Archive for category Webcasts

Virtual Event: The Business Case for Windows 7

Sep 29

Posted by Anil Desai in Presentations, Webcasts, Windows 7 | No Comments

If you haven’t had a chance to work with Windows 7 yet, or if you’re wondering what’s in it for business users and administrators, you’ll probably benefit from attending an upcoming virtual conference. The “conference” will take place entirely online. Using a browser, you can access a pretty slick online UI that allows you to do “real” conference stuff.

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network is presenting a virtual event titled The Business Case for Windows 7. As the name implies, it focuses on ways in which corporate users and administrators can benefit from switching to Microsoft’s newest OS (which is scheduled for general availability on October 23rd). Here’s a description of the conference from the event’s web page:

The Business Case for Windows 7
Microsoft’s launch of the Windows 7 operating system is one of the most anticipated technology introductions of this year, and enterprises both large and small are evaluating the benefits – and weighing the challenges – of migrating to the new platform. In this virtual event, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with and learn from the developers of Win 7, the testers who put it through its paces, and peers who are considering taking the plunge. Experts will discuss the product’s features, performance issues, security and management processes, compatibility concerns, and more.

You can sign up to attend the virtual conference using the Registration Page.

At the virtual conference, you can talk to people at virtual booths, ask questions to technical experts who are available live, and download videos, webcasts, white papers, etc. Microsoft, Thawte, and Global Knowledge are among the sponsors. I’ll be present tomorrow (Sept. 30th) to answer questions in the Microsoft booth. The virtual conference will go on for two days and contains numerous events and keynote presentations. Be sure to stop by – it certainly beats the time, cost, and frustration of having to travel to real conferences.

Network Design in an Uncertain Economy

May 4

Posted by Anil Desai in IT Tips, Presentations, Systems Admin, Webcasts | No Comments

It’s no secret that IT budgets worldwide have been slashed and that spending on new projects has been drastically reduced for most companies. However, contrary to popular opinion, there’s a lot of opportunity to make cost-saving investments now. On that topic, I will be presenting some best practices in a webcast titled Building a Recession-Proof Network (sponsored by Nortel). From the webcast web site:

In today’s economy, ensuring you have a network that is reliable and secure 24×7 can help you to recession-proof your business even with a limited IT budget. Learn step-by-step about how your company can build a cost-effective, energy-efficient and secure network in ’09!

Join us now and learn:

Easy steps to build a cost-effective, energy-efficient and secure network in ‘09

Best practices to recession-proof your network on a limited IT budget

How to reduce your TCO while increasing ROI across your company

Low-cost ways to maximize and extend your network capabilities

The free webcast is scheduled for 10:00am Pacific Time on Thursday May 7, 2009. My portion will focus on suggestions for justifying network improvements such as investing in Unified Communications (UC) and ways to sell that idea to the rest of the organization.

Webcast: What is Microsoft Hyper-V?

Dec 4

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

I recently recorded a free podcast that introduces listeners to Hyper-V: What it is, why it matters, and how it works (without getting into a lot of technical details). It’s titled (appropriately enough), What is Microsoft Hyper-V?. Here’s the abstract:

In this podcast, virtualization expert Anil Desai talks with WhatIs.com’s Alex Howard about Microsoft’s Hyper-V, a new virtualization platform from the Redmond-based software giant. Listen to this podcast and learn:

Exactly what Hyper-V is, how it works, how it fits in with other virtualization products and how you can use it.

The advantages and limitations of Hyper-V, its system requirements and an overview of the installation process.

How to create virtual machines (VMs) and use Hyper-V’s integrated features to address VM sprawl.

The podcast was sponsored by Dell and is available for free (registration is required).

IT Consulting Podcast on Struggling Entrepreneur

Dec 1

Posted by Anil Desai in Fun Stuff, IT Tips, Webcasts | 2 Comments

I was recently interview by Fred Castaneda of The Struggling Entrepreneur, a web site that provides advice and content to individuals that are interested in starting or improving their own businesses. This podcast is titled 72- Success secrets- Entrepreneur as an IT consultant and author. From the introduction to the web site:

In this episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur, we take a closer look into the transition from being a technical specialist in the IT (Information Technology) industry to becoming a successful Entrepreneur from the background and point of view of Anil Desai.

Even if you are not an IT Specialist, but perhaps you are in a field that requires technical skills or in an area of complex products or problem-solving, this interview will be of value to you for its related scenarios.

…

Anil shares with us the obstacles he encountered, as well as how he himself tackles the administrative responsibilities of running his own business–including income taxes and other back-office tasks that many structured IT specialists dread.

Anil also discusses how his skills in communication–especially in technical writing–have added to the success of creating himself as a known Brand. In addition, Anil is also an author of several books and a speaker, as well as a consultant that delivers the right solutions to the customers to solve business problems. He will tell you in this episode about his multiple certifications and the technical skills that he keeps current–but at very little or no cost!

The recording is far from perfect (there’s a lot of background noise), but I hope you find the information to be useful.

Webcast: Capacity Planning for Virtual Environments

Nov 3

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

I recently recorded a webcast that focuses on an important topic related to virtualization management: Capacity Planning. The presentation is titled, Capacity planning: New challenges for your virtual infrastructure and is sponsored by VKernel. From the abstract:

Virtualization expert Anil Desai discusses the capacity planning and management demands created by virtualizing production-level applications, creating virtual infrastructures and server platforms, such as blade servers.

There are new challenges posed by virtualizing on a mix of blades or high-density servers and x86 in the same environment. Desai warns of the common mistakes made in capacity planning as virtualization usage is increased and offers ways to avoid them. Finally, he taps his own experiences with capacity planning and reveals best practices he uses everyday.

You can download the webcast for free (registration is required).

CS TechCast on Struggling Entrepreneur

Oct 28

Posted by Anil Desai in IT Tips, Presentations, Webcasts | No Comments

Recently, it seems that both techies and non-techies have been really interested in the pros and cons of starting their own businesses and working on their own. With all of the economic issues and uncertainty in the U.S., it’s to be expected. In fact, at one point, I thought about creating a blog focused on tips and advice for those that are considering working independently in IT and other industries. It somehow fell lower on the list of priorities (making an article on time management and prioritization a good candidate for an ironic first posting). Of course, there are numerous online resources that are provide some really good information for people that are thinking of “taking the plunge” (or for those that are already knee-deep in it).

Struggling Entrepreneur is one such site, and it has recently re-published a CS TechCast interview that I recorded a few months ago. You can access podcast 67 – Freelance Entrepreneur as IT Consultant and Author for free online. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

When you have the technical skills, knowledge, abilities and experience in the ever-changing world of IT, you may have the burning desire to branch out on your own and establish your own services firm in the form of being an IT consultant–either as a specialist or generalist.

But the key questions you may have may leave you pondering:

– Do you specialize or diversify?

– What about keeping your skills up to date?

– How do you ride through the slow times during IT “peaks and valleys” of IT projects and engagements with clients?

– What about the administrative burden of running your own IT consultancy (e.g., taxes, accounting, sales, marketing, promotion, etc.)?

Hear what a successful IT consultant has done in order to stay ahead of the IT technical curve and yet keep loyal customers and accept exciting and key engagements focusing on state-of-the-art IT technologies.

Check out the full podcast and also all of the other great content on Struggling Entrepreneur. I’m also recording a new interview with Fred Castaneda tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it and will post a link when it’s available. Stay tuned!

Webcast: Network-Attached Storage (NAS) and Virtualization

Oct 15

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Storage, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

I recently recorded an on-demand webcast, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. The webcast, titled NAS and virtualization: Right scenarios, right choices, right deployments. From the abstract:

Virtualization has brought next-generation network-attached storage (NAS) beyond the limitations of the old NAS architectures. View this webcast with virtualization expert Anil Desai to learn more about this evolution and get tips on best fit scenarios and deployment techniques.

Deciding the best place for NAS implementation is very hard in the complicated world of the new data center. In this webcast, Anil Desai describes the right NAS scenarios, right choices and the right deployment options for your infrastructure.

The Webcast is available for free, but registration with TechTarget’s Bitpipe.com is required.

Webcast: Managing VM Sprawl

Sep 1

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

I recent recorded a webcast, sponsored by Computer Associates (CA), titled Managing Virtual Machine Sprawl: Best Practices. From the abstract for the presentation:

Virtual Machine (VM) Sprawl is an issue that is common with organizations that have dipped their toes in virtualization. It can cause issues with system management, security, resource optimization and lack of IT control, as well as workload management including software, hardware and services.

Virtualization expert Anil Desai reviews the definition of VM sprawl including impacts ad challenges, best practices for end-to-end management and centralizing administration and benefits of workload automation.

The free webcast is an overall description of the many different causes and effects of the rapid proliferation of unmanaged VMs and some suggestions on how IT departments can gain (or regain) control over their environments.

Webcast: Virtualization Backups – Products and Processes

Aug 1

Posted by Anil Desai in Backup / Disaster Recovery, Management, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

My webcast, Options for backup in Microsoft virtualization platforms: Best of products and processes, sponsored by Dell, Inc. is now available for free download (registration is required). Here’s the abstract:

Virtualization expert Anil Desai explores backup products and capabilities in Microsoft virtual environments. This webcast will look at Windows-based features and options for performing backups, as well as the capabilities of other products such as Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager.

Users of Microsoft Virtual Server and the upcoming Hyper-V platform have several different approaches for protecting their virtual machines. This webcast will look at Windows-based features and options for performing backups, as well as the capabilities of other products such as Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager. The presentation will help attendees determine which backup method is most appropriate for each type of workload, and their options for meeting those requirements.

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