It may seem like it was just yesterday, but 2008 was over a decade ago. With Microsoft turning off extended support for SQL Server 2008 this July, now is a good time to reflect on the fact that technology moves fast, a lot has happened in the past decade, and any applications you may have which rest on the outgoing database platform are likely to be as ‘legacy’ as SQL Server 2008 is. It is, in other words, a perfect time to reflect on the potential necessity for modernising old applications which themselves may rest on SQL Server 2008 – in bringing your database up to date, it make sense to do the same with your applications.

Tide of cranky old applications to which the business seems beholden? You know what I mean – everyone hates the application because it’s slow but without it, things just don’t work. If this sounds familiar, the time has come for application modernisation. It couldn’t come at a better time because Microsoft’s Azure cloud provides multiple advantages including low cost, enterprise security, endless scalability and anywhere, any device access.

Which is all well and good, but how, exactly, do you get the basement-dwelling application out from under the stairs and into the cloud?

It is surely one of the enduring surprises of the information and communications technology industry that, despite the never-ending hype which comes from the ‘latest greatest’, an enormous number of companies are still running applications and hardware which could quite easily form part of a Te Papa exhibition.

Having to go jump through the hoops as an end user recently has caused us to look around and realise most IT providers aren't doing their part in creating stress-free client experiences.

Does this scenario sound familiar?  You have reached out to your IT provider for IT support and 20 minutes later you are not any closer to your solution than before. You've had to provide all of your personal information, including the name of your cat!?, just to get your ticket logged. Hmmm unproductive... and frustrating.

But, what tops the experience off is the way you feel after – the way you have been treated by the engineer when logging your support request has left you feeling untalented and ignorant.

What happened to the notion of technology empowering you, and your business?

To help you paddle your way out of this less than ideal situation, we have broken down the causes, effects and alternative solutions when you suspect your IT provider is failing you.

In the good old days, software development involved the ‘arms-length’ interaction of business analysts, IT operations, programmers and testers. But the thing about the good old days is this: they weren’t all that good. Software routinely took ages to produce and then didn’t work very well. That, fundamentally, is what has given rise to the emergence of the new way of developing software called DevOps.

The word itself provides a very good clue into what it is. A contraction of Development and Operations, DevOps pulls together all the disciplines required to produce functional software. DevOps is about multidisciplinary teams working closely together, which is quite distinct from the tried, tested, and not-so-great idea of functionally separated organisations.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Waruna Kirimetiyawa has been appointed to the position of Group CEO of the Lancom Group of companies. With growth on the company agenda, Waruna is expected to substantially accelerate new customer and partner acquisition for DeskDirector in our international markets, while plans for Lancom include the imminent opening of new offices in Melbourne, Australia.

A year after Lancom earned Amazon Web Services Advanced Consulting Partner Status, our technical director Imran Sadiq has become one of only six people in New Zealand to be named an ‘AWS Cloud Warrior’.

‘Cloud Warrior’ is the informal name given to recipients of the Amazon Web Services Partner Network (APN) APN Ambassador status. APN ambassadors are technical experts passionate about contributing their technical knowledge to the community through public speaking engagements and digital content. An APN ambassador possesses deep expertise in the AWS platform, AWS certifications and is an active employee of an APN consulting partner.

2018 has been a BIG year for Lancom. As we wind down for the holidays, we look back at the year we had and share with you some of the highlights from the past months.

With every release, the opportunities Microsoft’s Office 365 offers business to leverage technology gets strong and stronger. However, with all these great capabilities on offer, it can be a bit of a mind boggle trying to keep up – we get into a routine with the way we work, and sometimes changing that can be hard. 

But when there are such strong advantages to be had, it’s important to keep yourself, your staff, and your business up to date – that’s the key with any digital transformation!

So, for those of you who are on Office 365, or those curious as to the nitty gritty details of the opportunities within the ecosystem, here’s our take on the top 5 business changing features you need to be utilising.

There’s so much said about the cloud that it can quickly become a little confusing as to just exactly what it is, and what it isn’t. As a result, there are more than a few misconceptions and myths about it. Check out these top 6 misapprehensions about the cloud which should help you get the most from online services, while simultaneously reducing any risks.