Upcoming Meeting Notice

The Association of Service and Computer Dealers International (ASCDI) is a 30 year old, worldwide non-profit organization made up of companies who provide technology solutions, technical support or value added services to the business community.

Members and non-members are invited to learn how to grow your business, find new business opportunities, hear from industry representatives and enjoy some fabulous networking events at our conferences:

2010 FALL CONFERENCE
October 6 - 8, 2010
San Francisco, CA

Click here for more information on ALL ASCDI MEETINGS, to view the agendas, lodging details, attendee lists and to REGISTER AT THE EARLY BIRD RATE.

Meet the new members
Acquisitions
Book review
HP
iSeries
Modernization
Solutions
Tools
Upgrades

Meet the new members

3ccie
Buying, buying, buying. 3ccie is always buying networking equipment, particularly Cisco equipment. 3ccie is...
1.) a stocking broker 2.) carrying the full range of Cisco equipment from old to new 3.) who can buy any quantity large to small. We hope to benefit ASCDI members, enabling you to sell all of your equipment to a single vendor. Avoid cherry picking dealers who only take the fast movers and leave you with the older, difficult to sell models. We can take local delivery in UK, Europe, Japan, Australia and the US. 
Visit www.3ccie.com.
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Acquisitions

The end of a host-based replication era
Vision Solutions Inc. finalized the acquisition of Windows, Linux and cloud-data recovery provider Double-Take Software for $242 million in cash – three times Double-Take's fiscal 2009 revenue, according to Gartner analysts. Backed by private equity investor Thoma Bravo, the acquisition is expected to expand Vision Solutions’ iSeries and AIX availability and recovery offerings as well as its distribution capabilities in the Windows and open systems markets. One of the first host-based replication tools for the Windows market will be under the wing of Vision Solutions now, adding a high-growth operating system environment to its iSeries and AIX recovery solutions. The companies expect to see synergies in their combined business, because high availability and data replication products are increasingly seen as key to disaster recovery – and to planning for it, Jean S. Bozman, research vice president of IDC's Enterprise Platforms Group was quoted to say.
Visit www.visionsolutions.com or www.doubletakesoftware.com.

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Book review

Cisco Unified Presence Fundamentals
Reviewed by Jeff Owen, Independent IT Consultant

Cisco Unified Presence Fundamentals provides an excellent overview of UC and Cisco’s view of the next evolutionary step; Unified Presence.  The authors provide detailed, step-by-step instructions (with screen shots) for installing and troubleshooting Cisco’s Presence solution.  However, this book was written for networking professionals already proficient with Cisco Systems and UC. The authors assume the reader is already familiar with several Cisco Systems and UC technologies/functions such as the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking, and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI).  Therefore, a considerable level of prior knowledge and proficiency is advised. (This reviewer recommends at least CCNP.)

As can be seen by the number of acronyms in this short review, this book was obviously written for networking professionals already knowledgeable of, and proficient with, Cisco Systems and UC.  That said, it is a useful primer, installation how-to, and ongoing reference for anyone serious about implementing the Cisco Unified Presence solution in their organization. Like VoIP, Unified Communications (UC) has arrived and is here to stay. The quicker your organization implements UC, the quicker you’ll reap the benefits. If you are a Cisco user, this book can help.

Jeff Owen is an independent consultant with 20+ years experience in telecommunications/networking and IT. He has worked in engineering, project management, and management positions for major corporations in the telecommunications, finance, aerospace, and IT consultancy industries. As an industry analyst for Datapro and Gartner, Owen authored numerous analytical reports published for international consumption. He can be reached at [email protected].

Authors: Brian Morgan, Shane Lisenbea, and Michael C. Popovich III
Publisher: Cisco Press (June 2010)
ISBN-10: 1587140446
ISBN-13: 9781587140440
List Price: $60.00
Amazon: $48.35
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HP

HP identified as leader in leading analyst firm's report
HP announced it has been positioned as a "leader" in the latest Gartner "Magic Quadrant Report for MFPs and Printers." A leading provider of IT research and advice, Gartner issues independent multivendor reports that position vendors based on their "ability to execute" and their "completeness of vision."  HP recently introduced solutions that not only leverage web, mobile and security technologies, but also offer customers new ways to print and manage their information. From the first web-enabled printer that allows users to print from anywhere without a PC, to the HP ePrint Enterprise Solution, which enables users to print from a Blackberry device, HP demonstrates a vision for market change. With the HP Open Extensibility Platform, documents can easily be transitioned between paper and digital forms depending on each customer's needs. "We continue to make significant investments in our MFPs to deliver the best in the industry for our customers," said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president, LaserJet Enterprise Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. "The fact that leading analysts firms recognize HP year after year reflects our endless focus and dedication in addressing our customers' evolving and unique needs."
Visit www.hp.com or www.gartner.com.
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iSeries

EmailWire.com on IBM System i (iSeries) high availability (HA) solutions
EmailWire.com, online SEO press release distribution services for the computer (hardware and software) industry, recommends "An Introduction to IBM System i (iSeries) High Availability Solutions." If your company is beginning to explore the powerful business continuity technology of System i high availability (HA), this paper will give you a solid overview of IBM System i software-based replication and failover solutions also known within the industry as high availability or HA. The critical components of HA solutions are detailed, including data replication engines, system monitors, the importance of autonomic processes and more. With knowledge of the technology as well as functional components of HA, you can better evaluate whether HA is a cost-justifiable addition to your data resiliency and recovery strategies. "An Introduction to IBM System i (iSeries) High Availability Solutions" is offered free of charge by Vision Solutions, Inc. and presented by EmailWire.com.
Visit http://groupweb.tradepub.com/free/w_visi21/.
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Modernization

Speedware to provide IBM AS/400 legacy modernization solutions with HP
Speedware, a leading provider of IT modernization solutions, announced the company will provide comprehensive AS/400 legacy modernization solutions with HP. The solutions are available to customers worldwide who are evaluating contemporary and scalable modernization approaches for AS/400 servers, also known as the System i and iSeries. Through migration to HP systems running UNIX, Linux and Windows, organizations can utilize open computing platforms that can increase their business performance, agility and competitiveness while reducing legacy operating costs. Legacy modernization projects are performed to resolve the current challenges facing organizations operating critical business functions on legacy platforms.
Visit www.speedware.com.
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Solutions

Wood distributor shaves inefficiencies with IBI solution
Canadian wood products distributor Goodfellow has gained new insight into its i/OS-resident business data and further honed its just-in-time approach to managing the supply chain as the result of a new business intelligence application based on the WebFOCUS technology from Information Builders (IBI). Before implementing WebFOCUS, the company's IT department was responsible for building queries from the company's various iSeries applications and serving those reports to managers who would make critical business decisions, such as how much finished wood siding to keep on hand to satisfy expected demand. Goodfellow's IT staffers were overwhelmed with user requests for reports, so the company installed WebFOCUS (which IBM also sells as DB2 Web Query) as a way to speed the distribution of reports, as well as empowering users to explore information on their own. The WebFOCUS dashboards make it easier and intuitive for more advanced users to customize their views of the data and make better decisions based on it than they could before.
Visit www.informationbuilders.com.
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Tools

Argent Encyclopedia released
Argent Software announced the availability of 23 chapters of the new Argent Encyclopedia. The chapters range in scope from BlackBerry Monitoring Concepts to Total Monitoring for iSeries. "Our customers have a diverse range of needs and they all need an easy-to-use online reference, so we created the Argent Encyclopedia — it contains everything customers need to completely manage and monitor their enterprise," explained Matthew Chan, Senior Vice President and CTO of Argent. "With all the layoffs and the double dip starting, customers have to automate or die. At Argent, we have no fixed agenda — Customer Wants, Customer Gets is our mantra. We don't sell operating systems or virtualization systems so we have no bias," stated Chan. The Argent Encyclopedia is available at no cost at http://tinyurl.com/33gcoau.
Visit www.argent.com.
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Upgrades

Knowledge Solutions successfully completes upgrade of US Cold Storage Lawson ERP applications
Knowledge Solutions LLC, provider of Business Intelligence solutions and ERP services, announced the successful upgrade of the United States Cold Storage, Inc. (USCS) enterprise software applications from Lawson Software.  USCS is dedicated to being the leader in providing highly reliable and cost-effective logistic solutions to the frozen and refrigerated food industry, giving their customers the competitive edge they need in the ever-changing business environment.  USCS is a leading national public refrigerated warehouse operator with a network of facilities across the United States.  Knowledge Solutions and the USCS Information Technology department partnered to bring the Lawson iSeries environment and applications to the latest 9.0.1 release in order to take advantage of the upgraded technology advances.
Visit www.ksols.com.
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