We have acquired many new clients in 2009, some in new sectors such as Biotech and Scientific Research (outside of our historical finance and telecoms verticals). We have seen increasing crossover between our security work and the data centre practice, as clients seek to protect their estates "post-consolidation", and vendors introduce virtual versions of traditional hardware appliances for Email, Web, and Network security.
Positive Numbers:
- New client intake up 25%
- Average engagement size up by 30%
- 25% of engagements were with existing clients
- No bad debts
Looking Forward
2010 is already shaping up to be a busy year.
- Security Assessments & Investigations
Much of the large scale fraud and corruption which flourished in the global boom is now being brought to light under greater scrutiny and regulation. This has lead to an increase in inquiries for our post-incident clean-up services. The impact of the downturn on organised crime was the subject of a recent Wilton Park Conference hosted by the Home Office.
- Virtualization
Early adopters of Virtualization are now looking to maximise their firepower through increased VM density and dedicated virtual appliances. Microsoft's (Hyper-V) entrance into the market, and continued focus of Citrix (XenServer), is putting this technology within reach of the small to medium enterprise, and small departmental projects in large companies. Both products are now completely free. Of course VMware is not going away, and is still present in about 80% of our clients estates.
- Desktop Delivery
- No hardware refresh necessary
- No loss of end user productivity
- Easy swap-over, parallel running, rollback
- Reduced risk of application incompatibility
Microsoft has announced that from July 13, 2010, it will close down the support for Windows XP SP2. That's only 7 months away. Some security critical patches will be made available for XP up to 2014, but it is Microsoft's intention to upgrade all business users to Windows 7 that did not previously adopt Vista (so...everyone then) as soon as possible. At 360is we suggest clients give very serious consideration to whether or not they bother attempting a traditional roll out of Windows 7 to physical desktops, or whether they adopt a virtual desktop strategy for the new OS. Deploying Windows 7 as a virtual desktop has many benefits:
360is Business Model
Our roots in IT security always kept us vendor neutral. It's widely acknowledged that a multi-vendor, multi-technology strategy is best when securing large complex infrastructures. We are still convinced that vendor-neutral is the right way to be, not just for security projects but also for our data centre practice. Whether its VMware, Citrix, Microsoft, or a technology embedded in the next generation of CPUs. Our focus remains on professional services and expertise above software and hardware sales. Clients work with us because of what we know, not because of our position in the hierarchy or because they are forced by distribution and purchasing restrictions.
In 2010 we shall continue to deploy our capabilities in the sole interest of our clients to find the right solution to their challenges.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy (and prosperous) New Year.
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