Posts Tagged ‘Citrix’

Enprise acquires Datagate Innovation

April 3, 2014
Datagate acquisition


Mark Loveys and Tim Mulcock

This week Enprise announced its acquisition of Datagate Innovation Limited, which is a Cloud Software Developer that specializes in on-line reporting and billing portals for Hosted Service Providers, Telco’s and Utility Companies.

Following the acquisition, Datagate’s founder, Tim Mulcock is staying on to lead Datagate in the role of Managing Director and he also becomes a significant shareholder in the wider Enprise Group.

Prior to founding Datagate, Tim was a co-founder of EMS Cortex, a global Cloud Control Panel provider for the Cloud/hosting industry – which was acquired by Enprise and subsequently sold to Citrix Corporation in 2011. Tim also has extensive industry experience, gained from working within Telecom New Zealand and also as a co-founder of Bizo – a New Zealand hosted service provider that was later sold to Orcon.

I’m enthusiastic about the synergies between Datagate and Enprise. Datagate will leverage Enprise’s extensive international contacts within the hosting industry (from our time with EMS Cortex) and also leverage our strong background in Business Management and ERP Software. Already, Datagate and Enprise Solutions are talking in unison with common potential customers.

Enprise will also benefit from Datagate’s laser-sharp industry focus on Cloud and Hosted Service Providers – which is a strong global market vertical that Enprise can apply to its international sales channel and ERP-based partnerships.

Specialisation is so important when you’re operating in the large global markets. This will be a strong new focus for Enprise.

Posted in Cloud, Cortex, Datagate, ERP, Multi-tenant, New Zealand IT Industry, Virtualization | Leave a Comment »
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Citrix acquires EMS-Cortex business

February 23, 2011

This week Enprise Group is very pleased to announce that the assets of EMS-Cortex (one of the businesses of the Enprise Group) were acquired by global technology leader, Citrix Systems Inc. Citrix has approximately 5,000 staff worldwide and annual revenues exceeding US $1.8 billion.

We are absolutely delighted with the deal and I think this is a very positive development for all stakeholders in EMS-Cortex including customers, staff, management, shareholders and investors.

Citrix has hired all of the staff from EMS-Cortex and intends to continue developing the Cortex Cloud Control Panel from Auckland New Zealand. The business unit will continue to be led locally by former EMS-Cortex General Manager, Colin Williams, who will in turn report directly to Bill Burley, a Citrix Vice President based in Florida, who is the General Manager of the Citrix Cloud App Delivery Group.

The Cortex Cloud Control Panel, which is used by Hosted Service Providers around the world to provision and manage Cloud applications, is now owned by one of the world’s most innovative and respected technology leaders.

Another outcome of this deal is that it will result in Citrix having a bigger presence in New Zealand in the form of a local development arm. I’m optimistic that this will result in a further New Zealand-based jobs and opportunities being created going forward.

It is great to see our investors, who include TMT Ventures and the NZVIF realise a great return on their investment in EMS-Cortex and the Enprise Group. The millions of dollars returned to them through this EMS-Cortex deal will no doubt end up being re-invested back into the New Zealand IT industry, creating further jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders.

I look forward to seeing the EMS-Cortex team and the Cortex Cloud Control Panel go from strength to strength as part of the global Citrix business. For my part, I shall now be focusing my energies on the remaining two great businesses of the Enprise Group; Enprise New Zealand and Enprise Software.

For Citrix’s perspective, refer to the blog of Vice President and General Manager, Citrix Cloud App Delivery Group, Bill Burley.

Enprise Press Release re EMS Cortex and Citrix

NZ Herald, 9th March 2011 – US giant shows the Lovey with buy out

Posted in Cloud, Cortex, Multi-tenant, Virtualization | 1 Comment »
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Citrix Technology is a Key Success Driver for the Cloud & Service Providers

June 18, 2010

EMS Cortex has always supported and been a strong advocate of Citrix products and technology because we believe that a truly successful Cloud strategy requires that ALL of a business’s applications reside in the Cloud – not just some of them.

Given that so many business applications are based on Microsoft Windows and given that Citrix is the technology & market leader in delivering scalable, efficient and reliable remote access & virtualization to Windows applications and desktops, it’s hardly surprising the so many of our Service Provider partners are also Citrix Service Provider partners.

We see our product Cortex as the “Single Pane of Glass” that provisions and manages all of the popular Microsoft applications (such as Exchange, Sharepoint, CRM, OCS etc) along with the nearly infinite list of applications that can be delivered using Citrix XenApp technology.

During the last couple of months, EMS Cortex has been working more closely with Citrix and in particular with Scott Swanburg, who heads the Citrix Service Provider program.

See what Scott and Citrix Engineers have to say about EMS Cortex in this Blog.

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How ERP will be Sold, Deployed and Supported in the New Decade

April 22, 2010

Speaking as someone who is involved in the global SME ERP Industry through Enprise NZ and Enprise Software, involved in the Cloud Control Panel & Hosting industry through EMS-Cortex and involved in the Business Messaging and Social Media Industry through Datasquirt; here is my prediction of how ERP Software will be sold in the new decade that we are now entering;

Sales Process

  • Firstly, the prospective customer will search the Internet for an ERP Solution and ERP Reseller that look suitable for their type of business. This will involve the use of a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo and would include searches of web sites and various Social Media including Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube, Facebook and others.
  • The prospective customer will then contact the ERP Reseller via Email, Instant Message, Voice Call or Social Media Tweet, asking for more information and a demonstration of the ERP solution.
  • An initial consultation/discussion will follow via Email, Voice Call, Social Media etc to determine whether the fit between the ERP Solution and the customer requirements is such that a product demo is warranted.
  • The ERP Reseller will then set up a temporary demonstration ERP solution in the Cloud using their own portal in the Cortex Cloud Control Panel. The demonstration system would be a clean installation of the ERP demo, complete with its own clean virtual database server and (optional) desktop environment. The exact solution, including add-on industry vertical components and temporary user accounts can be selected and configured in the Cortex portal. This demo system would be provisioned, up and running within minutes of being requested on the portal and would be set to last for a predetermined duration for the purposes of the demonstration.
  • The ERP Reseller would then either visit the prospective customer and demonstrate the ERP solution on-site (geography permitting) using a computer connected to the Internet or will demonstrate via a web meeting tool such as GoToMeeting or WebEx.
  • The prospective customer might then want to spend further time trying out various aspects of the demonstration system after the ERP Reseller has finished demonstrating it. If the ERP Reseller agrees to this then they can arrange for the demonstration system to be kept alive in the Cloud for a longer duration to enable the prospective customer to continue with their own trial use of the system.
  • If/when the prospective customer decides to purchase the ERP system, the ERP Reseller would go back into their portal on the Cortex Control Panel, delete the demonstration system and configure a new live ERP system. The company and user names would be entered into the Cortex portal and also any additional up-sell items would also be included, such as Exchange Email accounts, SharePoint, Blackberry, VOIP accounts, Backups, Firewalls, Hosted Desktops (eg XenApp, XenDesktop), Payroll Access etc.
  • Application licensing information would be sent via Web Services to the respective vendors (eg Microsoft, Citrix, SAP, MYOB etc) and licences would be generated and applied back to the new hosted system via web services.
  • The Cloud-delivered ERP solution is now live, up and running. The ERP Reseller’s consultants can now access the system to configure the ERP Solution to the requirements of the customer.
  • The ERP Solution is now live in the Cloud and can be accessed from anywhere via the Internet. This includes all the branch and home locations of the customer as well as the ERP Reseller and the ERP and other software vendors.

Applying Upgrades and Patches to the ERP System

Prior to a new upgrade or patch being applied to a live ERP system, it must be tested against the individual customer’s data and processes to ensure that the software changes work correctly and cause no disruption to the business.

To enable this testing process, the ERP Reseller will go into their portal of the Cortex Control Panel and request a temporary test copy of the live ERP Environment. This enables the ERP Reseller’s consultants, in conjunction with the customer’s staff, to test the new software version and identify any possibly reconfiguration issues on the test system.

Once the testing process is completed and signed off, the ERP Reseller can go back into their portal of the Cortex Control Panel and apply the upgrade to the live system. They can also delete the test system when they are finished with it.

Support

Support of the ERP System by the ERP Reseller and the ERP Vendor is a lot easier, more efficient and less costly under this new model for the following reasons;

  • Because the ERP System and its virtual operating environment was provisioned by Cortex, it would be done the same every time, using best practices, using the correct program versions and configuration. These things are therefore known to the support personnel and not subject to variation.
  • The support personnel have quick and easy remote access to the hosted ERP solution (subject to permission from the customer to access their system and data).

The model works better for everyone involved in the ERP system sale. The customer, the ERP Reseller and the ERP and other software vendors.

The Customer gets:

  • Extended Access to a Demo System
  • Reduced Capital Outlay
  • Faster Implementation
  • Reduced management overhead of looking after local server & infrastructure

The ERP Reseller gets:

  • Up-sell opportunities
  • Faster Implementation – freeing up time to sell more!
  • Repeatable Cookie Cutter implementations
  • Easier to Support

The Vertical Solution Vendor gets:

  • Opportunity to list solutions on the Cortex Portal
  • Easier Support on a Known Environment

The ERP Vendor gets:

  • Faster Implementations = More Sales
  • Easier & Less Expensive Support
  • Better Product Performance in a Correct Known Environment

Posted in Cloud, Communication, Cortex, Datasquirt, Enprise Job Costing, ERP, Multi-tenant, MYOB EXO, SAP Business One, Sap Isv, Virtualization | 1 Comment »
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Cloud is a Paradigm Shift for Business Applications

April 5, 2010

Cloud Computing is the most significant paradigm shift to happen to the business software applications industry since the wide-scale adoption of Personal Computers and MS-DOS by businesses in the 1980’s.

After being predicted for many years, the paradigm shift is happening now and is being driven by;

  • Real economic and practical requirements of businesses around the world (influenced in part by the recent global economic downturn).
  • Major technology advances and economies in Cloud delivery infrastructure.
  • Shifting attitudes of business people towards widespread usage of the Internet.

None of the above drivers is a constant. Each is getting stronger as time goes on. From my involvement in the Cloud and applications industries, I believe we are now starting to experience the tipping point.

Paradigm shifts create winners and losers. Business models are changing and what worked in the past and present, may not work in future.

Those in the business software industry that don’t embrace the new world of the Cloud fast enough will be left behind and pay a heavy price. Those that are quicker, stand to make the gains of what a paradigm change has to offer – and this can potentially be a huge win.

The good news for many business application developers is that their applications need not be browser-based nor multi-tenanted to operate successfully in the Cloud. Conventional Windows applications can be delivered economically in the Cloud using technologies such as Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop or Terminal Services and “virtual multi-tenanting”, achieving savings on hardware costs, can be achieved using virtual servers. Servers are now more economical to run as Hosted Virtual Servers using virtualization technologies from Microsoft and Citrix, such as XenServer and Hyper-V. A Hosted Virtual Server can be considerably less expensive over its lifetime than an on-premise Hardware Server.

The good news for Hosted Service Providers is that they can get to market faster with new Cloud virtualization technologies and application delivery offerings using a smart provisioning solution such as Cortex from EMS-Cortex. With Cortex, Hosted Service Providers can be up and running within days, reinvented as “Cloud Providers” and in time to capture the new opportunities.

Business Application Software Vendors need to team up with “Cloud Providers” for a win-win collaboration in the Cloud. The market and the technology is ready!

Posted in Cloud, Cortex, ERP, Multi-tenant, Virtualization | Leave a Comment »
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Cloud Control Panel is the New Channel for Hosted Apps

March 29, 2010

Apart from the fact that global sales of the Cortex V8 Cloud Control Panel are at an all-time high, there is another aspect of this product that I find quite exciting. That is, the growing channel-to-market for hosted applications that is offered by Cortex’s expanding base of Cloud Service Providers around the world.

Cortex is used by Cloud Service Providers to provision and manage applications, services and infrastructure (such as virtual servers, web servers, back-up systems, DNS etc) that they deploy in their Clouds. Without Cortex, the Cloud Providers would either need to hire an army of system engineers to manually provision and manage their hosted offerings to their customers, or they would need to develop their own bespoke Cloud Control Panel. Cortex is popular because both of these alternatives are potentially very costly and involve significant business risk.

Not only is the base of Cortex users growing, but the base of supported applications is also growing rapidly. Cortex’s main “bread and butter” applications are Microsoft Hosted Exchange, SharePoint, Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop, MS SQL Server, MS IIS, MS CRM, Blackberry, Backup Agent and Hyper-V or XenServer. These are common to most Service Providers, but more and more the envelope is being stretched to include ERP, CRM, Accounting, Payroll, Hosted Office and other business applications.

Cortex provides an API/SDK, so that third parties can add support for other applications. Software companies around the world are realizing that getting their applications added to the Cortex application list gets them potential global exposure through Cortex’s expanding user base.

From another perspective; the increasing base of Cortex’s supported applications is also opening up new channels to market for its Cloud Service Provider clients. Cortex’s delegated-administration capability lets application resellers or channel partners have their own branded Cloud Control Panels from which they can provision and deploy hosted applications on demand – selling the services of the Cloud Providers in the process.

So I believe that the Cortex Cloud Control Panel is the connection between two worlds – the Cloud and Software Channel Businesses (such as ERP & CRM). Exciting stuff!

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Cortex Provisioning Optimizes ERP Cloud Delivery for Partner Channels

March 24, 2010

A combination of strategic features in EMS-Cortex’s “Cortex version 8.x” Provisioning System and Citrix’s new XenApp and XenDesktop product lines enables Managed Service Providers to add significant value to the offerings of existing global SME-focused ERP Partner Channels. The combined technologies enable complex ERP applications to be delivered in a fast, templated, repeatable, “cookie-cutter” approach which is provisioned and managed on-demand by the ERP partner and/or the customer’s IT department from their own branded provisioning portal.

The Cortex product enables Service Providers to delegate administration of provisioning and management of hosted solutions to resellers and reseller channels. It can also provision from a quick & simple process, the ERP application together with a selected template database, vertical solution add-ons, virtual servers, SQL database server and other business support applications such as email, SharePoint, CRM, VOIP etc. This facilitates up-sell opportunities for the ERP partners to sell a complete Cloud based offering, as well as the ability to quickly deploy temporary demonstration and pilot test environments.

Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop technologies enable Windows applications (most of the popular SME ERP applications are of this format) to be deployed through the Internet in a similar way to web-based applications. Furthermore, Citrix XenServer (or Microsoft Hyper-V) enables the full virtualization of each customer’s Private Cloud, which means the ERP Partner can customize the ERP solution in a similar way to an on-premise configuration.

The end-result is a win-win-win situation for the customer, the ERP Partner and the Cloud Provider.

The customer benefits from reduced capital outlay, a quicker time to value and a more professionally managed environment for mission critical servers and databases.

The ERP partner benefits from faster, repeatable, cookie-cutter deployments giving a known and easily accessible operating environment – meaning quicker delivery times, easier support access and the ability to up-sell complementary Cloud services.

The Cloud Provider or MSP gets a new channel to market where ERP channel partners are now selling their Cloud services.

My prediction is that over the next 12 months we will see a dramatic shift to the Cloud with SME ERP deployments. EMS-Cortex, Citrix and Microsoft will be key players in making this happen.

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Introducing EMS-Cortex

March 20, 2010

EMS-Cortex is a business unit of the Enprise Group, based in Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand and very much focused on delivering its Cloud Provisioning system “Cortex” to the Hosted Service Providers of the world.

Cortex is fast becoming a very important and popular product within the world of the largest Hosted Service Providers and is working in close partnership with software giants, Microsoft and Citrix to deliver cutting edge virtual cloud infrastructure solutions.

As CEO of the Enprise Group, I’m very proud of EMS-Cortex and the amazing progress it has been making in the global world of the Cloud.  The Cortex team are extremely dedicated and talented and the product is without doubt the world leader in its class.  We are in fact now stretched to keep up with global demand for the product and you will find Cortex customers amongst the largest, leading service providers in every corner of the world.

People outside the Hosting industry regularly ask me the simple question, “What does Cortex do?” and I still feel quite challenged to construct a simple answer that is easy to understand yet still technically accurate.

Below is my best effort to date to describe what the Cortex product is;

Cortex is a browser-based software package used by Cloud Providers, Telcos, Internet Hosting Companies and Large Corporations to manage and automate the provisioning of hosted applications, hosted services, infrastructure, customers and users in their hosted environments.

Without a product like Cortex, these businesses that manage large numbers of users, services, applications etc would require a large team of network engineers to manually manage, configure and install applications, user accounts, passwords, environments, virtual servers etc.  Cortex automates all of this and makes it quick and easy.

Applications most commonly provisioned by Cortex are Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, CRM, Blackberry, Citrix Desktops, Microsoft IIS, SQL Server, Backup Agent, Hyper-V and other business applications including CRM, ERP, Payroll etc. An SDK is available to enable third parties to add their own software to the Cortex offerings.

Cortex portals, complete with on-line web store are typically configured to look like part of the Service Provider’s own web site and can optionally enable customers and resellers to provision their own applications, systems and users.

Stay tuned for my future posts on EMS-Cortex, because some exciting things are going to happen in this business this year…

EMS-Cortex Web Site

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