IT Support for Leeds based AvantaUK

We received a testimonial from workspace design company AvantaUK. The company is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The brief was to improve communications by moving systems to the cloud. Avanta also require IT Support and management on an on-going basis.

Eitex implemented Office 365, and now provide Pro-Active Technical Support and Management.

Testimonial:

We approached Eitex and 2 other companies to pitch for our IT maintenance and to put forward proposals including ideas to improve certain key business processes including communication.  From the offset I was very impressed with Dean and his approach.  He put forward a very competitive proposal based around the Microsoft Office 365 Cloud based solution.

We have worked closely with their engineers on install and the after support has been first class.

We would recommend Eitex to anyone.


If you would like to discuss Office 365, and / or IT Support please don't hesitate to get in
touch!

Office 365 for Oxford College, Gibraltar

We were asked to provide a cloud computing solution based around Office 365 for Oxford College.

The head office is based in Gibraltar, and so the entire job was designed and implemented remotely.

Oxford College commented on the work we carried out:

Oxford College provides high quality online learning for over 20,000 students, including BTEC HND and A level students. As such it is essential that our students are able to access their work at any time and that we can provide support to assist their studies. Eitex ensures that we can maintain a high level of service to our students by working quickly to deal with any problems as they arise and ensuring that we can provide uninterrupted service to our students.

If you would like to discuss your Cloud Computing requirements, please get in touch.

Office 365 - Meeting the Developers

Dean went down to Reading last Friday to Microsoft to the Office 365 launch event. Bringing a change in plans and newer ways to implement Office into your business. After watching a demo presented by James Akrigg, Head of Technology for Partners, Dean got the rare opportunity to meet James afterward.

 

After this opportunity Dean said "Having this opportunity to talk to the developers who can answer these questions is golden. This knowledge that I now have from asking the right people will now allow me to progress and show customers that Office 365 is truly the way forward."

 

If you have any questions regarding Office 365 please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Follow us on Twitter @EitexUK

 



Eitex leading the way with Cloud Computing

Eitex were invited to an exclusive Microsoft Event where top performing Microsoft partners were rewarded and recognised for their efforts.

 

The event held at The Paramount in London was a high profile event and Dean Spencer owner of Eitex got the rare chance to meet with the General Manager of Microsoft Cloud Services, amongst other key Microsoft personnel.

 

Dean Spencer (on right) with Brian Ridgeway, General Manager of Microsoft Cloud Services

 

 

“The insights into products and services which are not yet available are invaluable for my business and my customers. There are some exciting developments with Office 365 and CRM Online. Cloud services help get the economy moving as companies can invest in their IT infrastructure without capital outlay. We are proud to demonstrate that Yorkshire Business can compete and win in the global marketplace!” commented Dean

IT Support and Office365 for Mezzanine Floor, Racking and Shelving Company

A leading workspace solutions provider were interested in the opportunities Cloud Computing would provide the company. Avanta UK offer mezzanine and racking solutions globally and traditional office based servers were too restrictive and didn’t seem to fit the bill for consultants when travelling to far reaches of the world!

The company became aware of Eitex via Microsoft as they are a leading Cloud partner in the UK. Marketing manager Neil mentioned “the demo Eitex provided on Office 365 blew us away. As the solution is implemented information will become available to all our staff on their laptops, tablets and even mobile phones from anywhere in the world. What’s more and surprisingly is that you don’t always need an internet connection to access your work and emails. Amazing!”

As part of the cloud solution Eitex are also offering Pro-Active IT Support for existing servers and infrastructure as well as bespoke development for in-house ERP systems.

If you would like to enquire about the leading workspace solutions offered by Avanta please get in touch!

If you would like to see what Office 365 and Cloud Computing can do for your business please contact Eitex.

What is cloud computing?

One of the most common questions we get asked is ‘What is Cloud Computing? and 'What is Microsoft Office 365'.

The easiest way of explaining this is with a few simple diagrams:

‘Traditional’ On-Premise Network:

 On the above image you can see 3 file servers at the top of the page:

• The blue server located at the top left manages the network or domain
• The second manages email / Outlook mailboxes
• The third manages file and print sharing

On some networks these three services could actually be managed by one server which does all three jobs, i.e. Small Business Server.

The bottom half of the page shows PCs which are on the network. The 2 PC’s at the bottom right are connected to the network via the internet which is depicted as a cloud.

 
Cloud Computing Network:

On the above image you can see 1 file server, and 2 clouds at the top of the page. This is known as hybrid as it is a combination of on-premise and cloud computing:

• The server to the top left manages the network or domain and potentially print sharing
• The cloud in the middle ‘Exchange Online’ replaces a server and is a Cloud Computing Service which manages email / Outlook mailboxes
• The cloud to the right ‘SharePoint Online’ replaces a server and is a Cloud Computing Service which manages file sharing plus much more besides

The bottom half of the page shows PCs which are on the network. The 2 PC’s at the bottom right are connected to the network via the internet which is depicted as a cloud. If the network is unavailable this doesn't matter as users are still able to access files and email via cloud computing services.

The result of the above hybrid approach is that the network users will not have changes in functionality and not need to learn anything new. Quiet often users do not know anything has changed!

Do you think it is the right time to move to the cloud? Leave your thoughts and comments below.

How to add a domain to Office 365

When setting up a Microsoft Office 365 subscription you may wish to add your company domain name to the system instead of using the default *@onmicrosoft.com domain.

We have produced a short video detailing how to do this:

A basic knowledge of DNS is required, alternatively you may ask your ISP, domain host, web developer or IT Support provider to make these changes for you.

We will carry out this work for you free of charge for your first domain if you set Eitex as your Microsoft Office 365 Partner of Record. Instructions on how to do this are here provided here:

How to set Partner of Record in Office 365

If you need help administering your Office 365 account please just get in touch.

We are also publishing more How-To video's on the Eitex YouTube Channel