Customers have always known Ascend Analytics for the best software solutions in energy analysis but more and more of the biggest companies in the power industry are turning to Ascends technology team to keep those solutions operating and up to date.
Ascend Analytics Chief Technology Officer Sean Burrows says half of the companys clients currently opt for the Ascends off-site hosting service but he expects that could easily rise closer to 100 percent within a year. Clients know their data is safe, their software is up to date and the hardware is solid with Ascend. What we are offering is basically a private cloud, Burrows says. The point of a cloud is you dont have to think about it.
That growth in Ascends hosting component matches a trend across a spectrum of users and industries. Cloud computing has gone from buzzword to every-day solution for everybody from high-traffic web sites to iPod users keeping their music tracks on iCloud. For Ascends clients, that always-ready, on-demand service isnt just dependable; Its indispensable. With secure links, Ascend can map directly into client systems with seamless flows.
They dont have to call an IT staffer when they have a problem. Ascend already fixed it. Thats where the economy of Ascends hosting package kicks in. Burrows estimates the cost saving at roughly 50 percent over on-site implementation. Ascend customers can get the results without spending resources on a large tech support staff. Ascend keeps the data solid and the hardware humming. Utilities, wholesalers and retailers using Ascends PowerSimm, CurveDeveloper and other products can rely on Ascends from-the-sketchpad-up expertise with every line of code.
We know how it works because we designed it, Burrows says. We know how to keep it running.
When Ascend releases a service patch, or a new module feature, hosted clients dont have to wade through the user manual to make it run. Ascends top technicians have already installed it, tested it and made it work a dozen times before theyre ready to install it on a clients system.
We know how to use our system better, Burrows says. The clients get the benefit of that expertise.
Ascend also knows the best hardware to match that system. Burrows, who wrote the first code for Ascends signature PowerSwimm program, says companies can avoid the expense of new hardware and the hundreds of employee hours it might take to select the right equipment and then make it work with their network. They dont have to maintain the servers. They dont have to worry about a systems crash or a spilled cup of coffee. They have access to Ascend software backed up on Ascend hardware 24 hours a day. They get it when they want it from wherever they want it, Burrows explains, describing the Ascend-hosted user experience as seamless.
But seamless doesnt imply a lack of security. No unauthorized user can access a companys data. Ascends hosting platform remains solid and secure with data sequestered and partitioned while remaining audit-ready for Sarbanes-Auxley regulations. Each client has their own database. There is no comingling of databases, Burrows explains.
Theres no loss of data either. Every simulation and input point is continuously backed up. Weve built it from the ground up to be to be a truly redundant system, Burrows says. We could lose almost any part of the system and keep running.
Those advantages make Ascends private cloud a proven solution, as solid as the software. Burrows and his technology service started providing hosting services in2006.
We had this before the word cloud even came out, Burrow says.
Key Advantages of "Private Cloud" hosting:
Immediate software support.
Lower IT costs.
No on-site hardware.
Continuous data backup.
Accessible from any location.
Hardware and software updates without service interruption.
High-speed access.
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