External IT

A half-in, half-out IT model means that you're taking a traditional, server-in-the-closet Windows-based IT structure and adding links to a variety of Web-based applications. While this seems like a safe, easy way for a company to sample cloud computing, in reality it falls miles short of showing you what you can actually do in the cloud. Worse still, it slows your productivity.

Before setting off on a half-in/half-out detour we recommend that you continue traveling down this page. In just a few minutes you'll understand why a Hi-Ho approach to IT can't hope to bring your capabilities to life like OS33.

Portal Desktop: Everything your company uses is organized within the structure of an infinitely expandable platform, and done in such a fashion as to enable data sharing and integration among all of your applications. The underlying OS33 design makes working with, and between, applications effortless.

The Cloud File Folder even gives you secure access to your corporate file system from within a browser. This means you have instant integration with Office Web Applications (Office 365), as well as three ways to open files: through a hosted application via Citrix, Web-based, or by downloading any file to your local computer.

Because everything is unified in the cloud, your screen will look and work the same regardless of where you bring up the Portal. All of your IT assets are right there, ready to work as a single, IT unit, all highly secure.

Hi-Ho: When you have Web-based applications, without a unifying portal, this requires adding a further bit of complexity—building an IT link/translator to integrate these new IT appendages. You can't simply sign up for an assortment of Web apps and expect them to work together.

You won't have the flexibility and time-saving convenience of a Cloud File Folder. And as for accessing your IT from anywhere, you can install a remote access tool, but your IT won't be nearly as secure, as reliable, or well managed.

Portal Desktop:  All of your files and folders, Web-based and Windows, are available to share. Even in real-time. The OS33 Portal Desktop has SharePoint 2010 already built in.

You're all ready to go with Outlook Public Folders, an Employee Directory, Announcement Board, and Shared Shortcuts can be assigned to specific departments, or the entire company.

Hi-Ho: Web applications have no built-in collaboration functionality.

Portal Desktop: The OS33 Portal Desktop has a comprehensive array of administration tools that free your IT Director for more interesting, and productive, IT initiatives.  Our Cloud Control Panel can save hundreds of hours of needless work a year.

You can add and delete users and assign permissions in just minutes, not hours.

Hi-Ho: Adding Web applications does not give you an easier way to manage your company's assets.

Portal Desktop: External IT enhances your IT safety with off-site backup and recovery, in highly secure Data Centers, with world-class IT failover technology. The OS33 Portal also gives you an audit trail—a further security enhancement that's also a great help with compliance.

Throughout the year, any number of employees will depart your company. With OS33, you only have to visit one place to change their complete IT access status.

Hi-Ho: Because your applications are spread out rather than housed in a unifying platform, there is no single place your IT Director can go to easily manage permissions. Your IT Director may have to keep track of a very long list of passwords. If several people depart the company at once, your IT Director could well be busy for days deleting dozens of Web-based accounts. All it takes is overlooking one or two and you're vulnerable.

Worse, in a Hi-Ho setup, it's common for employees to additionally import Web applications on their own. Applications that the company doesn't know anything about. If you're using application integration software, former employees may still have access to all of your IT through the Web accounts they established themselves.

Portal Desktop: Everyone on your staff only needs to go to one place for help with any support issue. And that support can be 24 x 7 if you wish. The Portal also has a built-in support ticket tracking record so you can see if there are any commonly occurring issues, and monitor how quickly we respond.

To keep everyone working with the absolute minimum of IT interruptions, the OS33 Portal Desktop even has a built-in Self Help diagnosis and repair feature. Two clicks and any of a long list of common issues is resolved.

Hi-Ho: You will not have a support ticket tracking record from many, if not most of your Web apps providers. If you're like most small to midsize businesses, you will further be at a disadvantage in that you will have limited support late at night, on holidays and weekends.

Using Web applications in a Hi-Ho fashion your staff is required to call each company whenever there's a problem. If they use six Web apps, that's six different help desks they're dialing, as well as using your in-house IT staff for local IT issues.