Tomorrow marks VISI’s 15th anniversary. It is fitting that VISI was founded on Halloween Day — day in and day out, the people of VISI demonstrate a youthful energy and enthusiasm. This liveliness abounds in the office on Halloween with our annual costume contest and chili cook-off. With Halloween comes comradery, and VISI has always been about the people.

The people of VISI are what make VISI special. It always has been this way and always will be. Just like any trick-or-treat bag is full of a wonderful assortment of candy, the people of VISI bring a variety of flavor to the office. It takes all sorts of personalities and skill sets to make a successful company. I am very proud of everyone who works at VISI or has contributed in the last 15 years. They are truly what makes VISI a special and wonderful place to work.

Thank you everyone and have a Happy Halloween!

P.S. To help you get to know our staff, marketing has put together a special 15th anniversary video. Check it out below!

“Show don’t tell,” is what I was always told in elementary school English class. While I don’t think my teacher meant create a video, I hope she would still be proud. As technology becomes increasingly complex, the ability to demonstrate key concepts and ideas via the web has been extremely valuable for me. I hope this video providing an overview of our VDS in the Cloud product, based on VMware, is equally valuable for you. Enjoy!

Please visit visi.com/business/cloud/vdsinthecloud.aspx for more information on our VDS in the Cloud product.

I want to thank all who attended our webinar, Microsoft Exchange: Comparing Hosted vs. In-house Deployments this past Wednesday. The questions that followed the presentation were excellent and I’d like to thank all those who contributed. Two topics really resonated in the questions that I wanted to reinforce with this blog post. One, how are mobile Blackberry devices are supported and two, what if variables in the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) example were different.

Blackberry devices are an increasingly valuable tool for connecting a mobile workforce. A few things to keep in mind if you want full push-access between Exchange and a Blackberry device. Integration needs to take place between Exchange and a Blackberry server to experience the full push. A hosted Exchange provider includes this integration, without the purchase of Blackberry or Exchange server licenses, in the monthly device fees.

A TCO model is a good baseline to understand all the elements required to purchase, implement and operate a system. It is well applied in looking at Exchange, as it is more than just buying a server license and hardware. To make the right decision for your organization, you need to understand all the costs - direct, indirect and opportunity - associated with an in-house Exchange deployment. All costs structures are different and the TCO model used in the webinar (and available in the follow up whitepaper) provides you with the framework to plug-in your costs and make the right decision for you business.

You can download the entire presentation here. Download the Total Cost of Ownership White Paper here.

When VISI decided to transition completely into Exchange 2007, I thought the move was fantastic. It was the best thing for a business with all of its new functionality and options that were not available with Exchange 2003. Then I had an unexpected series of hectic phone calls, which changed my viewpoint of who should use Exchange.

We all live hectic lives. The more successful we are, the less time it seems we have. This was the case a few weeks ago when I got a phone call from a gentleman–let’s name him Bob–who first called me from the middle of a shopping mall during his lunch break. He was multitasking–trying to find information on Exchange 2007 while picking up his dry cleaning. He learned a few pieces of Exchange hosting and SharePoint information before having to hurry off.

The next day, Bob called me from his kid’s soccer game, just before parent/teacher conferences. He wanted to know if there was anything missing from his knowledge of Exchange and its benefits to his small company. We were discussing web-based Exchange and calendar options when he had an epiphany. Bob realized he could use Exchange on his family domain in order to better organize time with his kids. Family means a lot to Bob and now that he is on Exchange, he is happier than ever. He uses the calendar and meeting functions to organize who has sports practice and recitals when, and even to ask his kids to meet up for some family time over dinner. Bob has found a way to utilize the many new technology options to bring him and his family closer together than ever before, while de-cluttering life a little.

Bob, thanks for opening my eyes a little more.

I enjoyed the discussion earlier today for all who attended our webinar on Server Replication, VISI’s new disaster recovery product.

If you missed the presentation or would like to go over the slides again, feel free to download the presentation below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or our sales department at 612.395.9090.

Server Replication Webinar Download (PDF)