Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast and win your own Adventure !!

Today is the launch of our Microsoft Snow Adventure* !!
6 lucky resellers will win a pair of tickets on a snow adventure of a life time!! Each reseller have been set a target (so if you dont know what yours is please contact your Westcoast account manager)

For every 20% of your target you achive you will receive 1 point.
For every 20% over your target you achive you will receive 2 points. You can earn additional points for selling Open licensing, attending one of our events, sitting your MLSS exam, using the Microsoft Gym, and adding yourselves to PinPoint.

Each month there are great prizes you can win from hot air ballooning to Euro Star vouchers. At the end of the incentive all points are swapped for tickets and 6 resellers will be going on the trip to Switzerland. The promotion runs until the 19th of December and the draw will be in January and the trip at the end of February.

You have to log on to the website each month, if you haven’t logged on then you will not get entered, The website you need to go to is www.westcoast.co.uk/snowadventure (Please click)

For more terms and conditions as well as the username and password for the above site please contact your account manager at Westcoast.
*for UK and Irish resellers only,

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Blog Update : We now have a new look

We have updated the look of our blog to make it a little easier on the eyes.
We will be adding some new "explained" sections soon so keep an eye out.

In the meantime we hope you like the look of the Blog.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Notice : Microsoft OCS changes to Microsoft Lync™

Microsoft OCS is being rebranded with the name Lync Server 2010!

Please see the conversion table below and an outline of the features in Microsoft Lync 2010

Current Version	New Version
Business/Family (formerly Microsoft® Communications)	Microsoft® Lync™
The server (formerly Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007)	Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010
The Online Service (formerly Microsoft® Communications Online)	Microsoft® Lync™ Online
The client (formerly Microsoft® Communicator 2007	Microsoft® Lync™ 2010
The reach client (formerly Microsoft® Communicator Web App)	Microsoft® Lync™ Web App

New Connected Experience

• Find and communicate with the right person, naturally. With native Active Directory® integration, Lync Server 2010 helps users find the right person to connect with, view their presence, and then communicate with them in the most effective way—via voice, video, or sharing an application or PowerPoint. If desired, users can initiate these connections directly from the new Contact Card. With Skill Search powered by SharePoint®, users are also able to search for others based on skills, expertise, and group information.

• Stay connected from virtually anywhere, with just a standard Internet connection.* Microsoft Lync™ 2010 offers the same rich functionality and security features outside the firewall without requiring a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection and enables mobile and Web access across leading browsers and platforms.

• Build social connections and stay up-to-date on colleagues’ activities. Lync 2010 encourages closer social connections with a new Activity Feed that shows updates from contacts when they change status note, picture, title or office location.

Integration with Microsoft Office

• Communicate with context from Microsoft Office applications. Lync Server 2010 works with Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office applications for a richer collaborative experience with consistent presence, click-to-call options, and a new Contact Card.

• Office Backstage™ integration. The new Office Backstage view integrates various communication options so users can share documents and presentations via instant messaging (IM), share the application itself or click-to-call directly from the application.

Converged Communications

• Enhanced virtual meetings for improved productivity. Users can schedule a meeting from Microsoft Outlook® and join through Lync 2010 via the PC, phone or Web interface. Lync Server 2010 provides a meeting user interface with integrated audio and video that enables participants to share presentations, annotate slides, superimpose text and use visual pointers for more effective discussions. Additionally, users have the options to create ad hoc meetings, for example, moving from an IM conversation to a Live Meeting directly from the Lync interface..

• Complete set of enterprise-grade voice features. Lync Server 2010 delivers a standalone voice offering to enhance or replace traditional PBX systems and extends these capabilities outside the office via Internet access without requiring a VPN connection. This includes common calling features such as answer, forward, transfer, hold, divert, release, and park, along with Enhanced 9-1-1 calling* for North America, and support for legacy devices and a broader range of IP and USB user devices from partners. The solution is designed to support high availability through Call Admission Control, branch office survivability* and extended options for data resiliency.

Interoperable and Extensible

• Connect across networks. Lync Server 2010 supports federation with public IM networks such as Windows Live™, AOL, Yahoo! and, through the XMPP Gateway, Google Talk, allowing workers to use their corporate identities to connect to customers and partners. Lync Server 2010 supports audio and video calls with users on Windows Live Messenger.

• Utilize existing A/V infrastructure. Conferencing interoperability enables organizations to use existing infrastructure including room systems and high-end conferencing solutions.

• Integrate with existing IP PBX systems. Lync Server 2010 works with almost any PBX system either through Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or qualified gateways and integrates with qualified third-party SIP Trunking Service Providers.1

• Embed communications in business processes. New and improved client-side APIs allow developers to embed Lync functionality into Microsoft Windows® and Microsoft Silverlight®-based applications with supported, ready-to-use code snippets. Enhanced server-side APIs make it easy to instantiate and deliver alerts via IM or phone, find experts, enable web chat and provide automated self-service using query-response bots and IVR.

Simpler Deployment

• Easily deploy systems of any scale, and manage them with ease. Lync Server 2010 can provide presence, IM and conferencing for organisations of literally any size, with up to 10,000 users per server, 100,000 users per pool and an unlimited number of pools. Automated tools not only simplify capacity planning and topology design, but also automatically push configuration information and changes to all servers in the network, thus eliminating manual work and the associated chance for errors. The new Lync Server Control Panel consolidates scenario-driven tasks in a single interface, while PowerShell support allows administrators to automate repetitive tasks using a familiar tool. Lync Server 2010 relies on Active Directory, eliminating the need for separate user and policy databases and uses Role Based Access Control (RBAC) to allow the assignment of appropriate management roles and scopes to different administrators

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Product News - HP 146GB 15k LFF (384854-B21) is now end of life.

The Current backorders we have with HP will still be honoured, but officially as of now these drives are EOL.

There is going to be no direct replacement for these, so the new drive to use will be the 300GB 15k LFF drive part number 516814-B21.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast.

Join Westcoast and Microsoft at one of our events and discover how a better understand of Microsoft can boost your business.

Westcoast and Microsoft are hosting a series of events to help you sell more Microsoft, With new afternoon sessions to help broaden your Microsoft knowledge even further, you will leave confident when selling Microsoft to your customers.

The Westcoast and Microsoft Events Timetable
Please Click the below links to register,

• MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop - 21st September Reading
• MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop - 13th October Nottingham
• MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop - 20th October Cambridge
• MLSS and Virtualisation - 18th November London
• MLSS Including Academic - 20th January 2011 London
• MLSS Including Academic - 3rd February 2011 Sheffield
• MLSS Including Academic - 8th March 2011 Nottingham
• MLSS and Virtualisation - 17th April 2011 London

Here are the outlines of the sessions below.

MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft licensing programmes and the licensing of Microsoft products so that you can sit your MLSS Lite Exam (optional) to become a trusted Microsoft Licensing advisor to your customers.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Understanding the Optimised Desktop session where you will further your understanding and realise the business opportunities.

MLSS and Virtualisation
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Virtualisation session where you will be shown the benefits of virtualisation and the opportunities this opens up.

MLSS including Academic
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Academic session where you will learn about Academic licensing and the selling opportunities it presents.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

NEW Product - HP ProLiant MicroServer

HP have launched a new low cost Server for the Micro to Small business enviroment idealy aimed at business which still use a Peer to Peer solution or are looking to adopt cloud services.

Its Key Features are..

• Packed with all the essential server features, the MicroServer is a perfect first server
• Designed for growth, you can add memory, hard drives and peripherals with lesser effort
• Suited for an ergonomic working environment, it offers a low acoustic level of 21 DBA
• Intended for small and micro organizations—its compact design fits easily within your work space

The MicroServer can run the following Operating systems... Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 R2 Foundation, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition, and Red Hat 5 (all sold seperatly), The server has capaciy for up to 8Tb (over 4 drives) and up to 8Gb ram which is perfect for the Micro to Small Business.

Here is an example of moving from a Peer to Peer network to a Microserver.

Moving from a peer-to-peer solution to your first server with HP MicroServer
In a P2P network, each PC stores its own data and completes processing on that data. Printers are shared from a user’s PC, and important business data is spread across all computers in the network. No common security policy is used, and each computer must be manually configured for common settings and applications such as anti-virus, screensaver passwords, updates and backups.



In a client/server network with the HP MicroServer and Windows Server 2008 R2, all company
information is stored centrally and printers are shared from the server. Group policies are applied, which standardizes security, updates and application settings across all PCs—helping to simplify management. Since all data is stored on the server, a reliable backup solution can be implemented. Security is improved, data is protected and access to resources is more efficient resulting in higher productivity and reduced costs.



If you want to watch an introduction video on the New HP MicroServer please click here.
If you would like to know more then please contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

September HP Networking offers

Catch a great deal on V1410 and V1910 Switch series in September
From September 1st until September 30th 2010, up to an additional 30% off list price on the V1410 series and selected V1910 series.

NEW : End to End SMB solution
Add wireless connectivity for better business agility. Choose the solution that best fits your needs between:
Offer 1 : V10ag AP with 25% off list price.
Offer 2 : Soft bundle V1910-24G + VM200 AP + Power Injector with 18.5% off list price
Offer 3 : Soft bundle E2915-8G + E-MSM422 AP with 22% off list price from September 13th to October 31st 2010

AND DON’T FORGET: V1810 Promo
Boost your SMB business with HP V1810 Switch series. Powerful savings from 1st-30thSeptember””
From September 1st until September 30th, 25% additional off list on the popular V1810 series

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

September HP Server and Storage offers.

In order for you to have your own copy of this months offers, We can now offer them in a easy downloadable PDF for you.



Please click the image above to open the PDF.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

FAQ Added - Whats the difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous replication?

This has also been added to the Westcoast Solutions Team FAQ

Synchronous Replication
This method does not allow an update to the primary data to until it has been updated at the 2nd location. This has an obvious performance impact due to the transfer and confirmation the data has been written. Using Synchronous Replication is not advised over long distances.
With Synchronous Replication you are not fully protected against data loss in the event of a disaster as the update may not have completed at one of the sites when the disaster had occurred.

Asynchronous Replication
This method of replication is proving to be more and more popular due to the fact Asynchronous Replication is not limited to distance. The Data in an Asynchronous solution is immediately marked as complete to the application using the data, and then it is copied to the remote site.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

REMINDER - HP Storageworks P4000 G2 SAN solutions training event

As part of our constant commitment to support our reseller community Westcoast and HP are organising a FREE StorageWorks P4000 SAN training event. (please click the image to register)

People that attend the training session will receive 50% off list price on your first P4000 order !! Register now so you dont miss out.

Date : 7th of September 2010
Location : HP Bracknell (click to see on google maps)
Agenda (subject to change)

• 09.00 - 09.30 Arrive & register
• 09.30 - 09.45 Welcome & overview from Westcoast
• 09.45 - 10.45 P4000 product & solutions section
• 10.45 - 11.00 Coffee Break
• 11.00 - 11.30 The Westcoast value add: Solutions Team, Networking opportunity...
• 11.30 Demos & discussions on reseller projects
• 12.00 Lunch at the Warren. Have a look :)

Come to join ESSN product specialists, see live demos and learn everything you need to know about P4000 Solutions

Please Click on the image above or HERE to Register for this event

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP Free Blade Enclosure Offer - September 2010

Save up to a massive £9,675 !!

Populate 50% of a ProLiant BladeSystem c-Class enclosure and receive the enclosure free.

Take advantage of the Industry’s leading Blade products by simply purchasing any combination of qualifying blade servers, sufficient to fill at least half the available bays in a BladeSystem c3000 or c7000 enclosure, together with your chosen enclosure and any other required infrastructure between 1 and 30 September 2010.

To open the claim form please click here
To open the qualifying products list please click here

This offer is limited to ONE free enclosure per customer. Terms and qualifying products apply.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP ProLiant Half-Price Storage Offers

There are two separate offers on storage this month, so feel free to take advantage of either or both!

Offer 1
Purchase a qualifying server, together with the necessary storage controller and your choice of D2000 disk enclosure, fill the enclosure at least half full of disk drives and get both the controller and disk enclosure for half price.

Offer 2
Purchase a qualifying ML350 G6 tower server, together with your choice of RDX drive and get the RDX drive for half price.

The Qualifying product must be purchased and invoiced between 1 August and 30 September 2010 - please refer to the qualifying products table for all details - then simply complete the claim form and HP will refund the cost of the 'half-price' items.

This offer is limited to one claim under each offer per customer.

How to Claim
1. Complete the claim form
2. Attach proof of purchase (reseller invoice(s)) to the claim form, with qualifying products and HP part codes circled, keeping copies for your records.
3. Product must have been delivered & invoiced between 1 August and 30 September 2010.
4. Mail to: HP Claims Dept, PO Box 7393, Reading, RG27 7JJ. All submissions must be received by Friday 29 October 2010
5. You will then receive an email confirming the rebate due to you and your individual reference number within 7 days of posting. If you do not receive this email then please contacts us at promotions@out-bound.co.uk.
6. Cheques will be issued within 28 days of receipt of your correct invoice

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team