Network Help for Mid-size Companies

For the majority of business IT systems, 64-bit computing is a great untapped resource. Both Intel and AMD, the top CPU chip makers, have been delivering 64-bit ability in their mainstream processors for years, with the result that all classes of business computers including laptops, desktop PCs, engineering workstations and back-office servers already possess the architecture to run in 64-bit mode. Yet most of these in-place computers continue to host 32-bit software platforms.

The primary reason for this common hesitation to join the 64-bit revolution is that the business advantage for upgrading in-place systems has seemed to be small in comparison to the effort required. There is no automatic path to migrate from a 32-bit to a 64-bit OS. The upgrade demands a clean installation, which means reinstalling current applications, saving and recovering data files, and installing new drivers. This demands thoughtful planning to do efficiently. Meanwhile, most office applications are still offered only in 32-bit versions, so what's the advantage?

Advantages of Moving Up to 64-bit Processing
The advantages of 64-bit vs. 32-bit processing may seem vague and difficult to quantify, yet they are real. The RAM memory partitioning techniques utilized by 32-bit OS platforms are essentially a technical band-aid that limits system stability. Memory-hungry programs are sometimes not allowed to access free memory since the O/S is unable to allocate it effectively. This can be the cause of software shutting down or running fitfully even when a machine appears to have ample unused RAM. In addition, 64-bit software platforms allow far more physical memory than 32-bit ones and crunch more information per clock cycle. You can also jump from one RAM-hungry program to another faster when you are using a 64-bit environment. Fundamentally, 64-bit computing makes systems more stable, more scalable, and more efficient, which in turn makes businesses more competitive.

Microsoft's 64-bit Processing Software
Microsoft's “x64” software works with the 64-bit CPUs found in most servers and desktop PCs now deployed in office IT systems. (Microsoft's "Itanium" support is restricted to a few high-end Intel and AMD CPUs processors and is designed for environments that need large-scale multi-processing.) Prior to the availability of Microsoft Office 2010, the majority of Microsoft desktop applications such as 2007 Office and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 were available only in 32-bit versions, which can nevertheless be used on x64 platforms. The latest generation of Microsoft Office 2010 offers significant improvements. For example, Office Excel 2010 is available in a 64-bit version that allows you to build spreadsheets with huge datasets that are not restricted to the 2-Gbyte file size imposed by 32-bit versions of Microsoft Office Excel.

Microsoft has developed native x64 editions of key Microsoft Server System products, such as Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Exchange Server 2010 and 2007, Commerce Server, BizTalk Server 2006, as well as System Center Operations Manager. Microsoft Windows Server x64 editions are priced the same as their 32-bit versions, so ordinarily it costs nothing more for 64-bit server software or machines.

For workstations, Microsoft offers Windows 7 and Windows 8 in same-cost x64 editions that offer high dependability, capacity, and performance. Like all upgrades from 32-bit to 64-bit operating systems, the upgrade can't be done without effort. Every workstation and server needs a clean installation that entails reinstalling applications, saving and recovering data files, and configuring 64-bit drivers. In fact, for most in-place workstations, and for all PCs running Windows XP, the 32 or 64-bit release of Windows 7 or Windows 8 will require you to carry out a clean install. Consequently, there will never be a better opportunity to upgrade to 64-bit processing on the workstation, since it will require scarcely any additional work.

How Progent Can Help You to Migrate to 64-bit Computing
Besides assisting you to understand the business benefits, costs, and technical risks attached to upgrading to 64-bit computing, Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you plan, document, carry out, administer, and repair a system-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 that you intend to retain as well as the latest 64-bit editions of software you plan to run. If moving to Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 is included in your x64 upgrade strategy, Progent's Windows 7 engineers, Windows 8.1 migration consultants, and Windows 10 evaluation and upgrade experts can help your company to determine which desktop computers and applications can or should be preserved, and design a migration procedure that is minimally disruptive to your business operations.

Additional ways Progent's consultants can assist your business to upgrade to x64 processing include:

• Progent's expertise delivering remote network support services can save your business effort and money over the course of your x64 migration, and Progent's experience cooperating with in-house IT personnel and providing technical knowledge sharing to them can increase the efficiency of your network support team.

• Progent's certified Cisco CCIE network engineers can make sure that your network infrastructure is optimized to support your 64-bit processing solution, that it is easy to monitor, administer, and troubleshoot, and that it provides a high degree of data protection and reliability.

• Progent's disaster recovery consulting professionals can help you in creating and testing a disaster recovery strategy that includes your x64 servers. Progent's Microsoft certified Microsoft System Center SCDPM support experts can help you to configure System Center SCDPM to provide near-continuous online backup with the advantage of fast data recovery.

• Progent's CISM, CISSP, GIAC, and CISA certified security engineers can help you create a company-wide security strategy that implements some of the new protection technologies included with 64-bit servers. Progent can also perform security vulnerability testing to assess or verify your network's compliance with mandated security standards.

• Progent's virtualization experts can show you how to benefit from 64-bit virtual server technology to leverage your hardware, simplify management, enhance robustness, lower hosting costs, and speed up restoration time in the event of a disaster.

• Progent's live online training classes can help bring both your IT support team and your office workers up to speed quickly and cost-effectively by delivering online virtual training specialized for your computing environment and operational procedures.