Network Help for Small Organizations

Meanwhile, all server, workstation, and laptop computers sold in the last few years already have the ability to run in 64-bit mode. As a Microsoft Partner with years of experience helping businesses carry out network-wide upgrades, Progent can help you understand the costs and benefits of moving to 64-bit processing, design an efficient migration strategy that minimizes operational disruptions, and provide affordable, expert remote support to assist you in upgrading your existing computers and software.

The advantages of 64-bit computing go beyond gigantic spreadsheets. Software is more stable, system performance improves, memory capacity expands, security can be more extensive, and more servers can be consolidated through virtualization. These advantages equate to more uptime, increased productivity, better data protection, and lower equipment costs. Yet for most small businesses, 64-bit computing is still a great untapped resource.

Sticking with 32-bit software and under utilizing 64-bit hardware seems to make no business sense, but in fact there are serious obstacles to migrating to 64-bit computing that have prompted companies to hold back. There is no seamless path for replacing a 32-bit operating system with a 64-bit equivalent. The upgrade requires a clean installation, which means reinstalling existing applications, backing up and restoring data, and installing new 64-bit drivers. In some cases, it can be difficult or impossible to find 64-bit drivers for older peripherals. To avoid business disruption and minimize technical risk, a 64-bit migration demands careful planning and extensive experience.

Benefits of Moving Up to 64-bit Processing
The benefits of 64-bit vs. 32-bit processing may appear to be subtle and hard to quantify, yet they are significant. The RAM management schemes used in 32-bit platforms are essentially an engineering afterthought that undermines system stability. Memory-hungry programs are sometimes not able to utilize existing RAM because the O/S cannot allocate it efficiently. This can be the cause of programs shutting down or executing fitfully even though a computer appears to have plenty of available memory. Also, 64-bit software platforms allow far more physical RAM than 32-bit systems and crunch more information per CPU cycle. You can also go from one memory-intensive program to another faster when you are using a 64-bit environment. Basically, 64-bit computing makes environments more stable, more expandable, and faster, which makes companies more productive.

Microsoft's 64-bit Support
Microsoft's “x64” technology works with the 64-bit CPUs used in virtually all computers currently installed in office networks. (Microsoft's 64-bit "Itanium" platform is limited to a few high-end CPUs and is designed for applications that need large-scale multi-processing.) Before the release of Office 2010, the majority of Microsoft desktop applications including 2007 Office and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 were offered only in 32-bit editions, which can still be run on x64 platforms. The new generation of Office delivers dramatic improvements. For example, Office Excel 2010 is available in a 64-bit edition that permits you to build spreadsheets with enormous datasets that are not limited to the 2-gigabyte maximum file size that hampers 32-bit editions of Excel.

Microsoft has developed native x64 versions of key Microsoft Server System products, including Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and 2005, Exchange Server 2010 and 2007, Microsoft Commerce Server, BizTalk Server, plus Operations Manager. Microsoft Windows Server 64-bit versions are priced and licensed identically to 32-bit editions, so ordinarily it costs nothing extra for 64-bit server software or hardware.

For desktop PCs, Microsoft offers Windows 7 and Windows 8 in same-cost x64 editions that offer high stability, scalability, and throughput. Like all upgrades from 32- to 64-bit operating systems, the move up can't be done without effort. Each workstation and server needs a clean setup that involves reconfiguring application software, backing up and restoring data files, and configuring 64-bit drivers. On the other hand, for typical in-place desktop PCs, and for all PCs running Microsoft Windows XP, even the 64-bit release of Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 8 requires you to carry out a clean installation. Consequently, there will never be a better opportunity to migrate to 64-bit processing on the workstation, since it will involve little additional work.

How Progent Can Help You to Migrate to 64-bit Computing
Besides helping you to evaluate the business benefits, expenses, and technical variables associated with migrating to 64-bit computing, Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can help you plan, document, carry out, administer, and troubleshoot a network-wide move to 64-bit server and client operating systems and applications. Progent can help you pilot your 64-bit infrastructure to verify that it supports all of the important 32-bit applications that you intend to retain plus the new 64-bit editions of software you plan to install. If moving to Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 is included in your 64-bit upgrade strategy, Progent's Windows 7 engineers, Windows 8.1 migration consultants, and Windows 10 testing and migration experts can help you to determine which workstation computers and applications can or ought to be preserved, and outline a migration procedure that is minimally disturbing to your network productivity.

Additional ways Progent's consultants can assist you to migrate to 64-bit computing include:

• Progent's experience providing online network consulting and support can save your business time and expense over the course of your x64 upgrade, and Progent's experience cooperating with internal IT personnel and delivering technical information sharing to them can increase the effectiveness of your network support staff.

• Progent's Cisco CCIE network engineers can verify that your network architecture is optimized to accommodate your x64 processing environment, that it is simple to track, manage, and troubleshoot, and that it provides a high degree of security and fault tolerance.

• Progent's disaster recovery consultants can assist you in creating and testing a workplace recovery strategy that includes your x64 servers. Progent's Microsoft certified System Center SCDPM engineering experts can assist you to configure System Center SCDPM to support automated remote backup with the advantage of fast data restoration.

• Progent's CISM, CISSP, GIAC, and CISA network security consultants can assist you create a company-wide security plan that deploys some of the powerful protection mechanisms included with 64-bit server platforms. Progent can also perform security vulnerability checking to assess or confirm your company's adherence to mandated security requirements.

• Progent's virtualization engineers can help you use 64-bit virtual server technology to save money on hardware, streamline management, improve robustness, lower colocation and hosting costs, and speed up recovery time in the event of a catastrophic breakdown.

• Progent's online training classes can help get both your IT support staff and your desktop employees up to date quickly and cost-effectively by providing remote virtual training specialized for your network requirements and operational processes.