aitprich

News Articles Related to the April 2012 Meeting

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:56:51 +0000

“Custom-Built Solutions For Public & Private Clouds“ - Chenbro Can Build A Chassis For Any Cloud Environment, April 6, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 7

Chenbro’s line of cloud-based 1U, 2U, and 4U chassis and server solutions provide the performance, reliability, and flexibility that SMBs and enterprises need to support both public and private cloud environments.

“Data Center Cleaning Services“ - Enlist Experts To Help Keep Your Data Center In Tip-Top Shape, April 6, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 7

We’ll show you what to look for in a data center cleaning service provider and how they can help you maintain your components for years to come.

“Diagnose Server Performance Problems“ - Read The Signs To Determine What’s Causing Trouble In Your Data Center, April 6, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 7

So how do you go about diagnosing server difficulties so that you can solve them and move on? Here are some tips to get you started.

“Monitor Data Center Batteries“ - Ensure Backup Power Is Ready When You Need It, April 6, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 7

Negligence can leave batteries unable to supply backup power to mission-critical applications, resulting in downtime. To avoid such a costly occurrence, consider the following.

“A Whole New Level Of Storage“ - Aberdeen’s Petarack Offers More Than A Full Petabyte Of Fast, Flexible & Secure Storage, March 23, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 6

Aberdeen saw a need for almost unlimited storage and is attempting to fulfill it with its new Petarack storage solution, complete with a total capacity of 1,080TB, or 1 petabyte.

“Data Center Services You Can Trust“ - FORTRUST Offers Colocation & Managed Services Built On Constant Reliability, March 23, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 6

Through its Managed Services offerings, FORTRUST extends its infrastructure and expertise to the management and monitoring of customer data, servers, applications, and hybrid colocation/cloud Iaas.

“Forgotten Maintenance“ - Routine Upkeep Can Make Your Data Center More Efficient & Prevent Disasters, March 23, 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 6

To help with regular upkeep, read on for tips from some industry experts about maintaining your data center.

April meeting–Employee-Owned IT: Information systems security challenges

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:10:31 +0000

Topic: Get your Data Center in Shape: Efficiencies and Best Practices

Sponsors:

Date: Tuesday, Apr. 17, Networking 5:15 pm – Program – 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Location: Hilton Garden Inn at Innsbrook, 4050 Cox Road, Glen Allen, Virginia

Panel members

Dean Wagstaff – Senior Infrastructure Advisor, Wellpoint Blue Cross Blue Shield
James C Willis, PE – Richmond Site Leader for Syska Hennessy Group
James Swope – Vice President and General Manager of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast
regions for QTS

Program Description

We know it’s important, so what are the actual driving factors for maximizing data center efficiency without compromising reliability? Analysis shows that while energy consumption in data centers nearly doubled in the last five years, data center output increased fourteen-fold, and data center efficiency increased eight-fold over the same period. How do we identify, justify and prioritize data center efficiency improvement projects? Which strategies yield the most bang for the buck? We have assembled industry leaders in data center nfrastructure solutions.

Please join us as they share their practical experiences, data center efficiency improvements you can leverage, and future innovations on the horizon.

Seats are limited, so register now, and you won’t forget later.

You may also join the AITP LinkedIn group to keep informed about programs and other networking opportunities.

Panelist Information
Dean Wagstaffis a senior infrastructure advisor with Wellpoint Blue Cross Blue Shield. Wellpoint is the largest health insurance company in America based on membership. Dean leads WellPoint’s Data Center management team and is team lead for daily Operations of WellPoint’s 32 Data Centers, and regional computer rooms across the country. He has over 23 years of Data Center facilities management experience, and was the team lead on the design and engineering of WellPoint’s premier data center which is a 58,000 square foot site located in Richmond Va. Dean also recently led a project to expand WellPoint’s St. Louis data center in 2011.Dean is a certified project management professional (PMP), and is a principal member of the Uptime Institute, and AFCOM. Dean has a vast amount of knowledge concerning data center facilities management, and some of the key challenges facing data center managers in today’s environment. Dean is a graduate of ECPI, and has taken many additional data center planning, and engineering courses over his career.

James Willis is the Richmond Site Leader for Syska Hennessy Group, a national leader in the design of Critical Facilities. In addition, he is an Associate Partner and the lead Mechanical Engineer for the office. James has over twenty-five years of experience engineering mechanical systems for mission critical, commercial, healthcare and educational clients. At Syska Hennessy, James has designed a wide range of infrastructure projects for CF clients, including a 2MW expansion of an existing data center, a DDC to PLC control conversion for a 4800-ton central plant, and integration of a new 650,000 gallon chilled water thermal storage tank into an existing central plant system. James has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University. From 2005-2010, James served as an officer for the Richmond chapter of ASHRAE culminating in being named the top chapter president in Region III. James currently serves on the chapter Board of Directors.

James Swope is Vice President and General Manager of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions for QTS. QTS is a leading national provider of datacenter solutions and fully managed services for enterprise businesses. James has 18 years experience in sales and sales management with deep industry knowledge of leasing and selling mission critical datacenter infrastructure, managed hosting/computing, IP networking, business systems applications and telecom infrastructure consulting.

Prior to joining QTS, James was employed by Digital Realty Trust with responsibility for developing and closing new enterprise, systems integrator and service-provider datacenter opportunities including the lease of turn-key data centers, acquisition/leasebacks, and powered base building infrastructure. James also held positions with Verizon Business’ Data Center Services organization, Telcordia, Cable & Wireless, eCommerce Industries, and UUNET.

Sponsor page changes

billward — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:50:41 +0000

sponsor page changes

sponsors page

billward — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:53:29 +0000

made changes to sponsors page – putting them in alphabetical order and changing PlanIT to Slait Consulting

ECPI Robotics VIP Breakfast

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:40:34 +0000

ECPI sponsors a very energetic and fun VIP Breaksfast in the newly remodeled Tommy J West Club at the VCU Siegel Center. This suite provides a fabulous view of the opening ceremonies and is the starting point of VIP tours.

Do you want to see what your future employees are already capable of? If you haven’t been to the FIRST Robotics Competition yet you are missing out on one of the most exciting technology events of the year. Learn more…

John Hudson, visiting International Scholar

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:39:25 +0000

The VCU School of Business Department of Information Systems and the Executive Master of Science program are pleased to welcome Mr. John N. Hudson, Director of CEA Global Education Argentina as our visiting International Scholar.

Please join us on Friday, March 16 for a discussion on Doing Business in Latin America: Cultural Challenges

Latin America is a large and growing market. Please join us for a discussion on the cultural differences and the challenges they present.

Schedule:
7:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Presentation
Where: Snead Hall, VCU School of Business, 1st floor atrium and auditorium.

John is the Director of CEA Global Education Argentina, having launched their Global Campus in Buenos Aires in 2010, which is designed to educate students from North American universities under the auspices of the University of New Haven. John holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue and an MBA from Duke (both of whom VCU has beaten in the NCAA!), and has done post-graduate research at Henley Business School in the UK.

Parking will be available in the JL parking lot, the flat lot across Madison street (small side street) from Snead Hall. The entrance is on Madison St. (coming from Cary) or Jefferson St. (from Main). Register for this event.

Windows Remote Assistance

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:35:11 +0000

Troubleshoot from Afar

Productivity doesn’t have to come to a screeching halt when a remote employee can’t fix a PC-related problem himself or when the onstaff tech support wizard is on the road. Windows Remote Assistance, Microsoft’s built-in Web-based troubleshoot ing tool, lets one user connect to and view the Desktop of another user’s computer, as well as take control of the system’s mouse and keyboard to change settings, view system parameters, uninstall and install applications, and attempt repairs. Thanks to Windows Remote Assistance, a major roadblock can quickly become a minor detour, no matter where the users are physically located.

Windows Remote Assistance (PDF)

Troubleshooting VPNs

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:25:49 +0000

VPNs have emerged as a safe way for users to exchange information from beyond the enterprise’s firewall. In addition to doing a good job of keeping bad guys from being able to intercept data, VPN connections are easy to use—once they are up and running. The problem is that a number of things, including IP address conflicts and firewall configuration problems, can break the links. Read more…

Face Down Bring Your Own Devices

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:21:46 +0000

Address the Concerns of Adding Employees Devices to the Network

Letting employees add their personal devices to the SME’s infrastructure can generate loads of beneits. It can also open up a slew of network and security-related headaches. As Dan Olds, principal analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group, says , letting employee-owned devices on the network opens the infrastructure to every nasty virus, Trojan, or insidious piece of malware sitting on the user’s device. Read more...

March meeting–Employee-Owned IT: Information systems security challenges

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:10:09 +0000

Topic: Employee-Owned IT: Information systems security challenges and the evolving security controls to manage risks and exposures.

Sponsors:

Date: Tuesday, Mar. 13, Networking 5:15 pm – Program – 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Location: Hilton Garden Inn at Innsbrook, 4050 Cox Road, Glen Allen, Virginia

Panel members

Rick Fowler – Senior Audit Specialist, Huntington Ingalls Industries
Hubert D. Harris – Chief Information Officer, Virginia State University
Dr. Glenn S. Dardick – Director, Longwood University Center Cyber Security
Robert Baskette – Commonwealth of Virginia Security Architect
Catherine Brown – Public Sector Healthcare Account Manager, The North Highland Company

Program Description

Employee-Owned IT or as is commonly referred to “Bring Your Own” (BYO) device is fast becoming the new normal for many organizations and a risky proposition for CIOs who are required to support the organization’s push to reduce IT costs while satisfying user demands for device choice.

CIO’s, when considering implementing BYO strategy, must balance risks and control goals relating to sensitive corporate resource access. as well as end users’ needs. and desires for device diversity. At a minimum, BYO plans must take in to consideration competing and or conflicting goals such as (a) keeping employees happy (social), keeping processes running effectively (business), manage costs (financial), and keeping bad things from happening (risk).

As we see more diversity in mobile device platform types, and further consumerization of these devices, CIO’s will have no choice but to cede to business executives’ request for access to corporate resources, not only for themselves, but also for their support staff, mobile/teleworkers and in some instances, external business partners.

This month’s panel will explore the security effects and implications of employee-owned IT devices such as tablets, smartphones, and netbook use for digital interaction on a daily basis of both personal and corporate data. Please join us as they share their perspective on current trends, practical experiences you can utilize, barriers to implementing a plan that is secure, and vision of what is on the horizon.

Seats are limited, so register now, and you won’t forget later.

You may also join the AITP LinkedIn group to keep informed about programs and other networking opportunities.

Panelist Information
Rick Fowleris a Senior Audit Specialist with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the country’s largest shipbuilder. His primary efforts are in evaluating automated controls and reviewing the efficiencies of various production operations. He also tests the control environments of computer systems and other technology areas. His recent audits include engineering, quality, IT governance, earned value management, workers compensation, and production planning.Before joining HII, he spent a decade with the internal audit groups of Crestar Bank, SunTrust Bank, the Virginia Department of Social Services, Circuit City, the Virginia Information Technology Agency, and Northrop Grumman. And prior to becoming an auditor, Rick spent a decade and a half as a nuclear engineer and computer programmer with Newport News Shipbuilding and the US Navy.He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). He also has several certifications from the SANS GIAC program. He is currently the Program Chair of the ASUG Internal Controls Special Interest Group (SIG) as well as a Facilitator for the ASUG Financials Community; he is a discussion group leader for ISACA; and he is an active member of the local chapters of the IIA, ISACA, ASQ and ACFE. He has a Bachelors degree in Physics from VMI, a Masters degree in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from UVA, and is a dissertation shy of a Ph.D. from VCU. He enjoys a wide variety of activities in both his professional and home life.Hubert D. Harrisserves as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Virginia State University (VSU). As CIO, Hubert is leading the University’s transformation into a digital campus where future VSU students will use any computing device, at any time, and from anywhere to take University courses and transact business with the University. Hubert has successfully implemented projects in a variety of industries within the public and private sectors. He has 25 years of experience in software development in various roles; including Programmer, Systems Analyst, Technical Architect, Project Management, and IT management. Hubert has been employed with the Commonwealth of Virginia for nearly ten years.Prior to joining the Commonwealth, Hubert was employed as a Senior Technology Manager with Accenture (formerly known as Andersen Consulting), IT Architect for IBM Global Services and Managing Principal Consultant for the Business Intelligence Division of Informix Software. Hubert holds a certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute. In addition, Hubert holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Management degree with a specialization in Project Management from the University of Maryland University College.Dr. Glenn S. Dardick is the Director of the Longwood University Center for Cyber Security and serves on the faculty of the University where he is responsible for courses in Cyber Security, Forensics and Policy. He also serves on the adjunct faculty of Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. Glenn is the Director of the Association of Digital Forensics, Security and Law (ADFSL), the publisher of the Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law and the organizer of the annual academic Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law. Glenn also serves as a consultant on technology matters for the legal community and has been admitted and appeared as an expert witness in Federal, State, and Sectarian Courts. He has consulted on copyright issues as well as conducted forensic investigations involving security breaches, media, Internet access, and financial records. Glenn holds a Doctoral degree from Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in Information Systems and a minor in Finance.Robert Baskette (Bob) servers as the Commonwealth of Virginia Security Architect. He is responsible for ensuring that information security solutions deployed within the Commonwealth of Virginia adhere to the principles set forth in the Commonwealth of Virginia Information Security Policy, Standard, and Guidelines. Bob has a diverse background in Computer Security and Network design. He has worked in both the private and public sectors and has experience with Point-of-Sales networks as well as eCommerce environments. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional – Information Systems Security Architect Professional (CISSP-ISSAP, a Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), a Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP), and a Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT).Catherine Brown is Public Sector Healthcare Account Manager and Senior Manager with The North Highland Company. She has over 25 years of experience in Information Technology, including experience within State Government as Deputy Chief Information Security Officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia and work within a Regional Healthcare System where she held various positions in IT. She has deep experience in technology management and leadership, IT governance, program and project management, and information risk management, Cathie holds certifications in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Specific areas of Cathie’s expertise include IT Strategic Planning and Governance, Information Security Program development, Project Management, IT Risk Management and Compliance (HIPAA, HITECH, Data Breach Notification and Policies and Standards), Business Impact Analysis, Continuity of Operations Planning and Disaster Recovery Planning. Cathie currently serves as President of the Board for the Region2000 Technology Council and Vice President for the Virginia Chapter of ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association).