Happy Holidays!

All of us at NER wish you a very happy holiday season. We would like to thank our customers and business partners for their support in 2013 and look forward to a healthy and prosperous new year!

This year we delivered revolutionary technological advancements with our Print4 Managed Print Services and changed the way critical environments monitor and visually represent temperature with Aurora High Resolution Temperature Sensing Strips. Just wait and see what we have in store for you in 2014!

Please make a note of NER's Holiday Schedule:
- Closed Wednesday 12/25 - Merry Christmas!
- Closed Wednesday 1/1 - Happy New Year!

DCiM with Facial Recognition!

Below is an excerpt from a recent Communication from Greg Stover, NER’s Senior VP and Data Center Efficiency Expert. We would like to hear your thoughts on DCiM and where it is on your radar.

EMERSON/LIEBERT/AVOCENT NEWS:

Trellis Power System Manager (PSM) now gives deeper visualization of the power system, its utilization, and dependencies. View the data center the way that an electrical engineer looks at the data center. Users can see the complete power chain from the grid to the rack via a dynamic one-line diagram. PSM lets users document the complete power system, view capacity utilization in real-time and forecast energy consumption.

Trellis Mobile Suite App/Module adds capabilities that greatly enhance management on the floor via mobile device (iPAD/tablets etc). The app significantly simplifies inventory management; especially the process of getting the data into the tool. This unique and innovative technology reads barcodes and even has facial recognition type capabilities to identify servers for you (yes really)! Now you can take Trellis anywhere 7/24/365!

Trellis™ Platform Express Edition offers the benefits of data center infrastructure management (DCIM) in a budget friendly, streamlined and simplified delivery model. For small and medium sized businesses and/or those having difficulty understanding how DCIM will benefit their organization, the Express Edition is a bundled offering of existing Trellis platform functionality pre-configured to your requirements. Key advantages include a simplified ordering process and bundled packaging of functionality, making it quick and easy to deploy. And of course the Trellis Platform Express Edition scales and flexes as your data center needs grow.

Whether you are all-in on deploying a DCiM solution, wanting to stick your toe in the water and/or trying to understand how DCiM might impact and improve your organization, you really need to do your due diligence by evaluating Emerson’s TRELLIS PLATFORM and DCIM offering. To truly reap the benefits of DCiM you need to view it as a process, not a single point in time event. NER and its partners offer the best support, programs and pricing for the Emerson Trellis Platform. Contact Greg Stover at gstover@nerdata.com to setup a demo.

Enhanced Aurora Management System Revolutionizes Temperature Monitoring

Enterprise Edition, Sensor Grouping and Diverse Thermographic Mapping improves the user experience

 
One year ago NER Data Corporation (NER) launched  the patent-pending Aurora High Resolution Temperature Sensing Strip which changed the way critical environments monitor and visually represent temperature at the cabinet level. Today NER announced significant enhancements that bring higher levels of visualization and management to the Aurora Management System. All of the new features are included in the existing hosted (cloud-based) version and in a new Enterprise (local) version.  The Enterprise edition enables organizations to deploy and run the Management System locally on their own servers.

A new Sensor Grouping feature provides the ability to group and order sensors in any configuration. With Sensor Grouping, onscreen sensors can easily be arranged to exactly match physical strip deployments. Another notable enhancement is Diverse Thermographic Sensor Mapping. Unlike single point sensors, Aurora Strips have 8 temperature sensors that take readings at 8 height stratifications. With Diverse Thermographic Sensor Mapping, users can quickly view any single stratification on a map or can click “Scan” to automatically scroll through all of the stratifications levels.

Additional new features include:

• Improved Icon Scaling that provides better views of sensor icons when zooming in and out
• Increased Screen Resolution that allows for more sensors, list details, and “At a Glance” views to be displayed onscreen
• A Gateway Sensor List that allows users to assign specific sensors to specific gateways. 

When launched Dec. 2012, the Aurora High Resolution Temperature Sensing Strip revolutionized how facilities view temperature. The strip has eight sensors spaced vertically eight inches apart that collect readings at eight different height levels. Temperatures readings are visually displayed on the strip through high resolution LEDs that range from cool (blue) to hot (red) and a blend of 129 colors in between. Data from these readings are sent to the Management System through a gateway for trending and alerting purposes.

“There is no comparison to the visual aspect of these high resolution strips,” said Robert Huttemann, Vice President at NER. “The Management System enhancements bring that high visual aspect to the user interface along with the flexibility to model the user’s exact environment – from row to row and from top to bottom similar to a CFD.”

Huttemann further adds, “Data Centers are dynamic environments with temperature being a critical aspect, so Aurora’s instantaneous and accurate representation is invaluable when monitoring changes or validating best-practice improvements. Whether you are looking down the aisle, viewing the user interface, receiving automated alerts, or collecting trending data, with Aurora potential issues in critical spaces will not go unnoticed.”

Additional enhancements scheduled for release later this month include a New Aurora Ethernet Gateway for ModBus over IP and SNMP support. NER manufactures Aurora in the US and is currently accepting orders for immediate delivery. For more information about NER’s products and services, visit www.nerdata.com.

Happy Thanksgiving

A great big thank you to all of our customers, resellers, and business partners!  All of at NER wish for you a Thanksgiving filled with good food and good times with family and friends. In celebration of Thanksgiving, our office will be closed November 28–29.   

Have safe and happy holiday!

You're Still Here

10, 20, 30… what do these numbers represent besides the fact that I can count by ten?  Stability, Growth, Transformation, Leadership, Innovation.

Recently I received an email congratulating Heather Hirst on 15 years of service at NER.  Heather, a Program Manger in our Print4 MPS division who has worn many hats over the years, brings a carpe diem attitude ever day.  The email made me think about Heather and others in the organization – how long they have been here, how their roles have changed, why do they keep coming back, and how we are better because they do.  This year Steve Oatway, NER’s President and COO hit 25 years, and Greg Stover, Senior VP of Sales hit 30 years.  Significant anniversaries and yet there are many more in the organization with similar tenure, some even longer!

Numerous studies show the benefits and challenges of long tenured employees. Some challenge that long tenure, especially in leadership roles, can lead to organizational compliancy and stagnation; NER is not a case study for that finding. Started in 1971 as a printer ribbon manufacturer, NER has transformed over the years into one of the leading high tech companies that is breaking new ground in Managed Print Services and Data Center Infrastructure Optimization Solutions (two mission critical businesses that are not for the complacent or faint of heart).

So how did NER get to where it is today?  A significant factor can be attributed to leaders and employees who exemplify the benefits of long-tenured employees (items listed below are taken from a leading HR study).

Long tenure employees provide:

·         focus on innovation and growth as opposed a state of uncertainty

·         a high level of productivity that is maintained because time is not lost in bringing new employees up to speed

·         strategic planning that is guided by their knowledge and experience

·         input to help avoid repeating past mistakes

·         mastery of their own job tasks and are key candidates for cross-training, which makes the company more productive and flexible

·         mentoring and training of others, which prove beneficial to all parties: the person mentored develops new skills, the experienced employee feels appreciated and gains a fresh point of view, and the company grows

By leveraging our tenured resources and the fresh perspectives from new employees, NER is able to perfect what it offers today while continually looking for new innovations in products, services, and business ventures.  Recently we launched the Aurora High Resolution Temperature Strip, a new product that revolutionizes thermal monitoring/alerting in critical spaces.  Our Print4 MPS applications are in constant state of development to bring new features that take advantage of new technologies in document management.

So what does it mean to our vendors, resellers and their end-user customers? Access to a wealth of knowledge and experience that benefits everything we offer: product/solution development, customer support, business assessments, business transactions, etc.  When you work with NER you work with true industry experts AND most likely you work with the same experts each time you engage us.

So why do we stay?  Simple... it’s a great company with a bright future that has outstanding people; it’s like family (the good kind…not the crazy uncle).  When I started here, I overhead someone say “I could never work at a company where I don’t believe in what they do”. That was over 15 years ago and that person is still at NER. So I’d like to close with a few notable mentions…

·         30+ years – Lori Down, Curt Gerhart, Greg Stover, Sharon Stowman

·         20+ years – Sue Aresnault, Robert Belvin, Susan Davis, Linda Haas, Rob Huttemann, Steve Oatway, David Wieting

·         10+ years – Heather Hirst, Chris Oatway, Mike Walsh,

These people have made significant contributions over the years, but it is important to acknowledge everyone in this company, especially the newer employees who bring fresh ideas and perspectives. Combining the old with the new makes NER the industry leader that is today. Check us out and you will see why we keep coming back.

NER Infrastructure Upgrades Benefit Customers

Network Improvements Provide Increased Capacity and Resilience for Services Offering

 
NER announced the completion of key upgrades to NER’s internal processing network and Print4 MPS platform. The upgraded infrastructure significantly increases NER’s capacity, provides for faster provisioning of services, and adds higher levels of resiliency. The completed project boosts NER’s business model of installing, testing, and implementing innovative managed services technologies with a reduced time to market.

“We invest heavily in supporting infrastructure to stay ahead of demand and to provide the optimal platform for ongoing development,” said Steve Oatway, President and COO at NER. “We lead the market in MPS program capabilities by staying focused on our requirements to continually store, manage, analyze, and present more data in the most efficient, functional way possible. Customers depend on NER’s SaaS-based solutions and managed services for business optimization; our investment ensures uninterrupted access to the best tools available.”

The upgrades provide a substantial increase in NER’s network capacity, and businesses that depend on NER’s services will benefit from improvements that include:

• Standardization on a robust VMware that quadruples processing capacity
• Increased redundancy removes any single point of failure to ensure availability
• Increased scalability accommodates future growth through dynamic processing and capacity upgrades
• Enhanced backup and disaster recovery plan that provides better Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

“As a business partner of NER, Atlantic is excited with the recent technology upgrades and infrastructure investments,” said Bill McLaughlin, CTO and Vice President of Managed Services at Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office. “By utilizing a VM environment, NER consolidated the number of physical pieces of hardware, reduced any potential single point of failure, and created automated failover with resiliency and high availability. As a partner who utilizes their MPS technology, it gives us peace of mind knowing there is a scalable platform for long term growth.”
 
The latest network upgrades support NER’s Data Center Infrastructure Optimization Division and Print 4 MPS Division, which just released a version upgrade of their Print4 MPS Online Portal Nov. 8, 2013.

NER Upgrades Print4™ Online for Managed Print Services

Enhancements extend functionality of the CMC single point of control interface

NER Data Corporation (NER) announced today the release of user enhancements to the Print4 Online Management Portal -- the core application that provides resellers and end-users dynamic fleet management and optimization capabilities. This release gives users improved Client Management Console (CMC) features that further enhance MPS management of all devices.

Key Enhancements Include:

• Comprehensive single-screen visibility of Contracted and Not-on-Contract (NOC) devices inside the CMC
• New single-click management of NOC devices from within the CMC
• Quick glance indicators identify when new devices are added to the network
• Improved device clone feature can be launched within the CMC for easy replication of device details from existing devices to newly added devices
• Cleaner user-interface layout with new option to collapse/expand search filters
• Additional navigation options to manage meters
• Distributor Role for partners to manage all their resellers and respective end-user clients through a single login

“NER revolutionized remote device management when we created the Client Management Console. Through the CMC’s consolidated point of control interface, users can view and very easily manage nearly every aspect of their print devices from that single screen,” said Eric Austin, Vice President at NER.

The new CMC features provide even deeper functionalities through dynamic notifications and the ability to manage devices that are newly added to the system even if the additions were unknown by IT, operations, purchasing departments, or to those providing the MPS services.

Austin further adds, “We lead the market with dynamic fleet capabilities and this release brings important aspects that we managed in other parts of the application front and center. Resellers and end-users clearly see changes that could affect their bottom line and have direct access to take the necessary actions to control the environment.”

The updates were automatically applied to the Print4 Online Portal and users received the additional benefits without having to take any action. Print4 Online is part of NER’s complete Print4 MPS solution which offers resellers and their end-user clients over 20 different MPS programs, a cloud-based technology suite, predictive analytics for supplies with automated fulfillment, a comprehensive support structure, and a world-class printer service business. Additional Print4 information is available here.