NAVIGATION
CORPORATE OFFICE
Zunesis, Inc.
4B Inverness Ct E Suite 100,
Englewood, CO 80112
(720) 221-5200
Las Vegas
6671 Las Vegas Blvd S
Building D Suite 210, Office 260
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 837-5300
If you have ever read my blogs (or know me at all) then it will be no secret, to you, that I enjoy movies. I also like to use things I enjoy in an analogous way to help me better explain or convey things. For this reason, I will be hypothesizing the years 2020 and 2021 as entries in a 2-part film franchise. Where 2020 is the nail-biting first act filled with plot-twists, red herrings and maybe even a cliffhanger ending (sorry you’ll find no spoilers below, you’re just going to have to stick around until the end credits). This inevitably sets up the much-anticipated sequel: 2021. Where high stakes, big reveals, and even bigger emotional payoffs are to be expected (maybe even a massive deus ex machina will come into play? You never know!).
Keep in mind that all of the events laid out below are ones that were a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. If we are comparing 2020 to a movie, it is pretty clear that the coronavirus would be the primary villain. I realize other notable events occurred in the last year, but I think it is safe to assume that we all know the key storyline as well as the chief antagonist.
Note: The forecast of 2021 events are merely conjecture and should be viewed as the expected outcomes based on the current information we have. As much as I would love to give a concrete story summary, we should always be prepared for unexpected plot twists.
What Happened in 2020: Capacity Restrictions and Curfews- For the majority of 2020, many restaurants, bars, gyms, and other communal locations were put on stringent capacity reductions or required to close completely.
What This Means for 2021: Many of these restrictions have already been dialed back or lifted entirely. In 2021, we can expect to not only get closer to “the old normal” but also see a big increase in traffic in all previously affected social locations.
What Happened in 2020: Remote and Hybrid Learning- Most schools across the country had to adopt a new E-learning model, with some schools still able to provide an in-person or hybrid model.
What This Means for 2021: This necessary alteration to educational institutions has brought a rise to methodologies and new solutions to make this transition possible and much easier. It is expected that students will return to physical classrooms in 2021, but now they will have a foundation to fall back on for unexpected remote necessities. Find out More Here
What Happened in 2020: Movie and Concert Reschedules – Seemingly common occurrences like going to the movie theater or attending a concert venue were completely derailed in 2020 and forced to be postponed.
What This Means for 2021: Good things come to those who wait. If these fun events can’t take place now…. But they have to happen sometime. And that time is pointing towards being 2021. Artists have pushed most shows off to a date and time where it will be safe for them to perform, again, in front of crowds. And as far as the 2021 movie schedule? It is now going to be STACKED.
What Happened in 2020: New Health and Safety Precautions- Over the past several months, a plethora of new health initiatives, such as face-coverings, hand-sanitizing stations, and temperature checks, have been put into place. Both as a mandated requirement and as a necessity.
What This Means for 2021: Organizations all over the world are rising to the challenge and meeting demand to supply valuable PPE and employ other methods to monitor the population and keep people safe (including, but not limited to, temperature-screening kiosks from Meridian. The need for these precautions may minimize over time (that plotline might be saved for 2022 and we can make this a trilogy 😉). For the time being, it looks like 2021 will constantly be churning out solutions to keep folks safe.
What Happened in 2020: Commercial and Public Sector Budgets – Once the uncertainty of the pandemic began to play out, many organizations across the country, had to limit or freeze all spending.
What This Means for 2021: Help from multiple directions has come into assist in a multitude of ways. Small business loans, grants, The CARES Act, and new changes to e-rate funding, will all significantly help a wide array of companies with securing much-needed funds. Find more info here
What Happened in 2020: No Live Sporting Events- Some organizations delayed their seasons, some televised them from empty stadiums, and others cancelled their seasons entirely. Regardless of the route taken, there was no way for fans to watch “live” sports for the majority of 2020
What This Means for 2021: This one is an ever-evolving landscape. In the last portion of 2020, SOME fans have been able to attend live sporting events in a heavily social-distanced format. With these small victories, all we can hope is packing the stadiums again, in the near future, like the good ol’ days!
What Happened in 2020: Working from home- An unprecedented amount of businesses and their office workers had to quickly switch to a remote workforce.
What This Means for 2021: Like the developments brought about by the aforementioned E-learning model, the sudden shift to a remote workforce has opened up the floodgates for new solutions encompassing VDI and cloud gateways. It will also change the way that future business is conducted for merchants and customers alike.
Well, my friends, the good thing about “2020: The Movie- Part 1” is that we are in the final scenes of the third act. We won’t be able to rate this bad boy until we see the final credits on New Year’s Eve. Regardless, 2021 is shaping up to be a killer sequel. If 2020 is Mad Max, then 2021 will be Road Warrior….and I can’t wait to catch you all at the premier!
The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEER) guidelines state that funds can be allocated for any costs due to changes to the delivery of instruction due to Covid 19. Amongst other allowances, Institutions may use their funds to purchase equipment of hardware and software in support of their Distance Learning initiative.
Zunesis is stepping in to assist our Higher Education customers. We have found that before expanding (or establishing) VMware Horizon VDI-driven learning portals, we must first shore-up the underlying infrastructure. In many instances, we find legacy hardware that is not compatible with VMWare 6.7 and higher. This is necessary to ensure a secure and robust environment capable of supporting applications such as graphics heavy applications like Adobe Creative Suite or AutoDesk. Without the hardware upgrade (Gen10 technologies, enhanced memory and GPU), the Distance Learning experience risks students dropping off when frustrated with slow rendering speeds.
Zunesis considers two major requirements in creating/expanding VMware Horizon Distance Learning portals:
The ROI for the upgrading infrastructure to support these VDI expansions will be realized in both time and money savings for IT organizations far beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Having all servers in a central location means easier system maintenance and upgrades. All users get each upgrade in near real-time.
IT can also assign the exact resources each user needs, so none go unused. This is especially important for engineering applications such as AutoCad, where issuing each user a workstation would be costly – and most need the app only occasionally. Virtual environments enable multiple users to share resources, thereby increasing hardware utilization. They also reduce the need to buy and support expensive workstations.
Additionally, the enhanced Distance Learning portal will enable IT departments to save money on application licensing costs. Users who need consistent access to engineering applications may get a personalized virtual desktop with their own account. Others who need only occasional access can use pooled desktops on a time-share basis. License servers here can potentially require fewer licenses while serving up client connections more efficiently.
With ease of management and enhanced security a key concern, we also considered the number of improvements VMWare has made in vSphere 6.7 and HPE has made with their GEN10 Servers.
In conclusion, the success of any Distance Learning initiative can be measured by the number of students that continue to participate. A properly designed infrastructure that can support the intensive requirements of applications will minimize downtime. It will enable thinly staffed IT departments to function efficiently.
Contact Zunesis to find out more about the CARES ACT and the best solutions for higher education needs.
Additional Resources:
Digital Transformation in Higher Education
4 Ways VMware is enabling Business Continuity for Government & Education Customers
The new normal. How many times have you heard that recently? What is the new normal? Are their changes in IT being implemented as a result of the Covid-19 virus? What is changing in IT as a result of the demonstrations and riots in our society today? These are all questions I have been asked recently by friends, customers and business associates. This seems to be at the top of everyone’s conversations.
Just to be honest, I don’t like the phrase “the new normal”. Nothing about this is normal. A recent article in Forbes discussed how CTO’s are navigating this new normal. Everything going on today is changing the world of IT.
Most of my recent conversations have focused around three areas: Security, remote access and disaster recovery. These three topics have come to the forefront of every conversation I have had lately. This is nothing new, businesses have been talking about or using these for years. But they have taken on a new urgency. People are more serious about getting something in place, now.
I am primarily talking about security as it relates to access security and physical security. Using video analytics, many locations are more serious about tracking people. A school may want to know who is coming and going using facial recognition. Another instance is where a store wants the count of how many people occupy a store at any given time. People are more interested in understanding how video analytics can help their business.
There are many use cases for video analytics. We have had conversations around using technology. Some uses include monitor social distancing and temperature tracking of employees and customers. A recent Harvard study estimates that social distancing restrictions are likely to remain in place long-term. “Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have warned that, in the absence of a vaccine or an effective treatment of the coronavirus, social-distancing measures may be required through to 2022,” reported CNBC.
Another tactic is tracking who is in a school or casino or how many people are currently in a store, restaurant or casino. There are so many possibilities and way too many to list here.
Many of our customers are using virtual desktop capability to some extent. What has changed is remote desktop projects are getting funded and taking on a sense of urgency. Whether this is moving to a work from home model, remote learning or something else. Many of our customers have had a project like this on the list. Now it is a top priority. We are going to see many businesses and schools move to a remote access on a permanent basis. This means a complete change in how they do business, how they connect, how they work on projects, everything.
Disaster recovery, including Ransomware recovery, has been on the list of every IT department projects. Some companies are very good at DR and have made it a priority. Others have it on the list of projects that never seem to get done.
Recently, we spent over a month working with a customer that got hit with Ransomware. I have heard of larger customers spending many months, even up to a year trying to fully recover. We spent additional time, working with the customer to put safe guards in place. We did this so if this does happen again, the recovery time is minimal. This type of scenario is happening more often and needs to be addressed now. Before the unthinkable happens.
Contact Zunesis to for an assessment of the state of your infrastructure. Let us help you with this “new normal” and keep your business moving.
NAVIGATION
CORPORATE OFFICE
Zunesis, Inc.
4B Inverness Ct E Suite 100,
Englewood, CO 80112
(720) 221-5200
Las Vegas
6671 Las Vegas Blvd S
Building D Suite 210, Office 260
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 837-5300