Who Needs a Data Center? Mixed Strategy for Cloud Migration in Higher Education

By not losing sight of our heritage of High Performance Wi-Fi Architectures, Xirrus has engineered not just a new AP, but a new class of Wireless Access device. While other vendors chased market share with low cost, low end solutions, Xirrus waited until the technology was ready to offer an economical solution, without compromising on performance or services. What we did was design a solution that not only maintains software configurable radios, the full suites of Array services, Application control at the edge and IDS/IPS, but we also added 802.3af PoE and even cloud management services, and all at a price that is equal to or even below other vendors ‘consumer grade’ AP pricing.

If you are considering upgrading your wireless and want to know what’s really available in a cost effective device, join us for an introduction and even a test drive of the new class of wireless access devices.

Benjamin Robbins, Principal, Palador; (moderator)
Vishy Gopalakrishna, VP, SAP;
Ben Smith, Head of Mobil Product, Tribal Labs;
Rob Tiffany, Senior CATM Strategist, Microsoft

There are key pressures driving IT today: budget, security threats, consumerization of IT, end-user needs and expectations. In response, IT is turning to virtualization to relieve these pressures but which is the best solution?

Join this webinar to learn which technology: VDI, RDS or both that you should turn to for help. This presentation will cover use cases to help determine best fit, how the addition of the PCoIP protocol to RDS can improve performance, and a first hand account of how and why Gypsum Management and Supply, a national distributor of construction supplies, implemented a desktop virtualization solution replacing aging PCs.

About the Presenter:
Mike Fodor is a customer-focused product management professional with over 20 years of experience in technology, six of which have spent in the desktop virtualization space. Mike began his career in Southern California as a technology manager for Walt Disney Feature Animation.  He has spent more than a decade in Silicon Valley, holding management posts at NetIQ, Peoplesoft and Pano Logic before joining Teradici.

Xirrus has kicked off 2013 with a world tour to promote several significant additions to our product lineup. We have extended our high performance XR Array product line with a new cost effective, yet full performance Access Point. True to our heritage of creating solutions that enable wired-like performance from wireless networks, this new solution delivers application-level control and RF optimization like no other AP on the market. In addition, it is supported by our new cloud-based management and provisioning that greatly simplifies the activation and ongoing operation of Xirrus wireless networks while reducing the resource and CAPEX requirements on your IT department.

What you will learn:
- How to provide a cost effective wireless solution with uncompromised features and performance
- How to deliver a wireless solutions that can scale from low to ultra-high user densities
- How to deliver improved wireless user experience prioritizing critical over recreational applications
- How cloud-enabled activation can speed deployment with zero touch provisioning

BYOD is no longer a consideration, it’s a reality. Every day over 2 million new wireless devices are being activated and these devices will show up on you network. And while most wireless vendors are talking about the potential security risks, which are considerable, almost no one is discussing the impact the sheer numbers of devices will have on your networks performance.

A recent Gartner study did and stated that ‘By 2015, 80% of newly installed wireless networks will be obsolete because of a lack of proper planning’. Many administrators still designing for coverage, when capacity limits are the true Achilles heel of wireless deployments. This session will discuss the varied client types and their capabilities, best practices to address growing device densities and how both impact overall network performance. IT administrator looking at a BYOD deployment or even just a wireless upgrade will gain valuable insight from this presentation.

Perry Correll is a Senior Technologist as well as the Director of Product Marketing at Xirrus. His extensive networking background extends from original Ethernet Thicknet technology, through the switching revolution and now is involved in pushing advancements in Wi-Fi technology to displace wired solutions. Previous roles included technologist and management roles at Cabletron, Xylan and Alcatel.

If Cloud and Virtualization monitoring seem straightforward and not that big a change from what was done a few years ago, think again. These technologies add complexity that requires more than simple monitoring techniques. Join this webinar to learn what complications can arise from these technologies and why everything you ever learned about monitoring needs to be changed.

A revolution is underway in end-user computing, as workers bring their own mobile devices to work. At the same time, IT must keep data secure and deploy the latest desktop and mobile operating systems. A solution is emerging: Client virtualization supports diverse end-user devices securely, while lowering management costs. Join HP’s Doug Hart to learn how VMware and Hewlett-Packard have built out-of -the box client virtualization solution for small and midsize businesses.

Desktop Virtualization is the top cloud-based technology impacting End User Computing. And, user-centric, Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management is the primary factor against which cloud-based virtual desktop solutions and providers are and will be evaluated. If you are currently evaluating, planning, or managing application performance in a Virtualized Desktop Environment, don't let your VDI project get derailed by poor end user experience.

In VDI environments, traditional system metrics, such as CPU, memory, and network utilization, are marginal indicators of actual performance. As a result, Desktop Virtualization demands a user-centric vs. device-centric approach to service management. End User Experience (EUE) management becomes an essential barometer to ensure that end-user facing systems are responsive and high-performing. During this webinar, the following topics for ensuring Desktop Virtualization SLAs through a user-centric approach to service management will be covered:

- How to gain comprehensive visibility into exactly how virtualized desktop and remote workstation users are experiencing critical application performance
- How to proactively detect when performance degradations occur
- Methods for correlating PC-over-IP® (PCoIP®) latency with the actual business
transaction response times and the VM image’s health
- How to gain an in-depth understanding of application performance within the VMware View™ environment, exactly as experienced by the users themselves
- Advanced analytics around key PCoIP metrics, such as Image Quality, Round Trip Latency, Packet Lost Percentage, Available Network Bandwidth, and many other performance impacting factors

According to industry researchers nearly 75 percent of the organizations who have deployed a virtual desktop environment have stalled their deployment before completion leaving frustrated employees in departments ranging from IT, to the business units, to the executive suite. It isn’t a lack of good intentions causing these deployments to fail, but rather a lack of understanding of the holistic approach needed to successfully deploy a virtual desktop environment. Join WWT’s Dave Kinsman, National Technical Solutions Architect, as he discusses the 5 Pillars to VDI success.

Find out how teachers, students, and schools can use a free security book, OwnYourSpace: Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online to teach teens effective Internet security in a Q&A with Linda McCarty and Fran Staniec.

Taft High School in Chicago is one of the schools leading the pack by creating lesson plans and teaching their freshmen important safety measures. For example: how to create safe passwords, how to configure a secure Facebook account, Antivirus installation and software updating, responsible posting for ALL devices, Antibullying, and Internet safety.

Staniec will talk about how they use the free Own Your Space books to create lesson plans, learning about security. Ask yourself: are your students ready to hit the ground running when it comes to security and entering the professional world?

Join in learn how to engage students. See you on the 24th!!!

*Any teacher who wants to download the book prior to the webinar can download the book for free at ownyourspace.net

We are on the cusp of important changes in schools today. There is an national effort to update and unify national standards with the Common Core State Standards. With the advent of the tablet, we are finally seeing a computing device with a form factor and price point that opens up important possibilities in classrooms. More importantly, schools must change or face losing millions of students due to a level of disengagement not seen in generations. There are real opportunities out there to bring important ideas up close for kids in ways not previously possible. This talk will review the central issues and highlight specific approaches centered around technology and 21st century skills.

With mobile devices becoming more prevalent in the classroom, it is no wonder that many educators are looking to these devices to improve the learning environment. Add a flipped classroom strategy, inverting the traditional teaching methods by delivering instruction online outside the classroom and moving "homework" into the classroom, and there could be huge potential for learning and growth. But firstly, we have to solve how iPads, or other mobile devices can transform the classroom and what if a flipped strategy was also applied. In this webinar, we will discuss these two key issues in three essential questions: why integrate iPads, why the flipped model and how these two things go together to create a dynamic learning environment.

Teacher evaluations are a time-consuming and paper-extensive process for many schools and districts. However, it doesn't have to be. New technology is making it easier for school districts to complete teacher evaluations online in an automated process to free up educators and administrators alike while reducing expenses.

Learn how automation can:
- Improve the professional conversation between teacher and evaluator
- Reduce the Principal's workload of collecting and analyzing data
- Provide transparency into the process from administration to staff
- Meet the state requirements for teachers that are unsatisfactory or need improvement

With mobile devices becoming more and more readily available in the classroom, educators have the opportunity to expand their teaching tools with technology. Teaching Table is a set of digital math manipulatives designed for the IPad that allows educators to create interactives examples to share with their students. Attend this presentation to hear the results of Teaching Table's survey of iPad and other technologies' usage in the classroom, the challenges these educators currently face and how Teaching Table's digital math manipulatives help to extend the versatility of the iPad in math lessons.

For more information about Teaching Table or to sign up for their Beta version, check out their web site at www.http://teachingtableapp.com.

Current students of all ages are immersed in technology before they ever reach school. There are a wide variety of devices available for teachers to use in classrooms, but how can educators maximize their learning benefits when teaching reading?

Learn how technology can:
- Increase learning
- Get students engaged in lessons
- Maximize learning time
- Track data

In this webinar, you will learn how to engage your students in math class via technology including various Web 2.0 tools and social media. Enhance class discussions with Twitter, increase learning time via screencasts and voice threads, and engage students with collaborative tools like Poll Everywhere. Come learn how to USE technology in your class!

Dr. Peter Jeschofnig, Director of the Institute for Excellence in Distance Science Education and Linda Jeschofnig, CEO of Hands-On Lab’s Inc. have been engaged in distance education for over 20 years and are the authors of Teaching Lab Science Courses Online. They will review current best practices in online instruction, including topics ranging from Course Design, Student Engagement, Discussion Boards, and Alternative Assessments, to Academic Integrity. They will also discuss how these practices are used in teaching laboratory science courses fully online.

A recent analyst report predicts 80% of new Wi-Fi installs will be obsolete within 3 years. Educational institutions are leading the online learning revolution and it is critical that administrators design their networks for success. With millions of iPads, tablets and smartphones being activated daily, you must be able to address both the ever-increasing number of devices as well as how to manage access to the network and applications.

This webinar highlights similarities between two philosophical approaches to learning by exploring not only the implementation of social media within distance learning environments, but also the impact of mobile technology on traditional instructional and learning methodologies.

The overall goal is to identify correlating social influences that impact a student’s capacity for learning in any environment and investigate new methods of distance learning instruction utilizing social media and mobile technology.