What is the difference between CMMS and EAM?

Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) and Enterprise Asset Management systems (EAM) are both designed primarily for those industries whose business model involves the management of large numbers of physical assets.

CMMS is a computerized solution to managing the maintenance management needs of a facility. It typically manages an organization's assets and inventory.

EAM is a superset of CMMS and includes additional capabilities to manages human resources and financials.

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What are the benefits of CMMS?

When implemented correctly, CMMS gives a company an accurate picture of where time and money is being lost or saved in its maintenance department, and helps target areas where efforts should be focused. Among the improvements include:

• Operating costs are lowered.
• Equipment availability is increased.
• Reporting and maintenance data analysis are simplified.
• Overtime and downtime is reduced.
• Asset life is enhanced.
• Unnecessary equipment failures can be anticipated and prevented.
• Inventory levels and carrying costs are lowered.
• Productivity is optimized.
• Good Maintenance Practices are encouraged through formalized procedures.
• Workloads can be balanced to correspond to available manpower.

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What is an ASP?

According to research firm IDC, ASPs "provide a contractual service offering to deploy, host, manage and rent access to an application from a centrally managed facility.”

Basically, ASPs are the companies that provide remote access to applications over the Internet and other networks and sometimes, but not always, charge money for their use. Applications are broadly defined. For example, a Web site with dynamic content can be considered an application and a portal site that charges money for transactions or for providing services to its subscribers are effectively ASPs.

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Can any application be delivered through the ASP model?

No. While it is the case with most Internet applications like portals and online billing that are natively ASP enabled, many of the traditional client/server applications are not ASP enabled.

Currently, many vendors are trying to ASP enable their applications so that they can be delivered through the ASP model. Enabling them in this way is sometimes a difficult task.

Another important issue related to ASP enabling of applications is guranteed availability. The remote delivery of applications imposes completely different requirements for availability, fault-tolerance, performance under unusually high loads and other issues. The application and its infrastructure should always be available around the clock, seven days a week.

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I'm a end user. What are the benefits of the ASP model to me?

There are many benefits to renting your applications over the Internet rather than maintaining the software and hardware on site. Here are some of them:

• Alleviates shortage of IT employees.
• With the ASP business model, you don't need to worry about hiring and keeping scarce -- and expensive -- technical people. An ASP will provide all the necessary technical support and maintenance.
• Low up-front investment.
• Under the ASP model you don't have to make large up-front payments for software licenses and hardware. Instead, you'll pay a monthly subscription fee and spread your IT costs over time.
• Access to high-end applications that you might not otherwise afford.
• Guaranteed performance and uptime.
• More flexibility.
• Reduced initial capital costs.
• Faster implementation.
• Security.

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99.9% - What does it mean for me?

For total system uptime:

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What are the measures taken to ensure my data security?

Your server is the cornerstone of your company's data center. Securing it properly is paramount. However, even the most sophisticated office security systems have many loopholes that make your company’s proprietary data vulnerable. Our 100% automated security clearances provide the assurances you demand without the inconveniences and potential risks.

Our data center, FutureQuest, is pleased to show off its state-of-the-art data center in the heart of Orlando, Florida! This 2,800 square foot data center is equipped with a dual 15 ton Liebert HVAC Unit, FIKE FM-200 Fire Suppression, a Mitsubishi 75kVA UPS with battery backup, and a KatoLight, 375kVA Turbo-charged Diesel Generator along with redundant OC-3, Ethernet, and DS-3 connectivity diversely connected over geographically separate fail-safe fiber-optic SONET rings.

To begin the tour of the FutureQuest Data Center simply click the header of any of the amenities listed below.

Building

FutureQuest, Inc. resides within Orlando's Lucerne Plaza. The plaza is touted as a telecommunications haven because it sits right on top of a major fiber ring and is well within the hospital grid for priority power services.

Companies such as Intermedia, WorldCOM, Level(3), ColoSolutions, and Time Warner occupy the building and continue to offer strength to its power and connectivity options for reliable high-speed access!

As this is a non-public building, security clearance is required for admittance. Follow along as we lead you through the main entry by swiping our security key card through the system to your right. Once the central office clears the card, the glass doors of the main entrance (shown above) will open for those with clearance to enter.

Security

In addition to the building security, FutureQuest has implemented many security features for its location within the building that include Proximity Card Access, Motion Detectors, Perimeter & Door Sensors, 24/7/365 Remote Video Monitoring of all access points with the additional benefit of live video feeds that are publicly viewable from any remote location.

Power

All power sent to FutureQuest's location goes through FutureQuest's transfer switch and into FutureQuest's Mitsubishi 75kVA UPS system where it is cleansed. For backup power FutureQuest has a KatoLight, 375kVA turbo-charged generator ready and waiting to supply the Data Center with full power for an indefinite amount of time.

FutureQuest is located in what some consider a power safe haven in the center of Orlando, Florida. The Orlando Regional Medical Center is less than a quarter mile South of FutureQuest's Data Center, placing FutureQuest, Inc. well within their hospital grid. This helps to guarantee first priority power services from OUC (Orlando Utility Company), the main supplier of Orlando's power.

HVAC System

FutureQuest's high performance equipment requires precise, reliable control of temperature, humidity, and airflow. FutureQuest's Data Center meets these requirements by coupling a raised-floor, airflow system with its dual 15-ton Liebert System 3 HVAC Unit.

Fire System

FutureQuest has installed an early warning fire detection system which monitors both temperature and air quality in hopes of warning of a potential fire before it turns into a real flame. If however a true fire were to erupt in FutureQuest's Data Center, the FM-200 Fire suppression system includes dual tanks of FM-200, environmentally safe, gas based suppression.

Network

FutureQuest's Data Center is equipped with its own full OC-3s, DS-3s, and Ethernet connectivity from Level3, Time Warner, UUNET/MCI and Internap, which include provisions from AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Sprint, UUNET/MCI, Verio, and Global Crossing over fail-safe fiber-optic SONET rings. FutureQuest's speedy and highly redundant connectivity is enhanced by its numerous carrier class routers, which are all configured with BGP4 and full global IP routing views.

It is important to note that FutureQuest does not share its data center, hardware, bandwidth, or revenue stream with any other services or ISPs. For this reason FutureQuest remains committed to using only quality bandwidth and equipment while ensuring its network is never over saturated due to dangerous over selling practices (common with profit over quality based providers). FutureQuest's Network is a testament to its primary objective which is providing redundant content delivery and retrieval services through the fastest most efficient routes available at all times!

FutureQuest's Data Center is equipped with its own full OC-3s, DS-3s, and Ethernet connectivity from Level3, Time Warner and Internap, which include provisions from AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Sprint, UUNET/MCI, Verio, and Global Crossing over fail-safe fiber-optic SONET rings. FutureQuest's speedy and highly redundant connectivity is enhanced by its numerous carrier class routers, which are all configured with BGP4 and full global IP routing views.

Time Warner Telecom’s IP backbone architecture consists of core backbone routers connected by multiple, diverse, high-speed optical circuits ranging from OC-12 to OC-48 speeds.

FutureQuest, is lucky to have its own exclusive private POP in its data center. This POP directly connects to Time Warners IP Backbone through two geographically separated OC-48 protected paths (Atlanta, and Tampa). These two paths terminate into the FutureQuest Data Center over 24 count strands of optical cables, currently utilizing two of the twenty four strands on each cable for internet connectivity, with the remaining available for future expansion. The redundancy of this fiber is provided through a Rapid Spanning Tree that features a sub 1-second restoration of services should there be a fiber cut on the backbone fibers.

Hardware

The FutureQuest Servers are equipped with 1GB ECC DRAM and Dual 74GB Quantum Atlas 10KIII SCSI Hard Drives in RAID-1 arrays. The latest production servers within FutureQuest run dual 1GHz CPUs and XEON 2.4GHz in HyperThreaded mode.

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Is data encryption used?

Yes. eam2go™.com uses 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), the highest level of protection possible whenever you use credit cards or make other financial or confidential transactions over the Internet.

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Tell me more about SSL.

SSL is used to provide an encrypted link between a point in one computer system to a point in another computer system.In some implementations it can be used to allow each of those points to check the identity of the other point. What this means is that information that flows between those two points is encrypted using a symmetric algorithm. The points in the systems identify themselves using asymmetric (or public key) cryptography. So the first thing to understand is that ‘128 bit’ refers to the length of the cryptographic key used for encrypting information when it is passing between two points. In the case of the algorithm being used for encryption it is generally agreed that the 128 bit version is technically more resistant to attack that the 40 bit version (in this case, the more bits the better). Do note that if both ends do not have the 128 bit version they may use the 40 bit version by default. 40 bit encryption allows for 2^40 (or 1 trillion possible key combinations) and 128 bit encryption, 2^128 possible combinations.

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What hardware and software requirements do I need to run eam2go™?

You do not need to purchase any additional hardware or software apart from that you already have. All you need is an Internet connection to start using eam2go™. Under the ASP model you don't have to make large up-front payments for software licenses and hardware. Instead, you'll pay a monthly subscription fee and spread your IT costs over time.

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Wouldn't it be cheaper if I purchase the software one-time-off instead of subscribing to it?

Let us compare (say for a period of 3 years)...

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How long does it take to implement?

Depending on your maintenance department size, a 5 user requirement will take anywhere between 1-3 months to implement. Being an ASP hosted solution, no hardware, operating system and database installation is required, thus shortening the implementation time, as compared to traditional deployment methods.

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