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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 F E B R UA R Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 9 F O C U S WO R K P L A C E T E C H N O L O G Y Technology in Lewiston, compares it to a condominium. "A lot of businesses are used to hav- ing micro data centers at their office," Desjardins says. "You'd have your own infrastructure that you'd manage and keep up and replace periodically. e cloud changes that model. Instead of owning and building your own micro data center, you're essentially leasing space in a much larger, more advanced center that you wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. You get a slice of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of infra- structure. It's like living in a high-rise condo with all the amenities. You don't necessarily own the entire infrastructure, but you get all the benefits of it without having to maintain it." Local service providers like his partner with data centers like Google, Microsoft and FirstLight. "We don't provide the infrastruc- ture ourselves," Desjardins says. "is is where it gets confusing, talking about the cloud. People say, 'We don't know where our data is hosted.' Our biggest local partner is FirstLight, which has a fabulous data center in Brunswick. A lot of our Maine customers, in particular those who might be newer to the cloud, want to know exactly where their stuff is. We can take them to that FirstLight facility and show them." Benefits McGrath says advantages include: Mobility: flexibility to work remotely, across multiple devices as long as there's internet connectivity; Productivity: many cloud-based tools deliver collaboration and pro- ductivity-enhancing functionality; Freedom from maintaining onsite technology, heating, cooling, etc. McGrath uses the term "elasticity." "Growing data storage needs are more easily accommodated in the cloud. In the old days, you might have had to make significant hardware investments to accommodate business growth," he says. In many cases, the cloud improves data security over traditional networks. "Look at major players like Microsoft, Amazon, Google," he says. "ey're putting huge investments into security and are able to respond to the changing threat landscape quickly. You're getting the latest and greatest from the security perspective in many of their cloud offerings." C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Since 1989 Local Decisions Be Budget! 800.924.4229 www.bdtme.com Problems Solved. Budget Document Technology is an industry leader in providing digital solutions for document creation, production, and distribution. Helping Maine get business done! • Multi-functional Color & B&W Copiers • Printers & Scanners • Postage & Mailing Equipment • Software & Network Solutions • Managed Print Services R EGI ONAL S PONS OR S PR ES ENTI NG S PONS OR Celebrate 25 years of Mainebiz around the state during our 2019 Mainebiz On the Road Reception Series. Throughout the year we'll be celebrating with you, our readers and advertisers, at all our events, including our six On the Road with Mainebiz receptions with special giveaways and prizes. We kick things off at our first stop in the 2019 On the Road with Mainebiz event series at the Ocean Gateway in Portland! Don't miss out on the largest networking reception of the year. Celebrate 25 Years with Mainebiz on March 14 AT TENDANCE IS FREE BUT SPACE IS LIMITED! Please be sure to register ahead at mainebiz.biz/OTRPortland FOLLOW US @MBEVENTS #OTRPortland19 PORTLAND March 14 | 5:00pm – 7:00pm | Ocean Gateway, Portland

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