opus:interactive | If These Servers Could Talk

Managed Servers and Colocation are hot topics throughout the northwest. If you have been exploring hosting options I’m sure the question “What is better dedicated managed servers or collocating servers?” has come to mind. I generally respond with 3 buckets to assist clients in there search for service. These buckets help identify what you need and from whom. They are “You Do”, “I Do” and “We Do”.

The first bucket is “You Do.” This bucket is as it sounds, that you want someone to take care of all your services. Generally speaking this is what is called a Managed Server Solution or Dedicated Server. You pay trained certified technicians to managed servers, operating systems, applications, database, firewalls, security, disaster recovery, data back etc all in a secure data center facility. This solution is really designed for those companies who don’t want the headaches and responsibility of managing the upkeep of servers. A good number of companies use this solution so they don’t acquire any assets the depreciate and have a life cycle of about 3 years. This solutions is more of a worries free and headache free solution. The “You Do” is growing rapidly as more and more companies want to focus on there core business and not have to worry about the technical side of things.

The Second bucket is “I Do.” This bucket is really designed for the do it yourselfers out there. Colocation space is really what you need. You rent space just like you might at the gym for a locker to put your clothes in. You have your clothes and you just need a safe place to put them while you work out. Colocation of servers is very similar. You rent secure space, power, cooling, and connectivity for your servers. The biggest advantages of doing this are network reliability and guaranteed uptime. Yes I know, there are a lot of companies that have servers under someone’s desk or in some back closet, but that being said, you are only as strong as your weakest link. What happens when your internet goes down, or you lose power? What about the security of someone coming into your office space, or on those really hot summer days that broom closet gets pretty hot? The answer is trouble. The cost for that is far more expensive than to rent space in a facility. Besides this way if something were to go wrong you have someone else to blame, and generally you receive refunds for any outages.

The final bucket is “We Do.” This is really the best in both worlds. It truly is the buffet of services. You pick what services you would like to add to your current, or new solution, and how much control, or level of responsibility, you wish to have. All three buckets are great because the features they address to each unique business.

Now the real big question is what provider should I pick? We’ll answer that question in our next entry. Stay tuned.

In the last 12 months opus:interactive has made a significant change to focus on being a more efficient Managed Service Provider (MSP) through automation, energy conservation, efficient cooling technologies, extensible platforms and scalable solutions. In order to minimize operations staff and continue to provision servers and applications for customers on a same-day basis, we standardized on HP ProLiant-based servers utilizing HP automation software such as Remote Deployment Pack (RDP) and Insight Control Datacenter Edition (ICDCE).

In Q3, we made a concerted effort to become an eco-aware datacenter facility with the implementation of HP p-class and c-class blade systems. Using the new blade systems by HP has allowed us to scale faster, use power efficiently, provision servers faster, and ultimately, close more deals. We recently implemented a full 18-server solution complete with redundant firewalls, redundant load-balancers, dedicated redundant SAN and full automation. The servers utilizes a little more than 15Amps of power, whereas normal non-blade servers would have used around 40Amps.

The use of HP c-class blade enclosures stays true to our customer-first initiative by providing the best-of-breed hardware that truly is “Always On,” easy to manage, extensible, scalable, reliable and eco-aware. This shift in IT is our push for Business Innovation in all that we do. In 2007, we plan to replace our entire infrastructure with HP c-class blade chassis and servers.

We first heard about it this morning around 9AM on the news that runs in our Network Operations Center (NOC). We were impressed by the feature set and capabilities that the new iPhone provides. Wow! Widescreen video, music, phone, Bluetooth, wireless and more… Stunning UI work by Apple on this beauty. I can’t believe the resolution on the screen. 160ppi on a 3.5 touch screen is very slick. I can say definitively that I will be replacing my Sprint PPC-6700 with this sweet gem come June of 2007 for $599… Incredible.
More details can be seen here: http://www.apple.com/iphone

P.S. check out the demos…

When the Portland Development Commission stepped up efforts to inform businesses about a program that rewards job creation with tax breaks, the businesses listened.

Before the push to educate the industrial community about the merits of investing in an enterprise zone covering much of North/Northeast Portland, the PDC had typically granted breaks to three of four new or expanding businesses per year in the 10 years since the zone was created.

This year, on the heels of an aggressive outreach effort with an assist from a strong economy, the enterprise zone program has added 10 companies and expects to add 12 more by the end of the year, said PDC’s Seth Hudson, senior economic development manager and manager of the North/Northeast Enterprise Zone.

Among the new participants to sign on this year: Advanced American Construction, Oregon Steel Mills and Oregon Transfer Co.

The zone currently has 20 active participants who together intend to invest $222.4 million in new buildings and equipment. They will generate 2,100 new jobs and receive an estimated $12.4 million break on property taxes that would have been assessed on the new value of their businesses. The tax breaks last for five years.

The zone hit another milestone this year with the addition of a special “e-commerce zone” overlay, which rewards Internet-oriented companies with income tax breaks for investing in computers, software and related gear.

It gained its first customer, Opus Interactive, which has spent $662,000 on new facilities and a data center in recent months.

Portland’s enterprise zone isn’t the only one to prosper in the past year. There are 55 such enterprise zones scattered across the state and activity is on the rise in most of them, said Art Fish, business incentives coordinator for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.

Enterprise zones are a legal construct created by the state to spur business investment. They are implemented locally by cities and counties.

In essence, the enterprise zone program gives manufacturers a temporary property tax break for investing in new buildings and equipment if the investment results in new, well-paying jobs.

The zones typically are situated in economically distressed areas with an industrial bent. The e-commerce zone gives income tax breaks to Internet-oriented companies like Opus Interactive that invest in software, computers and network gear.

According to an annual report on the program issued this week, enterprise zones have generated 5,884 new jobs, 53 percent more than a year ago. Fish expects the numbers to climb in the next few years as projects in development are completed and business operations begin.

“We’re looking at on the order of a 50 percent jump,” he said.

In Portland, the North/Northeast zone covers an area bordered by Interstate 205 and Forest Park to the east and west, and by the Columbia River and I-84 to the north and south. It was amended this year to include Opus Interactive, which is in Northwest Portland.

The biggest new investment in Portland is Oregon Steel Mills, which plans to spend $72 million on new facilities and to add 390 people to its payroll. In exchange, it will get a $3.69 million break on its property taxes.

Not every newcomer is as large as Oregon Steel. The class of 2006 includes Triad Mechanical, which will invest $500,000 and add 29 employees, for a tax break worth a little less than $28,000.

Actual Article (must have Biz Journal Subscription to read full article online): Biz Journal