor, manage, and troubleshoot, and that it provides a high degree of security and robustness.

• Progent's disaster recovery engineers can assist you in creating and testing a business continuity strategy that includes your 64-bit servers. Progent's Microsoft certified Microsoft System Center SCDPM consulting professionals can help you to deploy System Center SCDPM to provide near-continuous online backup with the advantage of fast system restoration.

• Progent's CISM, CISSP, GIAC, and CISA network security engineers can assist you develop a company-wide security plan that deploys some of the new security mechanisms included with 64-bit servers. Progent can also carry out network security vulnerability checking to evaluate or validate your company's adherence to industry or government security requirements.

• Progent's virtualization consultants can show you how to use 64-bit virtual server solutions to conserve hardware resources, streamline management, enhance reliability, cut colocation costs, and reduce recovery time in the event of a catastrophic breakdown.

• Progent's live online education can help get your network support team and your desktop workers up to date quickly and affordably by delivering remote virtual training customized for your computing environment and operational procedures.