web hosting

Ensim Aids in North America’s Largest Single OCS Deployment

Ensim Corporation, a provider of web hosting automation, user provisioning and access control software solutions, announced that it recently provided provisioning and management services for Microsoft OCS (Office Communications Server), speeding up deployment to accommodate customers of more than 150,000 seats.  The move is being described as North America’s largest single OCS deployment in less than 90 days.  Though once delayed, the deployment is on course and Ensim is happy to get things back on track.

Scott Young, Ensim Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, revealed that the deployment of OSC 2007 is often a burden for regulated organizations due the complexities involved with user entitlement policies.  He stated that by deploying the Ensim Unify product, a particular customer was able to solve its provisioning and management problems in under 90 days all while enforcing the security and compliance policies demanded by its user base.  According to Young, the scalability and efficiency of Ensim Unfiy speaks volume when considering the tremendous size of the deployment it supported.

Ensim Unify Enterprise Edition is a fully integrated, role-based access management tool with the ability to be deployed merely for the OCS platform, or across an organization’s entire unified communications infrastructure.  This includes email, instant messaging, collaboration and conferencing.  Its built-in OCS Manager enables companies to reap the benefits of a complete unified communications system without the burden of manual provisioning and tedious management.  The feature integrates with existing ID management solutions to help organizations leverage the new functionality of OCS without straining their IT resources.

Some of the key features Ensim Unify’s OCS Manager offers include:

- The ability to seamlessly integrate complex provisioning polices

- The ability to support multiple provisioning workflows

- Complete Help Desk support on multiple levels

- Comprehensive logging of system activity and transactions

- The ability to automatically manage manual updates on a daily basis.

David J. Wippich, Ensim Corporation CEO and chairman, noted how the Ensim Unify product can be both a productive and cost effective solution.  He stressed that while the ROI which can result from deploying unified communications is substantial, many companies are lost at the deployment stage or find themselves dealing with complicated tasks following deployment.  He explained that the Ensim Unify solves the problem by enabling a fast deployment, automating daily management processes and unrivaled interoperability that makes the most of existing policies and investments that can be extended to unified communications applications such as Microsoft Office Communications Server.

About Ensim Corporation

Founded in 1998, Ensim Corporation is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and the global leading provider of user provisioning and access management software solutions.  Its products are leveraged by enterprise companies and service providers around the world to enable and accelerate the deployment of various integrated solutions, simplifying the management of complex environments through automated functionality while ensuring security and increasing productivity amongst IT teams and users.  Ensim currently has more than two million users under management and that number seems to be growing considerably every quarter.

Options for Your Reseller Software

There is much to consider when choosing a control panel, but one of the most important of all is its user-friendliness.  This is especially true for a reseller as your hosting customers will likely range from newcomers to more advanced users.  An ideal solution would be finding a control panel that bridges that gap between both types of users.  It is understandable that everyone would prefer a control panel which is simple to navigate as it makes it much easier to find the tools and services they need to access.  The control panel market is expanding rapidly, but we have listed some of the best options for your reselling hosting endeavors.

HostFlow

Though a relative newcomer, the HostFlow control panel is quickly shaking up the web hosting control panel market and serving as worthy competition to the industry leading players.  As of now, HostFlow is the only control panel that allows hosts to sell web hosting plans, bulk web services and dedicated servers through both direct and indirect sales channels.  A complete hosting automation system, it supports a number of modules that facilitate server, customer, order and billing management, allowing users to get the most of their reseller business.  If you are a seeking a product with the ability to automate virtually every aspect of the hosting delivery process, HostFlow could the solution for you.

Ensim

The Ensim software makes another great choice for a control panel.  It offers a wide variety of features as well four levels of administration, reseller option included.  Ensim makes it easy to create hosting accounts, manage your clients, monitor bandwidth and much more.  All of your administrative tasks can be handled in far less time as everything goes through a streamlined, centralized interface.  Ensim is known as a very flexible solution that supports both Linux and Windows platforms.

H-Sphere

H-Sphere also runs on both Linux and Windows servers.  This is perhaps one of the most advanced and complex of all web hosting control panels on the market.  The major plus as that the software gives you a lot of power as the features are virtually unlimited.  This software is ideal for experienced users as it streamlines the reselling process with extensive billing options and total automation.  If you want a reseller hosting control panel that does it all, H-Sphere is definitely worth a closer look.

Zervex DSM

While it is not as well known as the other options, Zervex DSM is one control panel that demands attention.  The software has a clean, easy navigable interface that benefits both server administrators and webmasters alike.  Zervex allows you to administer multiple websites or a multitude of servers through a powerful web-based interface.  The software has three levels: Server Administrator, Reseller and End User.  Each interface is identical from a graphical aspect, providing easy to use tools at ever level.  Equipped with the built-in Plug-ins manager, your customers will enjoy the ability to install well over 30 open-source software applications with the click of a button.  Zervex DMS makes a solid choice if you want to give back to your loyal clients.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Ensim

Control panel software is a main fixture in today’s web hosting packages.  These programs are very important as they give you the ability to manage the essential features of your account from adding domains and creating emails accounts to setting up FTP accounts and performing web-based backups.  While cPanel is efficient and rightfully the leading the control panel software, this program is platform specific and can only be used in certain environments.

Ensim is one control panel available for Windows and Linux platforms.  This powerful software is able to cover a wide range of hosting needs from reseller and dedicated server accounts to providing solutions for small businesses and large enterprises.  Although Ensim does offer benefits over popular applications such as cPanel and Plesk, it does have a few drawbacks as well.

Advantages

The Ensim control panel gives you a well designed professional interface.  There are separate sections dedicated to various components for managing your hosting account.  Although most of  the essential features are made accessible on the screen, they are integrated nicely and serve as more than eye candy.

Unlike many control panels, Ensim supports a wide range of operating systems including Web and Standard versions of Windows along with Linux-based systems such as Fedora and RedHat.

Additionally, Ensim offers the same interface for all levels of control.  This enables familiarity for anyone that needs to use a control panel with a combination of root, reseller, end-user and mail user capabilities.

The Ensim control panel is powered by in-house software and doesn’t rely on third-party solutions.  One inclusion is Ensim Power Tools, a program that is comparative to the Fantastico script installer found on cPanel accounts.  Another Ensim tool is the built-in spam filter that performs well with the pre-installed webmail utility.  New versions also include comprehensive reporting tools for viewing critical resources and web stats.

Disadvantages

Despite its professional appearance, one of the biggest knocks on Ensim is that the interface is incredibly difficult to skin.  You can however, incorporate logos for your brand with relative ease.  In this regard, cPanel offers more extensive branding as Ensim has very few skins available.

Another disadvantage of Ensim is that it isn’t as widely installed as cPanel, a factor that presents challenges to the reseller.  This could be a turn off to potential clients who are not aware of the software and its capabilities.  Additionally, end-users may find the interface more difficult to navigate than the simple, yet user-friendly environment of cPanel.  Despite its professional structure, the newer versions of Ensim appear to be more geared for the experienced webmaster.  Fortunately, the software does offer tons of documentation to help you get more familiar with navigation and all the essentials.

Conclusion

As you can see, Ensim does have minimal drawbacks along with a plethora of features that make it a solid choice for web hosting.  The advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages as this control panel has the ability to do what others can’t.  Whether you are looking to dabble with shared hosting or something more flexible such as a VPS, the Ensim software can provide the tools needed to effectively manage your business.

Ensim and Norseman Team Up

Ensim Corporation, collaborative infrastructure and web hosting application provider, recently formed a partnership with Norseman Defense Technologies, a prominent solutions integrator.  The new business relationship was established to offer Ensim’s Unify Enterprise Edition to United States government agencies.  According the agreement, Norsemen Defense Technologies will be responsible for selling and supporting the Ensim Unify Enterprise product to its nationwide client base of organizations in the public sector.

The latest Unify Enterprise helps organizations meet security and other compliance requirements with the enabling of access control, identity and change management, reporting and auditing, password management and fully automated provisioning.

Additionally, the Ensim product offers delegated administration and role management as well as simple configurations for clients and network devices.  Available as a complete suite or individual tools, Ensim Unify Enterprise Edition provides organizations with instant cost savings as the number of help desk calls can be reduced by up to 40%.  Savings can also be enjoyed by reducing or completely eliminating repetitive tasks, a factor that helps to improve productivity and efficiency as IT departments in organizations of various sizes can place emphasis on more strategic tasks.

Norman Defense Technologies Vice President Justin Bonner, states that the speed and flexibility of today’s business economy requires more advanced tools to meet the needs of both small and medium sized organizations.  Already known for delivering quality solutions that exceed its clients expectations, Bonner is confident that the recent partnership with Ensim will only improve Norman’s ability to meet emerging demands and needs.

From Ensim’s point of view, the business relationship with Norseman Defense Technologies is perfect as the firm currently serves many government agencies including the FBI, Navy, The National Institute of Health, FEMA and the U.S. General Services Administration.  Norseman Defense provides these organizations with numerous software and hardware solutions, adding a variety of complimentary services such as custom network and system design, professional consultation, installation and continuous administration, services that round out its fully featured market offering.  The firm will sell and support Ensim’s entire Unify Enterprise suite along with individual modules that include the following:

Microsoft Active Directory Manager: This essential component delivers a greater level of control over Active Directory, facilitating the management of complicate tasks.  The AD Manager dramatically reduces the number of privileged accounts and also prevents unauthorized modifications.

Microsoft Exchange Manager: This Microsoft management component ensures that the Exchange server is properly configured while increasing uptime and automating critical tasks.

Mobility Manager: With the Mobility Manager, organizations can enjoy the easy configuration and management of networked smart phones.

Service and User Manager: This compound module allows corporate employees to easily self-manage assigned tasks from email profiles to distributions lists, reducing calls to the help desk and reliance on the IT staff by up to 50%.

Password Manager: This module allows employees to use a web-based portal to easily reset and manage their own passwords.

Scott Young, Ensim Vice President of marketing and product management, speaks highly of Norseman’s efficiency in terms of delivering high quality solutions to important government agencies.  Young agrees that the partnership will play an integral part in helping Ensim deliver a greater value to its clients.

Ensim Showcases New Unify Enterprise

Ensim Corporation, collaborative infrastructure and web hosting software company, recently gave a demonstration of its latest Unify Enterprise platform this year at the Microsoft Tech ED EMEA IT Professionals Conference.  The event took place in Spain and ran for five days, concluding on November 7.  Labeled as Version 2.5, Ensim Unify Enterprise Edition is structured in a manner that will allow companies to simplify common IT challenges by fully automating the administrative procedures.  This includes provisioning, password and role management and auditing as well as well remaining compliant to Active Directory servers.  Additionally, all Exchange applications can be managed through a secure web-based portal.

Ensim’s latest enterprise product is designed to standardize various procedures using IT policies to provision and provide access control for Active Directory, Exchange and mobile device infrastructure such as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.  The components of Unify Enterprise can be installed as individual tools or as an entire suite, providing a turnkey environment where IT policies can be enforced and administered from a centralized interface, significantly reducing the downtime associated with configuration issues.

Ensim unveiled the power of its complete Unify Enterprise suite at the Centre Conventions International in Barcelona Spain, reportedly at Booth B8.  Some of the features of the new release include the following:

Fine Grain Role Delegation: Allows the role of system administrator to be restricted by organizational unit policies.

Simplified Provisioning: Automatically configures various integrated componets including logon scripts, end user home folders and the home drive.

Customizable Provision Policies: Allows system administrators to customize the creation of user accounts and provision processes.  This is done by making automatic configurations to specified Active Directory attributes as well as validated username patterns.

Ability to Modify and Audit Logs: Lets administrators keep track of changes made to individual objects.

Enhanced Alert Notification: Enables the customization of action reports such as end-user license notifications and usage statistics.

Multiple Domain Controller Support: Allows system administrators to leverage the software’s preferences to access a number of domain controllers.

Unify Enterprise Edition 2.5 is currently available on the Ensim website.  The company is currently offering an upgrade promotion of the standard Ensim Unify Enterprise Edition for NetPro, NetIQ and Quest users on the site as well.  http://www.get.ensom.com)Additionally, any enterprise currently using a competitor’s solution will qualify for a discount when switching to Ensim Unify product.  This promotion will be active up until December 31, 2008.

Microsoft Tech Ed EMEA IT Professionals is Microsoft’s premiere educational conference strictly made for IT professionals.  The 2008 conference runs five days, teaching administrators how to structure, deploy, administer and secure a networked enterprise with tips from Microsoft experts and other industry leaders.

The Ensim Corporation was founded in 1998, delivering products to enterprises and service providers throughout the world.  This company is leading provider of user provision and access control products, well known for its Ensim control panel software.  As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, it has strategic partnerships with several industry leading companies including Accenture, BroadSoft, Hewlett-Packard, Research in Motion and Siemens.