HCGi Can Help Eliminate IT Complexities

IT organizations often support mobile workers, distributed locations, and complex environments while adhering to rigorous governance and compliance with full accountability.

As infrastructure becomes more complex, business demands increase and the sophistication of end users expands; IT departments often find it challenging to sustain the rate of change and associated cost controls. Projections of continued shortages in skilled IT labor and adoption of new and potentially disruptive technologies have prompted IT leaders to partner with HCGI to offset risk and assume responsibility for managing their asset fleet.

Whether your organization is installing new technology or redeploying existing assets, HCGI can help. Our experienced project professionals and nationwide resources will properly plan, staff, and execute any project regardless of the complexity. After we have executed on our plan, HCGI will define a repeatable process to complete the project.

See more of our services at https://hcgi.com

Shape-shifting tech will change work as we know it | Sean Follmer

What will the world look like when we move beyond the keyboard and mouse? Interaction designer Sean Follmer is building a future with machines that bring information to life under your fingers as you work with it. In this talk, check out prototypes for a 3D shape-shifting table, a phone that turns into a wristband, a deformable game controller and more that may change the way we live and work.

HCGi Hybrid IT Solutions

Security for business-critical and proprietary data, physical access to servers running in your virtualized infrastructure, the ability to pass regulatory compliance audits, and many other types of data security, backup and disaster recovery are all legitimate concerns of CIOs who are new to cloud computing.

Fortunately, HCGI understands all these concerns and we are aligned with the leading vendors in the industry to offer you the most cost-effective, flexible and intelligent choice as you venture into this evolving area of IT. Whether you are moving to a cloud or building a private cloud, we can assist you. We can help you select the right solution and provide an “on-ramp” to transition your organization.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

As more IT professionals become educated about cloud computing, they realize the benefits it offers to their organization. Cloud makes it possible for you to:

• Scale rapidly – up or down
• Deploy services only when and where they’re needed
• Create efficiencies and cost savings by paying as you go for only the services use
• Control server sprawl
• Decrease IT management costs via virtualization
• Increase revenue by deploying software and products more quickly
• Increase agility by initiating and provisioning IT resources more simply and quickly
• Lower total cost of ownership
• Reduce costs for IT hardware, software, and services
• Reduce data center energy costs
• Improve availability and scalability of your storage needs
• Improve disaster recovery and data backup
• Enable faster time to market of products/services
• Allow IT staff to focus on strategic solutions for your core business

With more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of technology, HCGI is fully equipped to help your organization decide which of the many cloud offerings available from our vendor partners is right for your specific needs.

Forget Wi-Fi. Meet the new Li-Fi Internet | Harald Haas

What if we could use existing technologies to provide Internet access to the more than 4 billion people living in places where the infrastructure can't support it? Using off-the-shelf LEDs and solar cells, Harald Haas and his team have pioneered a new technology that transmits data using light, and it may just be the key to bridging the digital divide. Take a look at what the future of the Internet could look like.

HCGi Getting Ready To Roll-Out A Couple Thousand Devices.

After selecting a system, designing an image and on-site testing we are ready to deploy and recycle old equipment for 2000+ users

Celebrating 10-Year Veteran, Bill Hottman

Celebrating 10-year veteran and perennial All-Star, Sr. Account Manager, Bill Hottman!

Video Surveillance Technology For Many Organizations

Video Surveillance is an important emerging technology for many organizations:

• Hospitals need to make surveillance easier for security personnel
• Schools need to provide a secure environment for students and employees in the face of theft, vandalism, and unfortunately, violence;
• Municipal, State and Federal facilities, from administrative centers to national monuments have become potential security targets;
• Industrial installations demand that assets are secured and operations managed in a safe environment for staff and customers; and
• Office buildings must protect confidential data and valuable content, not to mention the safety and security of the people who work there.

A network-centric video surveillance infrastructure that supports video transmission, monitoring, recording, and management with access to surveillance video at any time and from any place enables real-time incident response, investigation, and resolution. It is imperative to understand critical business and technical requirements to ensure video quality and reliable capture, and scalability for future advancements and business needs.

Contact HCGi for more information at 410-740-3020.

HCGi Services: PC & Print Deployment

HCGI offers volume discounts on a wide range of products including all computers and printers. Customers that want to standardize on specific models of a manufacturers computer, can enjoy significant cost savings for any project.  Whether you plan to buy many computers at once or deploy smaller amounts over an extended period, we can help.

Many customers evaluate multiple options before selecting the technology they plan to purchase. After the specific model has been selected, the manufacturer may discontinue that unit before you can buy all the product you need. HCGI works closely with the customer and manufacturer to guarantee the lifespan of a particular model computer so that it can be deployed over time throughout your enterprise.


IT Complexities Eliminated

IT organizations often support mobile workers, distributed locations, and complex environments while adhering to rigorous governance and compliance with full accountability.

As infrastructure becomes more complex, business demands increase and the sophistication of end users expands; IT departments often find it challenging to sustain the rate of change and associated cost controls. Projections of continued shortages in skilled IT labor and adoption of new and potentially disruptive technologies have prompted IT leaders to partner with HCGI to offset risk and assume responsibility for managing their asset fleet.

Whether your organization is installing new technology or redeploying existing assets, HCGI can help. Our experienced project professionals and nationwide resources will properly plan, staff, and execute any project regardless of the complexity. After we have executed on our plan, HCGI will define a repeatable process to complete the project.

HCGi Success Stories: Prince George's County Public Schools

EDUCATION SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY

Key PGCPS Quick Facts

• 125,136 students

• 207 schools

• 9,197 teachers

• 23,785 employees in total

• $1.795 billion annual budget

The Challenge
Lower IT costs, improve remote management Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is one of the nation’s 25 largest school districts, with 208 schools and centers, more than 125,000 students and over 22,000 employees. The school system is responsible for administering PARCC testing (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) in each of its schools. The school system previously used a mix of iPads and laptops of various brands. Management of these various devices became complex. Establishing consistent configurations across the school system became difficult, inefficient, and costly.

PGCPS sought a solution that would provide maximum efficiency in the IT department without excessive hardware costs. Further, the school system  wanted the capability to fully manage configuration settings on every device from one location. PGCPS was an early adopter of Google Apps, so the IT team and the students were already familiar with Google’s platform.

HCGI Solution
HCGI began a pilot project at Oxon Hill High School in the fall of 2013. It deployed a limited number of Samsung Chromebooks and the Google Chrome Console Management solution. The management console allows the PGCPS IT department to remotely manage every device in any location. This includes installing or removing apps, blacklisting websites, and configuring user roles, access and security.

HCGI provided a Google Certified Training Instructor to PGCPS to help implement this solution in the school system. HCGI also provides ongoing training and support to the PGCPS team responsible for managing and deploying the equipment across the system. PGCPS has three technology distribution centers.

Every newly acquired Chromebook is shipped to one of these centers for asset tagging and enrollment into the Chrome Management Console. HCGI performed “White Glove” enrollment service for the initial 2000 unit Chromebook deployment. In addition to providing guidance in hardware selection, HCGI managed the configuration team to perform all service functions as well as administrative console and network configurations. HCGI validated device policies with a sample school or class.

Early testing revealed the LCD screens from the leading low-cost manufacturer were prone to breaking easily in a K12 education environment. HCGI quickly provided alternative Chromebooks by other manufacturers. A semi-rugged Lenovo model was selected and over 4000 units have been deployed, with no hardware issues reported.

HCGI’s longstanding partnership with a wide range of manufacturers, promises greater flexibility for Prince George’s County Public Schools. Further, the installation and activation of their Remote Management software give the IT department authorization and full control of every device district-wide. HCGI has delivered this powerful technology, allowing full implementation with the district’s IT team and ensuring a smooth deployment of the Chromebooks.

Results
PGCPS enjoys dependable and affordable hardware, with superior hands-on client support by HCGI. The Google Chrome Management Console has given PGCPS the ease of maintaining an online curriculum, monitoring device use and securing student data for all Chromebooks from one central location. This has proven to maximize efficiency in both labor expenses and speeding up the process of getting Chromebooks into the hands of students.

What is Cybersecurity?

In this 4.5 minute presentation segment, Dr. Mansur Hasib, Program Chair, Cybersecurity Technology, The Graduate School, University of Maryland University College (UMUC), provides a comprehensive academic and business definition of cybersecurity along with the evolution of the academic models of cybersecurity.

New Cisco Email Security Features in 3 minutes

What's new with Cisco Email Security? This video highlights the latest advanced security features available, like our Advanced Phishing Protection and Domain Protection. It also shows our key integrations with Advanced Malware Protection (AMP).