AWS re:Invent 2019 – Global Partner Summit Announcements

Posted on December 5, 2019December 5, 2019 by Idexcel Technologies

1. Introducing AWS Retail Competency Partners: AWS Retail Competency Partners provide innovative technology offerings that accelerate retailers’ modernization and innovation journey across all areas in the enterprise. Read More

2. Introducing AWS Public Safety & Disaster Response Competency Partners: AWS Customers can quickly identify top-tier APN Consulting Partners who identify, build, and implement technology offerings aimed at improving organizational capacity to prepare, respond, and recover from emergencies and disasters, globally. Read More

3. New AWS Service Ready Program to help customers find tools that integrate with AWS services: AWS Partner Network (APN) announced AWS Service Ready Program, a new way for AWS customers to identify if a tool or application will integrate with AWS services running in their cloud environment. Read More

4. New APN Global Startup Program, helping startup APN Technology Partners grow their cloud-based business: AWS Partner Network (APN) announced the APN Global Startup Program, a dedicated go-to-market (GTM) program for eligible Startup APN Technology Partners. Read More

5. Introducing a new benefit for APN Consulting Partners, APN Immersion Days: AWS Immersion Day workshops provide a customizable AWS experience delivered by AWS Solution Architects and Account Managers to AWS customers. Read More

6. AWS Marketplace makes it easier for you to discover relevant third-party software and data products: AWS Marketplace, a digital catalog with over 7,000 software listings and data products, has announced Discovery API, a new API created for select partners. Read More

7. AWS Marketplace announces a simplified fee structure and the expansion of Seller Private Offers: Starting today, all registered sellers with a public listing in AWS Marketplace can extend a custom contract through Seller Private Offers. Read More

Idexcel Achieves AWS Migration Competency Status

Posted on October 15, 2019January 21, 2021 by Idexcel Technologies

Herndon, VA – October 15, 2019 – Idexcel, a professional services and technology solutions provider, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Migration Competency status. This designation recognizes that Idexcel provides proven technology and deep expertise to help customer’s move successfully to AWS, through all phases of complex migration projects, discovery, planning, migration and operations.

Achieving the AWS Migration Competency differentiates Idexcel as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialized demonstrated technical proficiency and proven customer success with specific focus on Migration Consulting and Delivery. To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS.

“Idexcel is excited and proud to achieve AWS Migration Competency status,” said Allolankandy Anand, Senior Director of Cloud Services Practice at Idexcel. “This is a testament to our team’s dedication and commitment in helping our customers achieve their technology goals by leveraging the agility, breadth of services, and pace of innovation that AWS provides.”

AWS is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify Consulting and Technology APN Partners with deep industry experience and expertise.

Idexcel’s cloud migration services help organizations not only undergo a successful cloud adoption journey, but also benefit from a structured well architected framework that guides them through the process of enhanced and accelerated transformation of their infrastructure, processes, people and technology. Our migration approach specializes on aligning architectural design with a data driven approach and AWS WAF (Well-Architected Framework) principles to create an on-demand environment for experimentation and innovation for our customers.

About Idexcel

Idexcel is a professional services and technology solutions provider specializing in Cloud Services, Application Modernization, and Data Analytics. Idexcel is proud that for more than 21 years it has provided services that implement complex technologies that are innovative, agile and successful and have provided our customers with lasting value. Our name, “Idexcel” is a representation of our core principle “Ideas to Excellence” We are relentlessly driven by results and take pride in our customer-centric engagement models. We blend our clients’ needs with proven delivery models and highly talented execution teams to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Idexcel has offices and delivery locations in the US, Europe and Asia supporting global clients.

Best Practices for Ensuring DevOps Security

Posted on June 26, 2019January 21, 2021 by Idexcel Technologies

It is often the case that there is no intersection between security modules and DevOps in a manner that is convenient. Naturally, security is an integral part of an organization, but the way we introduce its tenets at every crucial part of the DevOps process has been difficult to achieve since its inception. Usually, due to a general lack of expertise in the matter, the implementation of security becomes unbalanced, which hampers the speed and agility of the environment. The solution lies in partnering with the right team to lay out the security measures intelligently. Here’s how you can achieve this:

1. Implement latest policies
Your governance policies must be updated throughout the evolution of your company. While most codes of conduct remain omnipresent and intact within every company, some behavior control is specific to each company’s unique set of IT protocols. These codes of conduct must be properly followed throughout the entire pipeline to ensure there is zero leakage of data. Creating a transparent governance system also provides the engineers with the opportunity to openly share their concerns over anything that may seem fishy within the company. Many people overlook this aspect of security for being non-technical and moralistic, but enforcing and fostering such an environment in DevOps leads to long-term benefits.

2. Integrate DevSecOps
Optimally-secured DevOps requires collaboration from multiple paradigm internal functions to ensure that the security measures are implemented at all stages of the development cycle. Development, design, operation, delivery and support all require equal care and maintenance, and DevSecOps ensure you that you achieve this balance. DevSecOps is embedded throughout the DevOps workflow for balanced governance, and it renders cybersecurity functions such as IAM, privilege management, unified threat management, code review, configuration review and vulnerability testing. In such an environment where security is properly aligned with DevOps, you are able to attain a higher profit margin while minimizing costly recalls and post-release fixes.

3. Ensure vulnerability management
Systems should be thoroughly scanned and assessed to ensure there is security adherence at developmental and integration levels in a DevOps environment. The task of such an assessment is to inform the team of all the possible loopholes in the processes before production begins. Penetration testing is a great tool that helps track down weaknesses at these levels so that a prompt response can patch these issues.

4. Implement Automation
Human intervention increases the chances of errors in intricate tasks such as IAM, privilege management, unified threat management, code review, configuration review and vulnerability testing. It is best that you automate these processes in order to get more time to run security tests on your already refined product, while also minimizing system downtime and reducing vulnerabilities. Automating security protocols helps by not only increasing the speed of your testing and management, but also by improving your profits significantly.

5. Perform device testing
We often forget that the machine on which systems are working also need to be constantly checked for their performance, both in terms of efficiency and security. You cannot perform securely even if you have a software with top-tier security features if the machine on which it is loaded is malfunctioning. Ensure that these devices throughout the entire DevOps cycle are constantly being validated in accordance with your security policies.

6. Segment the networks
A continuous network flow might keep things easy and straightforward, but going this route will also make it easier for cybercriminals to access your servers. This problem is easily addressed by ensuring there is limited access on your application resource server. You can segment the networks so that no one error is spread throughout the DevOps environment, while also ensuring that no hacker has full access to all the data spread on the network.

7. Improve privileged access management
Admin controls provide a window in taking control of the data. The higher number of people have control over it, the more anarchy there is at handling the systems. Therefore, in an agile DevOps environment, try to minimize administrative privileges on various machines wherever possible because the more accessed a data point is, the more prone it is to security threats. Instead, you can store private and sensitive data on only a few local machines because apart from improving your security, doing so also makes it easier to manage. From this point on, you can monitor the legitimacy of your security in the aforementioned environment.

Conclusion
When paired smartly, Security and DevOps culminate in a productive intersystem. The tenets for reducing errors includes the identification of errors and scope of errors, limiting access to the network, ensuring there is minimal access, as well vulnerability management. The focus in DevOps must be more on the prevention of error rather than rectification of it. The tips outlined above help you achieve exactly that.

Also Read

Business Benefits with Serverless Computing
Data Backup and Recovery in Cloud Computing
Six Secrets to Big Data Success
What You Need to Know Before Migrating Your Business to the Cloud

Business Benefits with Serverless Computing

Posted on June 24, 2019October 8, 2019 by Idexcel Technologies

The cloud has redefined the way we look at technology. One such redefining moment occurred in 2014 when Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled serverless computing, AWS-Lambda, that promised a few previously unforeseen advantages to businesses. Serverless computing, as the name suggests, requires no server housing, in addition to the benefits of continuous scaling and balancing, automatic fail-over, and sub-second metering (pay as you use). Below, we have listed in detail five ways through which your business will benefit from serverless computing.

Cutting Production-to-Market Distance

Conventionally, in a business, you are required to afford a production house wherein you will house your planning, design, and development, before final production; this requires you to manage infrastructure, server setup, and storage capacity with an immediate effect. With serverless computing, you no longer have to worry about these hurdles that mediate between your production and its market readiness. All you need is a serverless computing provider who will take care of your server needs immediately, and you will not need to dedicate a particular place for carrying the planning design and development—all of that can be managed on a serverless cloud.

Increased Benefits

With sub-second metering, wherein you only pay for the resources you have used, production costs are cut significantly which enables you to provide your product at a competitive price. Further, housing and maintaining servers is perhaps the costliest component of business for some enterprises which rely heavily on servers, such as online games and data retrieval websites/applications. Therefore, by using serverless computing, at one hand you eliminate the production-to-market, and on the other side, you cut down your costs — this directly leads to competition readiness where your product is better, cheaper and readily available.

Minimizing Fixed Costs

Fixed costs keep a substantial value of your product stable, irrespective of the delivery time, quality or price. Your product price has to be flexible to accommodate market competition. If competition arises, you have to be ready with strategies that give your product a better edge over the competing product. Serverless computing enables you to turn your fixed costs into variable costs by rendering continuous scaling and balancing. You no longer have to worry about maintaining your fixed assets that get occupied in housing servers. Turning these fixed costs into variable costs gives you the advantage of being flexible with the price decision.

Easier Pivoting

New businesses often need to relocate their focus of attention depending on their target audience. Serverless computing allows you to rotate this focus of care for the application that can be used differently in varying conditions. The pivoting might include revamping the application/website or redefining media promotion according to the required task. With serverless computing, you can have unlimited scaling which enables you to widen your market reach. You can also use containers (individualized services) to enhance the pivoting, since in that scenario you will not need massive rearrangement of your service packages, to keep you from an entire service crash.

Improved Development Management

From planning to production, application building consists of many sub-steps. Two most important of these are development and testing. Serverless computing gives you advantages that are otherwise absent from server computing. For example, serverless computing helps you to have a better overview of the development through independent service management. You can track and plan your progress of an individualized service according to its current status. Furthermore, these services are very convenient to be tested—the code is clean, organized and therefore easy to track. With these advantages, it becomes natural for development to be accelerated and checking to be more accessible and precise.

Serverless computing has many advantages in treasure for businesses. Through the help of serverless computing, products can be market specific, cheap, advanced, and adapt, all at the same time. All they need is an excellent service provider who unfolds to the business owners the vast repertoire of advantages of going serverless. Businesses can be competition ready through optimized development and testing and timely delivery of the optimal product at a reasonable price.

Also Read

Data Backup and Recovery in Cloud Computing
Six Secrets to Big Data Success
What You Need to Know Before Migrating Your Business to the Cloud
Why You Should Care About AWS Well-Architected Framework

Data Backup and Recovery in Cloud Computing

Posted on June 21, 2019October 18, 2019 by Idexcel Technologies

The cloud has become one of the hottest topics of conversation in the world lately. Thanks to its plethora of advantages, it has become an essential part of the data storage market for organizations of different sizes in a variety of industries. When one talks about data storage, data backup and data recovery also become integral parts of the conversation as well.

Given the increasing number of recent data breaches and cyber attacks, data security has become a key issue for businesses. And while the importance of data backup and recovery can’t be overlooked, it is important to first understand the what a company’s data security needs are before implemented a data backup and recovery solution within the world of cloud computing.

1) Cloud cost: In most cases, just about any digital file can be stored in the cloud. However, this isn’t always the case as the usage and the storage space rented are important elements that need to be taken into account before choosing a disaster recovery plan. Some data plans can include the option of backing and recovering important files when necessary. They can also include options on how they are retrieved, where their storage location is, what the usage of the servers look like and more. These elements might seem trivial in the beginning, but they may prove to be important later on during the disaster recovery process. Different cloud vendors provide server space to businesses according to the their usage, and organizations need to be clear about what they are storing in the cloud, as well as what pricing tier plan they would like.

2) Backup speed and frequency: Data recovery is not the only problem on tab when considering data backup within the cloud. Some cloud providers transfer up to 5TB of data within a span of 12 hours. However, some services might be slower, as it all depends on the server speed, the number of files being transferred and the server space available. Determining and negotiating this price is an important point to consider in the long run.

3) Availability for backups: During the disaster recovery process, in order to keep a business firing on all cylinders, it is important to understand the timelines for recovering the back p data. Backups should be available as soon as possible to avoid any roadblocks that may negatively impact the business. The cloud vendor can inform you of the recovery timelines and how soon backed up data can be restored during a disaster situation.

4) Data security: The security of stored data and backups needs to meet certain security guidelines in order to prevent cyber criminals from exploiting any vulnerabilities. The cloud vendor needs to ensure the all backed up data is secured with the appropriate security measures such as firewalls and encryption tools.

5) Ease of use: Cloud-based storage comes with its own set of servers, which should be available from the business location and any other locations as needed. If the cloud server is not available remotely as well as from the business location, it won’t serve the purpose it is needed for. User experience should be an important factor in the backup process. If the procedure for data recovery and backup is not convenient, then it might become more of a hassle.

Data recovery is an integral part of the cloud computing world and it needs to be taken seriously with a great degree of planning from all ends.

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Six Secrets to Big Data Success

Posted on June 20, 2019January 21, 2021 by Idexcel Technologies

Big Data has played a role in helping a number of industries immeasurably, as its role in the business world is becoming more important with each passing day. However, even though the utility of Big Data in a professional setting is immense, there are very few organizations capable to utilizing the technology at an optimal level to boost their operations.

A large number of companies fear that they will make mistakes with the technology, which stops them from moving forward with Big Data analytics and maximizing its value. This is because, when used poorly, Big Data analytics can make false predictions for the future. However, when implemented correctly, Big Data offers a lot of upside to an organization. Combine its capabilities with a focused vision and a competent team, and there is a good chance the technology will bolster your company’s operations and profitability.

Keep reading as we will help you develop such vision with our insights on how you can be successful with Big Data.

1. Skills matter more than technology

It’s no secret that without the right technological tools, it is nearly impossible to succeed in a growingly competitive and sophisticated business world. Nevertheless, technology alone is not enough to help you attain this success—having the skills to operate the technology properly is also needed. While talking of Big Data, your team’s skills are far more important than the technology itself since technical ability has a very small role to play in Big Data analytics. The Big Data analyst must have know how to come up with right business questions, developing a clear forward path to make the best of the technology. The analyst must also be competent enough to parse and analyze the unstructured data through pattern recognition and hypothesis formation. Eventually, the analyst should know how to use the appropriate statistical tools to generate a predictive analysis. It is not necessary for the analyst to have all these qualities before joining the organization. Instead, the organization must conduct workshops every now and then to update analysts on the latest uses of Big Data to add value to your business.

2. Run necessary pilots

Big Data Is generally adopted by firms that want a predictive analysis of market trends that they can use to to plan for their future. Such predictions are not always unearthed in a manner that ends up being useful to your organization. If the predictive data cannot be applied to your business, Big Data will not yield the fruits of success that you seek. Therefore, it is highly advisable that when looking for data-based predictions, you should run a pilot to determine whether your predictions can be applied to improve your systems or not. Doing so will not only help you rectify your errors, but will also help you redefine your prediction in a manner that better suits your market needs. Furthermore, running a pilot will also reveal any weak points on your plans from their inception through the execution of them. Thus, one pilot will strengthen the quality of your operations, as well as the overall strategies of your business.

3. Formulate targeted analysis

It is imperative that the data you compile from the market is raw and unstructured. The amount of data available is expected to grow eightfold over the next five years, according to Gartner, most of which will be unstructured. Keeping this in mind, organizations must ensure they are ready to parse and analyze the data in a manner that will be beneficial to your business. Targeted analysis is key as one dataset may be used to unearth insights about multiple topics, while other pieces of information may not need to be extracted as they may not be relevant to your goals. Know what you’re hoping to achieve before extracting insights from your datasets, and then proceed to analyze the data. Having the right technological tools beforehand that you can use to store and analyze data is key. Always keep a backlog with indices for relevant interpretations of the data, so that when you need to extract information from the same dataset in future, it will be readily available for any future analysis.

4. Extract the best data possible

Even a small dataset can sometimes prove to be effective in developing predictions, while it is also equally possible for big sets of unstructured data to lead you nowhere. Aim to always narrow the focus of the data you compile for analytical purpose without compromising the robustness of the predictions. Going this route will save you plenty of time, while also helping you attain an accurate and actionable prediction. Don’t continue running massive sets of unstructured data in the hope that it will definitely lead you to a robust prediction as this is a waste of your time.

5. Keep predictions within your organization’s operational ability

Do not aim for predictions that lie outside the ability of your firm. Not all organizations are equipped with the skills and technological prowess to make the most of your predictions, so make sure your predictions are targeted within your means. Most organizations have a limited amount of wiggle room and the challenge is to come up with predictions that your organization is comfortable with. Do not exhort unnecessary operational pressure on your organization because it will only hamper the pace and confidence of your workers.

6. Be adaptive

The best results in Big Data analytics are achieved when the most actionable predictions happen to be affordable for your firm. As discussed earlier, don’t place an unnecessary burden on your firm in the hopes of achieving the best prediction possible. Instead, bring adaptive changes to your firm slowly in a way that will help it accommodate the best of ideas. When these ideas match the capabilities of your firm, great results will be only an arm’s reach away.

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Idexcel Achieves AWS Financial Services Competency Status

Posted on June 5, 2018October 18, 2019 by Idexcel Technologies

Herndon, VA– June 04, 2018– Idexcel, a professional services and technology solutions provider, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Financial Services Competency status. This designation recognizes Idexcel for providing deep expertise to help organizations manage critical issues pertaining to the industry, such as risk management, core systems implementations, data management, navigating compliance requirements, and establishing governance models.

Achieving the AWS Financial Services Competency differentiates Idexcel as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that has demonstrated relevant technical proficiency and proven customer success, delivering solutions seamlessly on AWS. To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and undergo an assessment of the security, performance, and reliability of their solutions.

Idexcel helps financial organizations transform business processes, rationalize product portfolios, strategize business assets, comply with regulations, manage risks and maximize customer satisfaction by adopting and implementing Digital transformation, Cloud computing and other emerging Data science technologies like AI and ML to modernize their existing IT infrastructure. Know more about our financial services offerings.

“Our goal is to become a full-featured core banking application available in the cloud. With AWS and technology partner Idexcel, we’re on our way.” – Jennifer Ballard – Director of Client Services, Cync Software/NDS Systems LC

About Idexcel
Idexcel is a Professional Services and Technology Solutions provider specializing in Cloud Services, Application Modernization, and Data Analytics. Idexcel is proud that for more than 20 years it has provided services that implement complex technologies that are innovative, agile and successful and have provided our customers with lasting value.

Our name, “idexcel” is a representation of our core principle “Ideas to Excellence” We are relentlessly driven by results and take pride in our customer-centric engagement models. We blend our clients’ needs with proven delivery models and highly talented execution teams to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Idexcel has offices and delivery locations in the US, Europe and Asia supporting global clients.

Learn more about us at http://www.idexcel.com

Idexcel Achieves AWS DevOps Competency Status

Posted on May 23, 2018January 20, 2021 by Idexcel Technologies

Herndon, VA– May 22, 2018 – Idexcel, a professional services and technology solutions provider, announced today that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) DevOps Competency status. This designation recognizes that Idexcel provides proven technology and deep expertise to help customers implement continuous integration and continuous delivery practices or helping them automate infrastructure provisioning and management with configuration management tools on AWS.

Achieving the AWS DevOps Competency differentiates Idexcel as an AWS Partner Network (APN) member that provides specialized demonstrated technical proficiency and proven customer success with specific focus on Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery, Monitoring, Logging, and Performance, Infrastructure as Code or Consulting. To receive the designation, APN Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS.

Idexcel’s DevOps as a Service enables agile development teams to focus on their core strengths by delivering a ‘as a service’ environment, customized for your organization’s needs. Idexcel offers proven tools, flows, environments and expertise for large and small enterprises to quickly spin up a DevOps environment for your use. We offer capabilities for enterprises to develop, build, test and deploy software across a variety of cloud environments including Amazon AWS and on-premise environments.

Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Idexcel has offices and delivery locations in the US, Europe and Asia supporting global clients.

Learn more about us at http://www.idexcel.com