CPR e.news - November/December 2011



Hybrid Cloud Computing - a better solution for Small Businesses?

The Microsoft Big Easy Offer is Back!

Holiday Hours

CPR Learning Center Specials

Upcoming Events:
•	ITMA December monthly meeting
•	Embracing the Cloud with Hybrid Cloud Storage webinar
•	Leverage the Power of the Cloud with Office 365 webinar
•	Hands Free I.T. - Technology Advantage & Cloud Solutions Webinar

Phone Numbers: Grand Rapids: 616.575.8500 Kalamazoo: 269.375.9094 www.cprgr.com Follow us on these social media sites:

Hybrid cloud computing – a better solution for small businesses? As the challenges with cloud computing present themselves, so do various solutions from the industry. One of the solutions that has many benefits for small businesses is known as hybrid cloud computing.
Hybrid cloud computing uses a combination of local (in your office) service delivery and storage and the cloud to deliver the best of both worlds to small businesses. By having local storage and service delivery of certain aspects of the information technology equation, small businesses get more responsive, reliable performance while still getting the scalability and redundancy of cloud computing.
Is (hybrid) cloud computing right for your business? For a number of reasons, a growing number of small businesses are deciding to move some or nearly all of their information technology services to cloud or hybrid cloud solutions. Request a copy of our white paper, "The Small Business Guide to Cloud Computing" to learn about the benefits and risks associated with moving to the cloud. Contact us if you are interested in an evaluation of your current and future business information technology needs; we’ll help you determine if cloud computing would be a good fit.

The Microsoft Big Easy Offer is Back! Microsoft’s Big Easy Offer 7 rewards you for simplifying your IT infrastructure, freeing you up to focus on what’s most important – your business.
How does The Big Easy Offer 7 help my business? A comprehensive solution can seem out of reach for most small to mid-sized organizations. Most are accustomed to purchasing products and solutions piecemeal, and postponing planned upgrades or refreshes due to budget constraints.
With the Big Easy Offer 7, you can earn partner subsidy funds, which can be used for additional purchases of software, hardware or services from your Microsoft Reseller Partner – a welcome injection to your IT budget. Microsoft’s Big Easy Offer 7 includes cloud services, which help businesses to access scalable and reliable applications while lessening the burden of provisioning and maintenance – saving money and simplifying IT management. How do I take advantage of the Big Easy Offer 7?
•	Make a qualifying purchase between September 19, 2011 and December 31, 2011.
•	Redeem your purchase within 30 days of purchase date at http://www.microsoftincentives.com/BigEasy/redeem.aspx.
•	Receive your partner subsidy check from Microsoft.
•	Spend your subsidy funds with your Microsoft partner (such as CPR) upon receipt. Please note that subsidy funds expire after 90 days of the check issue date.
For more information on this program, visit http://www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy or contact CPR for complete details.

Holiday Hours
CPR extends a heartfelt thank you to all of our customers this Holiday Season. We appreciate your friendship, your loyalty, your commitment to local services, and your business. We look forward to serving you in 2012.

In observation of the holiday season, CPR will be closed on Monday, December 26th and on Monday, January 2nd.

Special Training Offers

For the most up to date list of upcoming events, seminars and webinars, visit our Events page on our website at http://www.gocorptech.com/IT-consultants-seminars.php

ITMA November Meeting - Identity & Access Management
Thursday, December 8, 20118:00am – 12:00pm
Location: CPR's offices, Grand Rapids, MI

December’s meeting will focus on a topic that is top of mind with many businesses - Cloud Computing. Michael Thompson, President & CEO of Information Technology Partners (ITP) will highlight various client case studies and experiences implementing cloud solutions. Tim Dechant, Director of Technology, will provide an update and lessons learned by W.K. Kellogg Foundation's technology model. Finally we will share member experiences in a facilitated discussion on ideas, experiences and lessons learned.

If you'd like to receive email invitations to upcoming meetings, contact Melissa Engle or call (616)464-9720.

Embracing the Cloud with Hybrid Cloud Storage webinar
featuring the StorSimple solution
Tuesday, December 13, 2011

10:00am – 11:00am

StorSimple is an enterprise cloud storage appliance that provides: Primary Storage, Automatic Archiving, Backup/Restore and Disaster Recovery – In One Box Integrated to the cloud. Please join us for a free webinar on “Enterprise Cloud Storage.” There will be a live demonstration showing how you can securely integrate the cloud into your enterprise applications in ten minutes and perform offsite data protection and disaster recovery

Leverage the Power of the Cloud with Office 365 webinar Wednesday, December 14, 2011 10:30am – 11:30am
You need your people to be connected and collaborative when in and out of the office. Office 365 brings together SharePoint, Exchange, Lync, and Office in an always-up-to-date cloud service. Please join us for our Cloud Services webinar on December 14th, and let us give you a demo of Office 365 and the benefits it offers.

Hands Free I.T. - Technology Advantage & Cloud Solutions Webinar
Wednesday, December 21, 201112:00pm – 12:30pm Eastern Time

There is a lot of talk about “moving to the cloud” these days. Corporate Technologies has a portfolio of services that are uniquely tailored to meet the needs of small to medium sized businesses.
Learn how many functions of technology can be securely and affordably managed remotely. This 30-minute webinar will demystify the cloud and provide a clear vision how lean businesses are managing and maintaining their technology while focusing on growing their businesses.

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