By Matt Zwolenski, Director of Technology, EMC ANZ

The boundary between our work and personal lives hasn’t been clear for some time. This issue is being driven by the increasing number of employees using their own technology and devices for work as well as play. However, according to an IBSG Horizons Study, only 36 per cent of surveyed companies provide full support for employee-owned devices.

Employees will use the technologies that enable their working day to be more productive and collaborative, regardless of whether these tools are personally owned or issued by the company. This means IT teams need to support the shift to mobility in a way that combines consumer usability with enterprise-grade security.

While some Australian organisations have embraced a mobile workforce, many are still operating without a bring your own device (BYOD) policy in place.

The dilemma organisations face as they shift to enterprise mobility is how they will navigate this transition and how to maximise the benefits of the transformation. A truly mobile and productive workforce requires access to information anytime, anywhere and securely. 

Managing and enabling easy access to data

It’s important that IT managers are able to easily set central policies for sharing, device access and data retention, and also remotely wipe of data from devices in the event of device loss or when an employee leaves the organisation.

One of the first areas of mobility organisations should focus on is access to data. Employees need to be able to interact with and share content on their device of choice with the security and governance that IT policy requires. They also need tools to easily collaborate with colleagues and to share large files, internally or externally, without a VPN or IT intervention.

The benefits of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Employees want to work anywhere and use their own devices, including smart phones and tablets, so virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) will help drive productivity and mobility. With a consistent interface across devices, users experience easy access to data and applications via a uniform platform, regardless of whether they’re accessing the system from the office or remotely.

Updates to files are saved on the VDI itself as well as in the datacentre, so users no longer have to worry about saving data when on the move. VDI technology also addresses security issues, such as lack of visibility and control over enterprise data, as there is no data saved on the device to hack or steal.

The storage is centrally located and managed, rather than saved on each device in the network, so for IT, control is maintained whilst consolidating the infrastructure needed to support the virtual desktops. This centralised system also helps organisations leverage the potential of their virtual environments by streamlining deployment, administration and on-going system management.

Leveraging Big Data analytics to secure the network

Organisations are faced with unprecedented infrastructure risk that arises from an increase in the number of access points via which malware can access the network. As such, Big Data analytics can be leveraged to challenge or block anomalous activity. Having a single architecture allows all information to be captured, indexed, analysed and shared to help detect unusual behaviour. Critically, end user convenience needs to be maintained whilst security solutions run in the background.

When considering which strategy to take, IT teams need to assess mobility tools alongside the needs of the organisation. As the nature of work evolves, IT teams will need to readily address the security, compliance and management issues with a mobility strategy. This will enable greater productivity and encourage on-going innovation within the workforce, allowing BYOD to graduate from a cost centre into a value-add resource.

By Matt Zwolenski, Director of Technology, EMC ANZ

EMC Forum 2013 will be the biggest this country has seen yet! In the event’s Australian 10 year history, never have attendees had access to so many breakout sessions and so many opportunities to hear from industry experts. EMC Forum 2013 could be the most valuable day you spend out of the office this year!

EMC Forum 2013 in Sydney and Melbourne will provide unique insights into technology and the opportunities it presents to your business. From ‘how can we leverage big data?’ to ‘how does that technology work?’ EMC Forum will answer the big questions about the key drivers of innovation, as well as the small ones about technology necessary to your organisation. Throughout the day, you can choose to attend sessions from six key streams: Cloud, Transform Applications, Transform Backup, Transform Business, Transform Storage and Trust. View the full agenda on the EMC Forum 2013 microsite: http://australia.emc.com/campaign/global/forum2013/event.htm#sessions

Beyond the great presentations already on offer, EMC has just announced another stream containing six new sessions, giving attendees four different tracks to choose from. The new sessions look further into the technology that will continue to drive innovation in the decades to come. Think of how far we’ve come in the last ten years! Back in 2003, the First Human Genome Project, which involved analysing 3 billion base pairs, took 10 years to complete! Now in 2013, the latest technology allows scientists to analyse 6 billion codes in a matter of days!

The new sessions include:

• Disaster Recovery: From Simple Plans to Powerful Actions

          Explore new ways to streamline the disaster recovery planning process and how to make the most of the latest in technological           innovation.

• Scale-Out NAS, Now and in the Future
  Find out about the ease of file storage with EMC Isilon, the leader in high-performance scale-out NAS.
• ViPR Software Defined Storage: The Big Picture with Demonstrations
  See a demonstration of EMC’s integrated storage management tools for Software Defined Storage, which maximise both EMC and multi-vendor storage environments.
• Mainframe Backup Re-imagined and Transformed!
  EMC’s innovative mainframe solutions, including Symmetrix VMAX and EMC Disk Library, will be showcased in this session.
• Transform Enterprise Storage to Create Business Value
  Learn about the benefits of enterprise storage with EMC VMAX.
• VCE: A Foundation for IT Transformation
  A VCE expert will discuss foundations businesses need to transform their IT.

At EMC Forum you will get the opportunity to attend sessions and demonstrations on today’s most cutting edge technology. You can also take some time out to visit our Technology Museum to see how far technology has come in the past 10 years, chat to industry experts at the Sponsor Showcase and network with your industry peers.

Please visit the EMC Forum website to find out more about technical sessions and presentations from our sponsors on a variety of topics ranging from the Hybrid Cloud to the On Demand Data Centre.

Time is running out so register for EMC Forum 2013 today! Connect with us to stay up to date on all announcements, session details and news from EMC Forum 2013 at emc.im/Forum2013AU. 

Join the conversation on our Linkedin Group or follow @EMCANZ on Twitter.

By Matt Zwolenski, Director of Technology, EMC ANZ

Are you a cloud computing services manager? A market research data miner? Or a smartphone app developer? They’re relatively common roles today and if you’re not in one of them, chances are you know someone who is. Well, according to Forbes, these jobs didn’t exist ten years ago; who had heard of a data scientist? Our industry is changing - rapidly - and technological advancements are pushing along the creation of new roles all the time. Imagine what jobs we could be applying for in another ten years! In the meantime, we need to make sure we don’t get left behind: that’s where EMC Forum comes in.

EMC Forum will bring a host of industry leaders together to help map out what the future will look like. From the keynote presentation, to technology demonstrations and experts on hand in the exhibition, there will be someone to help answer your questions about the latest innovations in Big Data, Cloud and Trust.

Whether it’s your job to focus on how the technology operates, or the benefits it brings to the business’ bottom line, EMC Forum will help you gain a better understanding of the business impact of new and future technologies.

The keynote presentation from John Roese, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of EMC, and Alister Dias, Vice President and Managing Director EMC Australia and New Zealand, will share insights into how organisations are becoming more efficient, responsive and competitive, now and into the future. Following the keynote, EMC and other industry leaders will host a variety of breakout sessions – allowing you to choose the sessions best suited to your business needs and interests.

In such a fast-paced industry, it’s common to have a lot of questions about what’s best for your business. Here are just a few that EMC will answer at EMC Forum:

How can data add value to your business? 

Big, Fast Data and the Path to New Business Value will outline the benefits of combining Big and Fast Data with EMC’s new Pivotal platform. 

How can we accelerate deployment of virtualised environments? 

We will share our best practices for virtualising application environments in Optimise Your Journey To the Private Cloud for Microsoft, Oracle & SAP environments

What’s the best method of achieving fast, efficient and reliable backup and recovery?

New Strategies for Backup and Recovery of SAP, Oracle and Microsoft will reveal how EMC technologies transform backup and integrate with applications, delivering control and reducing costs for businesses. 

How can we better protect our business against cyber attacks? 

Using real world examples, Battling Cyber Crime with Cyber Intelligence will demonstrate how the combination of security analytics and cyber intelligence can detect and combat cyber crime.

Can I see EMC technologies in operation?

Next Generation EMC: Storage Transformed from Zero To Xtrem In A Flash will show how EMC technologies are driving the next generation of cloud computing.

How does a software-defined data centre work?

We will discuss how the data centre is undergoing a revolutionary transformation in ViPR Software Defined Storage: Evolving to a Software-Defined Data Centre.

How can I ensure continuous availability of our data and critical applications?

VPLEX Continuous Availability: Stretching and Extending Clusters Over Distance will explain how to achieve zero RTO and RPO across data centres, even in the event of a complete site failure.

How do I respond to business demands for IT to be more agile and efficient?

Hear how storage advancements accelerate the transformation of virtual environments in Next Generation Unified Storage: VNX Re-defines Midrange Price and Performance

Find out more about these sessions on the EMC Forum website.

We then invite you to continue the conversation at the EMC stand in the exhibition hall. Our EMC experts will be on hand to provide tailored advice, answer any questions you may have and show you the technology in action.

Register for EMC Forum 2013 today and connect with us to stay up to date on all announcements, session details and news from EMC Forum 2013 at emc.im/Forum2013AU. 

Join the conversation on our Linkedin Group or follow @EMCANZ on Twitter.

By Matt Zwolenski, Director of Technology for EMC ANZ

Last week EMC World welcomed thousands of visitors to Las Vegas. I had the pleasure of attending and experiencing the phenomenal buzz around some of our new EMC technologies. They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas… but not in this case! The very best of EMC World 2013 will come to Australian shores for EMC Forum in August (register now).

Ten years ago, when the first EMC Forum took place in Australia, it was all about high end storage. Now we’re talking about big data analytics, software defined data virtualisation and so much more – it’s genuinely exciting stuff!

EMC World 2013 saw the launch of EMC ViPR, the world’s first enterprise and service provider ready Software-Defined Storage platform. Not only did attendees hear from top industry experts about what this technology is capable of, but they were able to see the technology first hand. EMC ran a live hands-on lab where over 400 people had the chance to experience the technology in action. Customers were saying to me, ‘I’ve got to know more about this!’

Organisations are working hard to establish and reap the benefits of providing ‘everything-as-a-service’, however, the biggest challenge is trying to tie so many different platforms together. ViPR is the answer.

Using EMC ViPR, service providers and IT departments will be able to drive towards the operational model of web-scale data centres without hiring thousands of technical experts to build a custom environment. You can read more about this announcement on EMC Pulse. 

EMC Forum 2013 will give Australian organisations even greater insight on what this technology can do and much more. The event will inform delegates about business trends, Cloud directions, Big Data, virtualisation and Trust. Learn more about the benefits of attending EMC Forum here.

EMC Forum is free to attend and will bring the best of EMC World to Sydney on August 13^th and Melbourne on August 16^th. Register today!

Connect with us to stay up to date on all announcements, session details and news from EMC Forum 2013! Here’s how:

• Online: Find out all the latest at anz.emc.com/forum2013
• Social: Follow @EMCANZ on Twitter and join the conversation on our Linkedin Group