Deft Blog
Keep up with the latest in colocation, cloud, and disaster recovery services.
Tips for ordering carrier circuits
Ordering a carrier cross connect in a data center should be easier than it is. Here are some insider tips to help you smooth out the process.
A cloud cost control strategy that works
To work for the long term, cloud cost control has to start with strategy. Here’s a simple way to find one that works.
Unlocking data silos to make smarter decisions
Data silos help keep information private within departments, but that privacy can cloud the clarity of vision across the business. Here’s when and why to unlock siloed data.
The questions everyone asks about cloud migrations
Here’s what our customers ask us about cloud migrations, like, “Why does my app perform worse in the cloud?”
Prepare for a cloud consultation by answering these 5 business questions
Knowing the answers to these five questions can help any cloud consultant recommend the best plan for your long-term goals.
Virtual machine management in the new Managed VMware Cloud portal
Virtual machine management has never been easier in SCTG’s Enterprise Cloud. Here’s how the upgraded interface affects VM management and administration.
Cloud cost optimization starts — and ends — with strategy
Learn cloud cost optimization strategies that are worth your time. If you get them right, you won’t have to worry about this month’s bill.
Why we updated our Managed VMware Cloud software to an HTML5 interface
The SCTG Enterprise Cloud UI has been upgraded to vCloud Director 9.5. The new, HTML5-based interface improves upon homescreen controls, navigation, vApps, and affinity/anti-affinity rulemaking.
Managed VMware Cloud gets vCloud Director 9.5 upgrade
SCTG has been hard at work testing VMware vCloud Director 9.5.0.2. It introduces several new features, the most important of which is a new tenant UI. Here’s a look at what vCloud Director 9.5 has to offer.
Not just computing: 5 cloud migration business benefits
Sometimes things that don’t look like cloud problems actually are. A look at five business problems that cloud migration might help solve.
Solving data center emergencies
We pull through for our customers. Here’s one story about how we solved one customer’s data center emergency.
Methods for achieving a DevOps culture
There are many ways to implement a DevOps culture, but some methods work better than others. Here are a few that stand out.
The birth of DevOps
The birth of DevOps changed everything. It hugely impacts legacy code deployment strategies by combining Dev, QA and Ops, removing the walls and barriers, and softening the distinction between these teams. Here’s why it matters.
From backups to replication to disaster recovery: what’s right for you?
In our experience, a good disaster recovery plan completely depends on the revenue and operational implications of downtime. The technology comes after.
5 key questions: backup as a service
Check out this list of five key questions you should ask before investing in your next backup as a service (BaaS) or managed backup solution.
What I learned at an IoT conference that you can apply to your business today
Grandiose claims surrounding technology innovation is nothing new. Many incessantly-hyped “advancements” have failed to reach their potential, while others have indeed led to significant changes in how people live their lives. One of today’s most buzzed-about...
I want to talk about the AWS Transit Gateway
I want to talk about the AWS Transit Gateway announced at re:Invent. This is really exciting for anybody that's dealing with large, complex AWS environments, or has a sizable networking environment that they manage on-premise today. There's been a problem with moving...
How best to prepare for adoption of a cloud-based EMR
This post originally appeared on EHRIntelligence.com. It has been updated and condensed for clarity.Many hospitals and healthcare centers remain skeptical about cloud-based electronic medical record (EMR) solutions. But the truth is this: The cloud offers a robust,...
The benefits of cloud computing in healthcare start with migration
At this point, one thing is clear: The longer you wait to migrate off physical servers, the longer you miss out on the benefits of cloud computing in healthcare. While the disadvantages of cloud computing in healthcare may loom large — they’re nothing compared to the...
Tips for building a cloud migration plan
Deft has done innumerable cloud migration plans for clients. The biggest element that we see causing issues for organizations is not computing issues, but not preparing a meticulous plan for execution. Planning is the biggest step for the migration to cloud computing....
Northeastern Illinois University modernizes IT infrastructure
Chicago, IL — NEIU CIO Sam Kann recently moved the university's on-premise infrastructure to a hybrid cloud solution architected and managed by ServerCentral Turing Group (SCTG). The modernized infrastructure provides NEIU with the tech credibility it needs to attract...
Why Chicago colocation beats everywhere else for speed and safety
Whether you’re looking for the fastest speed coast-to-coast, the security of a stable environment, or access to all types of services, hosting in Chicago is almost always a smart move.
Recent Linux vulnerabilities and the importance of patching
The importance of keeping system patches current to ensure security cannot be overstressed, as recent vulnerabilities identified in the Linux world have shown. Word recently broke of two serious vulnerabilities affecting Linux kernels that can cause complete loss of...
SOC 2 Type II audit report now available
Deft’s SOC 2 Type II audit report is now available to customers to outline how we protect customer data under our care and control.
Cloud’s growing importance to higher education
While working with several public and private colleges and universities to help them make the shift from IT-centric to user-centric computing, I have found very similar outcomes. Removing the day-to-day firefighting off their hands had these effects: Allowed the IT...
ServerCentral Announces PCI DSS 3.2.1 Compliance
Customers can now better protect payment data ServerCentral, a leading provider of managed IT infrastructure solutions, today announced its VMware-powered Enterprise Cloud has received compliance certification with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI...
VMware trends and what they mean for the enterprise
At the VMworld event there were 17 discreet product and service announcements made from VMware alone. That’s a lot of information and a lot of product development to digest in a very short timeframe. We’ve done some of the work for you.
ServerCentral, Turing Group and Equinix Collaborate to Deliver Managed Solutions for Amazon Web Services
ServerCentral, Turing Group and Equinix Collaborate to Deliver Managed Solutions for Amazon Web Services The expanded collaboration delivers a comprehensive managed solution to address the increasing need for the integration of Amazon Web Services with existing...
The Benefits of a Connectivity-Centric Cloud
In June 2018, Comcast suffered a major outage that impacted their Xfinity service nationwide. As one commentator said: “For a minute there, it looked like the whole internet was down." That’s a big deal, especially if you rely on cloud services to power IT at your...
Data Center Modernization with VMware
Data center modernization is a never-ending goal, even when the decision is to transition to cloud-first or cloud-native environments. Unfortunately, the cloud isn’t a finish line. It isn’t a finite destination. In reality, the cloud is a (seemingly never-ending) set...
Hybrid Cloud Adoption – Overcoming Barriers & Future Success
Hybrid cloud adoption can reap immense benefits. Don’t let the barriers toward adoption hinder your future.
4 considerations for picking a data center transit provider
When you're selecting a transit provider for your data center environment, keep in mind that you're picking who brings customers to your doorstep, who controls a portion of your user experience, and of course, who controls a huge part of your uptime. There are many...
Increase Uptime in Your Data Center Network
As networkers, we’re constantly thinking about redundancy and uptime. We’re taught that multiple links and devices means resiliency, which can be true, but complexity in the network can be equally complex to troubleshoot when things go wrong. The classic Layer 1-2...
Hard Drive Destruction
No matter what business you’re in, information and network security are important to every company. So, what do you do about that pile of old hard drives in the office closet? Hand them over to Deft for a secure and documented destruction at our flagship data center...
5 Ways to Get The Most Out of Remote Hands
Part One: Plan for A Fire Drill Responding to trouble tickets manually submitted by our customers is one of the most prevalent and essential tasks that we perform on a daily basis at ServerCentral. Sometimes I take how long I've been sending and replying to trouble...
How to determine your power requirements
One of the hardest concepts when considering data center colocation is determining how much power equipment needs. There are many ways to find out what your power requirements are, but no matter what method you use, all computations involve three electrical concepts:...
Clean up after your cables
Here’s how to make your server cabinet ready to troubleshoot: clean up after your data center cables.
5 Questions for Selecting a DDoS Mitigation Service
The sophistication, size, and frequency of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks continue to increase—with no apparent end in sight. Where 2 Gbps attacks were once the norm, organizations are now routinely taking steps to mitigate 200+ Gbps attacks against not...
ServerCentral Security Update II re: x86 Architecture CPU Issues
The past few days have proven to be quite eventful, as you can imagine. During this time we have: Deployed the initial VMware patch across our Enterprise Cloud and Private Cloud customer deployments and supported these customers in their update of Guest OSs and Guest...
ServerCentral named top Cloud Consultant and Managed Service Provider
Clutch, an independent ratings and reviews firm based in Washington DC, just released their Global Leaders list of the 475+ most highly reviewed companies around the world. We ranked #1 among the top cloud consultants and #2 for managed service providers. Cloud...
Executive buy-in key to cloud success
Behind every successful cloud implementation is an enthusiastic executive team. In fact, actively engaged executive sponsors continue to be the top driver of whether IT projects meet their original goals and business intent (Source: PMI). So ask yourself: How well...
How to Prevent One Employee from Compromising Your Data Security
The former CEO of Equifax appeared before Congress to offer testimony around the data breach which, as of last accounting, compromised the personal details of 145.5 million people. Yet again, an organization with the resources, the budget, and the technical knowledge...
SOC 2 Report Now Available with Privacy Section
I'm proud to announce that ServerCentral's 2016–2017 AT-101 SOC 2 Type II report is now available to download in our customer portal. All customers with access to compliance reports can view the report for any of our US-based data centers. If you are a customer and...
OS X High Sierra Zero-Day Announced
Normally, passwords stored in a Mac Keychain vault require a master password for access. Now, attackers can steal Keychain passwords without it. Just hours after the launch of Mac OS X High Sierra, a security researcher has identified and released a zero-day exploit...
SOC 2 Report Progress
We expect and rely on information security experts and engineers to keep up-to-date with the latest exploits or attacks, just as we expect compliance experts to maintain a high level of certainty in their controls and tests. It’s part of how we’re able to address the...
How DRaaS keeps critical applications from going dark
With cyber threats getting more sophisticated and natural disasters becoming more common, it takes the 24/7 focus of DRaaS providers to stay ahead of potential problems. Here’s how we do it.
Why move to the cloud — 3 catalysts and what they mean for your cloud strategy
Identifying why your company wants to use the cloud will help you get everyone on the same page internally, so you can establish a shared language and purpose.
Managing Shadow IT Risks by Building IT Resources for the Future
Shadow is the greatest opportunity for innovation your company has — if the shadow IT risks don’t cut into your business first.
Shadow Technologies Drop Security Risks and Drive Business Value — if You Let Them
Shadow technologies can send a chill down the spine of any IT professional tasked with keeping an organization secure. The security risks of shadow technology are well documented and very real. What they fail to account for, though, are the many benefits shadow tech...
Three Benefits of Shadow IT — And How to Harness Them
What is shadow IT? It helps to first define shadow IT, sometimes known as dark IT. Most would start with a rundown of the network security risks it presents, but a more helpful shadow IT definition would explain it as something that’s already happening in your...
