Why use Cloud Technology?

'Why use cloud technology?'

This is a question I get asked quite often now in these evolving days of technology. I hope to give my personal opinion in this blog whether you agree with it or not.

Cloud technology allows you to work more flexibly, whether you are out and about or sat in your office you can have access to all your documents, files, work etc. Rather than have an existing (possibly expensive) server sat in the corner of an office or a dedicated room a lot of the cloud technology is purchased on a subscription basis, based on the number of users. This means that as things change in a business (staff numbers etc) you will only be paying for what you use.

An example of a popular cloud technology is Office365 from Microsoft that we use here at Convallis Software. As the name suggests this is the familiar Office suite of applications but in a cloud environment using secure servers. Another example is our own product, ConvallisCRM, a customer relationship management solution that has a desktop or cloud based option. Most of our customers are now subscribing to the monthly cloud option which allows the flexibility of usage.

In my personal opinion cloud technology is certainly the way to go for a modern business. If you want to find out more how this works please take a look at the following video from Microsoft showing an example of how it works for a small business in the UK.

Windows 10 launch date - when can you get it?

It has been announced that the launch date for Windows 10 (there will not be a Windows 9) will be Wednesday 29th July 2015.

Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for current users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and you will have a year from the launch date to upgrade for free.

Why upgrade?

Well for a start if you are running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 as I said before the upgrade will be free. You will have the most up to date and secure version of Windows and don't forget that eventually support will end for earlier versions just like it did for Windows XP in April 2014.

I for one am looking forward to this new version of Windows, as much as I like Windows 8.1 it's always interesting to get the new versions and to learn how to adapt to use them. 

No Windows 9 - Windows 10 to be launched later this year

Microsoft have announced that their latest operating system, Windows 10 will be launched 'later this year'.

It's interesting that they have decided to skip straight to version 10 omitting version 9, may Windows 10 rolls off the tongue better! I will certainly be interested to see the changes when I update my laptop to the new OS.

Microsoft say there has been a low uptake of Windows 8, but I personally think it's like anything new, don't knock it until you've tried it. I have used it for quite a while now and introduced a couple of clients to it and they said after the initial few days of getting used to the controls it's not too bad to use at all.

One thing we must remember if you are using an old operating system the support for these do eventually come to a natural end, I think that it's fair to say that no one should be expected to support something that is out of date and many years old.

What else do we know about Windows 10? This is an example of the few things happening, to find out more read the complete article that I used for reference.

• For Windows 8 and 8.1 users the upgrade will be free for the first year
• For Windows 7 or users of other operating systems there is currently no word on pricing
• Cortana, Microsoft's voice recognition software will be incorporated into the operating system
• Windows 10 will be unified across all Windows devices including phones and tablets
• The 'Start' menu will be returning

I'm certainly looking forward to seeing and using the new operating system and will let you know how my experience goes. 

Microsoft's OneDrive to become simpler in the future.

Reading some of the recent technology news, I came across an article regarding Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage system and how they are going to be changing it to make life simpler for users. This prompted me to think about my use of OneDrive here at Convallis.

I actually use OneDrive more than I thought, backing up things like photos, saving documents such as my car insurance documents that I may need elsewhere. I also use it to for business to back up certain documents or photos, plus I share files/documents with one of my customers as they allow me access to share certain files.

The article mentioned that some people have had a problem with reliability with OneDrive, well for me I have never had an issue, but the great thing about what Microsoft are doing is that there will be a single sync engine for both business and consumer use, this will certainly make life a lot easier.

Whatever cloud storage system you use, be it OneDrive, Dropbox or any of the others available I'm sure you will agree that the more user-friendly it is the better it will be for us all and there will be less complaints!

Windows Server 2003 - End of support July 2015

Are you currently using Windows Server 2003? It has been announced that support and upgrades will end on 14th July 2015 - this might seem like a long time away but it isn't. Start thinking about what you would like to do in your business NOW!

The following video will explain more:

If you're unsure of how you would like to go forward we offer consultancy services to help you make the right decision for your business.

Do you have negative perceptions of Internet Explorer? Microsoft considered changing its name.

I've recently read an article on the Forbes website explaining that Microsoft considered changing the name of its Internet Explorer (IE) browser due to negative perceptions of it.

Although it has 58% of the web browser market share there have been some issues with it having a bad reputation in the past due to issues with security in previous versions.

Personally, I don't think a re-brand would have made much difference, if you have a perception of something and don't like it a new name wouldn't make any difference and you probably still wouldn't use it. Another point is that you would also know that it's still developed by Microsoft.

I think most users of the Internet have their own favourite browsers be it Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox or another altenative, therefore why change from what you like to something else? As for me I need to use all of these browsers, mainly for testing that any websites that we develop work well in all, but in some cases certain sites will run better on one browser over another.

What do you think? Do you have a favourite browser that you use? Should Microsoft have changed the name of Internet Explorer to something else? I look forward to receiving your comments.

ConvallisCMS and ASP.Net MVC 4

In previous posts I've talked about how we slowly evolve our software by taking advantage of advances in the platform that we write our code in (the .Net Framework). Last time I discussed the Entity Framework and why I decided to move us over to it's most recent release. This time I thought I'd write a little about ASP.Net MVC.

This is a technology that I doubt hardly anyone who isn't a software developer (and probably a web developer at that) will have heard of. I'm sure many of you will know that ASP.Net is the name Microsoft gave the web development platform which is part of the .Net Framework, and the MVC framework is a subset of that.

Read more.......

Author: Richard Isaac

Our Move to Office 365

At the beginning of the year we took the decision to move our email and document storage solutions to Microsoft Office 365.

Office 365 is a cloud based service that bundles a number of what have until a few years ago been separate server installed products (in fact you can still purchase and install the products locally if needed). These products are Microsoft Exchange (email), Microsoft SharePoint (documents & collaboration) and newcomer on the block Microsoft Lync (formerly Communications Server). The highest priced feature levels also include a license to install Microsoft Office Professional Plus, which the user can install on up to 5 machines (e.g. at the office and at home).

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About Us!

We are an award winning (Best Business Start-up, North Devon Awards 2008) IT company based in Devon bringing together a professional team of developers, designers and associates that are dedicated to helping you get the best from all of your IT investments.
Established in 2006, we have a track record of assisting clients from all over the south west and beyond to get the most from their IT, whether it be  bespoke software/database development, ConvallisCRM , Microsoft Office 365 and Cloud solutions, web solutions  or general advice and consultancy. We are Microsoft Partners and some members of the team are Microsoft Technical Specialists. We have an ongoing programme of training and keep up to date with all the latest technical developments.
We recognise that there are many IT suppliers you can work with, but while a lot of companies will do the bare minimum, we pride ourselves on our customer-centred approach, where your happiness is paramount and our interest doesn’t evaporate as soon as you’ve signed the contract.