Business Solutions Articles

Whether in an effort to reduce costs or preserve its IT department’s ego, many companies are tempted to handle the transition from a conventional network to a virtualized desktop infrastructure (VDI) alone. Addressing the project without help from a virtualization specialist does not automatically equate to failure, but the approach is a perilous one, wrought with injurious pitfalls every step of the way. In other words, any company looking to go it alone needs to do things the right way, or it risks complications.

The VDI design and implementation process is very sophisticated and reading software installation manuals isn’t enough to make someone an expert. Since most businesses lack an in-house IT member specializing in VDI deployment, sending staff for training is usually necessary.

Common risks of a DIY virtualization include:

• Extended development process – IT departments charged with reinventing an expansive companywide network, plus tasked with regular day-to-day obligations, can hardly be expected to provide a VDI solutions quickly.
• Use of outdated software – If a company lacks in-house VDI specialization, chances are they are not completely up to date with the latest industry developments. Such companies are at risk of using soon to be obsolete technologies, which means a systems update would be soon to follow, demanding additional time and capital.
• An unusable final product – This is the biggest danger, and the one most often realized. When a final product is unusable, or no better than the one that it succeeded, it produces the following results:
  • Lost productivity – Internal resources are wasted.
  • Time lost – Time is wasted on a project that leads to no changes.
  • Financial loss – The capital lost from the unsuccessful VDI implementation is only half of it. Now the company has to pay the cost of a solutions provider to fix everything, plus redevelop the VDI.
  • Damaged user perception – Users of the network experience downtime or a poor final computing experience, which causes them to lose faith in company IT.

Though some companies are tempted to develop their own VDI, only those with sufficiently educated IT members should try. While capital can potentially be saved by going DIY, the cost of failure is much greater. In the end, gambling with a might-be-ready team just isn’t worth it.

There is some excitement right now in the world of computer virtualization. Citrix is readying to launch its latest version of XenApp and XenDesktop, and just recently announced their intention to release Cloud Portal version 2.0.

While these new products will feature a handful of upgrades from previous versions, the most rousing change we will see is that XenApp and XenDesktop will now operate under one management console. This enhancement is likely to simplify the management of each software piece, especially where they have been implemented in conjunction with one another, which is often the case.

The most significant effects that the consolidation will produce is, firstly, the reduction of servers required to run each application, and secondly, the mitigation of systems errors. For example, right now, a 500 seat XenDesktop demands approximately 15 management servers. In the new consolidated version of the virtual environment, only about five, six, or seven will be needed.

Making the jump from conventional network to a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) requires much more than simply installing some software. The process is a timely one, when done properly, and adheres to a comprehensive agenda that ensures nothing is overlooked.

Following the subsequent five steps in sequence can help to ease the transition, and ensure the VDI is shaped precisely to the needs of the business.

1. Assessment - Before the new infrastructure is developed, an assessment should be conducted to identify user habits, user goals, and the strengths and weaknesses of the outgoing network.

2. Design - After the assessment, the structure of the incoming environment begins to take shape. In this phase the number of servers required to run the VDI is determined. Which applications and security measures will be included is also decided here, as is the IP addresses and URLs of the VDI.

Mississauga, Ontario, February 8, 2012 - Gibraltar Solutions is pleased to be named among the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada. This is the fourth consecutive year Gibraltar has made the esteemed list.

The study is conducted with the assistance of Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corporation (NYSE:AON). This year’s list appears in the March issue of PROFIT magazine, available on newsstands today.

“I have been at Gibraltar for 10 years and what keeps me here is the deep passion the company has for its employees and customers – people come first at Gibraltar,” said Joan Hughson, Director of Human Resources and Administration. “The award serves as proof Gibraltar’s investments to building a culture of excellence and empowering our people to realize their full potential did not go unnoticed by our employees.”

“We are truly honoured to be recognized with this award for the fourth consecutive year,” said Jeff Williams, Chief Operating Officer of Gibraltar. “This award is a testament to the innovative spirit of our employees and their belief that Gibraltar is the employer of choice for anyone passionate about using technology to transform how the world conducts business.”

“We use employee engagement as the standard for determining which organizations are the ‘best’ employers,” said Einar Westerlund, Director of Project Development at the Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing, part of the Queen’s School of Business. “In this study, feedback directly from employees about their workplace and their work experience enables us to measure how engaged they are.”

Employee Engagement Challenges According to Aon Hewitt’s definition, employees are engaged when they “say, stay and strive”: they speak positively about the organization to others, are committed to remaining with their current employer, and are motivated by their organizations’ leaders, managers, culture and values to go “above and beyond” to contribute to business success. The average engagement score for this year’s 50 Best Small & Medium Employers was 83 per cent; other participants in the study had an average score of 61 per cent.

“Achieving high engagement isn’t easy at the best of times,” stated Westerlund. “It’s even more challenging in an improving economy when the demand for workers increases and employees have more options. Unless employers have been able to gain a strong level of commitment from their workforce, they will see employee turnover begin to increase.” Best Employers research indicates that, in addition to greater employee retention, organizations with high engagement have decreased absenteeism, better employee health and lower job stress, enhanced customer service, and better business results.

Study requirements to be eligible to participate in the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada Study, organizations must have been in business in Canada for at least three years and have between 50 and 399 permanent, Canadian-based employees. Employers with 400 or more employees may take part in the companion Best Employers in Canada study. A total of 261 organizations participated in the two 2012 studies.

To learn more about the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada study and register online to participate, please visit www.bsmestudycanada.com.

About Queen's Centre for Business Venturing (QCBV)
Based at Queen’s School of Business, Canada’s leading business school, QCBV's mandate is to become the leading and definitive source of knowledge and expertise in the creation, leadership and management of new ventures. It accomplishes March this by developing innovative curriculum, providing access to pools of capital to fund new ventures, conducting applied research, brokering and being a hub of SME and new venture knowledge, and by playing a key role with decision-making bodies. Its focus is to increase the odds of success for Canadian new ventures.

About Aon Hewitt
Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource consulting and outsourcing solutions. The company partners with organizations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance. Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies. With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees. For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

About Aon
Aon Corporation (NYSE:AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 61,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit http://www.aon.com for more information on Aon and http://www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

About Gibraltar Solutions
Gibraltar specializes in helping organizations to use virtualization technologies in innovative ways to solve common IT and business challenges. Working closely with you and your team, we determine the optimal solution with maximum ROI and minimum risk for achieving your goals. Supported and certified as top tier partners by industry-leading vendors (like Citrix, Microsoft, VMware, and HP), Gibraltar offers an exceptional combination of consulting talent and implementation expertise to organizations that want to realize the full benefits of virtualization.
For more information, please visit www.gibraltarsolutions.com or call us at 1-877-895-2474.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Louis Le, Marketing Director
Gibraltar Solutions Inc.
Phone: (416) 849-5273
Toll Free: 1-877-895-2474
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Gibraltar Promoted to Citrix Platinum Partner Status

Toronto, Ontario, July 9, 2012 – Gibraltar Solutions proudly announces that the company has been promoted to Platinum Partner Status by Citrix. Gibraltar joins a short list of only three companies in Canada that have achieved this designation. This is both an extraordinary honour and accomplishment for Gibraltar. It was announced at Citrix Synergy 2012 that Gibraltar was also recognized as Citrix’s Canadian Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year.

“We are thrilled to have achieved Platinum level Citrix partnership status this year,” said Gibraltar Solutions Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Williams. “We are proud and honoured to be welcomed by Citrix as their highest level of valued partners. We are committed to continuing to provide world-class virtualization and cloud solutions with Citrix.”

Building on a 16 year relationship, the promotion to Platinum Partner Status recognizes Gibraltar’s expertise in designing and delivering advanced virtualization and cloud based solutions based on Citrix’s high performance technology. The promotion also commends Gibraltar’s strong commitment to customer service excellence and business growth.

About Gibraltar Solutions

Established in 1996, Gibraltar Solutions specializes in the design, integration, and optimization of high-quality, enterprise-level IT infrastructure solutions. We help commercial, industrial, and government customers across Canada to use Virtualization and Cloud Computing to improve productivity, performance and profitability.

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Gibraltar’s ongoing success is rooted in our commitment to creating a culture of integrity and respect with our customers and our people. Gibraltar’s team is made up of dedicated and experienced consultants and project managers who are committed to addressing customer needs. We work consistently to ensure our products and services meet or exceed expectations and deliver strong business results.

For more information, call us at 1-877-895-2474.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Louis Le,
Marketing Director
Gibraltar Solutions
Phone: (416) 849-5273
Toll Free: 1-877-895-2474
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Toronto, Ontario, May 10, 2012 – Gibraltar Solutions is honoured to be recognized by Citrix Systems as their 2011 Area Partner of the Year for Canada for the second consecutive year. This award recognizes Gibraltar as Citrix’s top Canadian partner. This award is given annually to the partner who most contributes to the growth and success of Citrix Systems in Canada.

Building on a 16 year relationship, this award is a testament to Gibraltar and Citrix Systems’ shared passion for innovation and an unrelenting client commitment. The companies continue to collaborate successfully by using technology to solve pressing business challenges faced by Canadian companies’ today.

“We are honoured with this award from Citrix,” said Louis Le, Marketing Director, Gibraltar Solutions. “Citrix products serve as building blocks for many of Gibraltar’s unique Virtualization and Cloud Computing solutions. This award recognizes the ingenuity of our solutions and the combined efforts of our companies in creating them.”

“Partnering with Citrix is vital to our success,” said Jeff Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Gibraltar Solutions. “We are thrilled to be recognized by Citrix as their top Canadian Partner in 2011. We are proud of winning this award again and are committed to making it a threepeat! We will challenge ourselves and our valued partner, Citrix, to continue to do more for each other, and our clients.”

About Gibraltar Solutions
Established in 1996, Gibraltar Solutions specializes in the design, integration, and optimization of high-quality, enterprise-level IT infrastructure solution. We help commercial, industrial, and government customers across Canada to use Virtualization and Cloud Computing to improve productivity, performance and profitability.

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Gibraltar’s ongoing success is rooted in our commitment to creating a culture of integrity and respect with our customers and our people. Gibraltar’s team is made up of dedicated and experienced consultants and project managers who are committed to addressing customer needs. We work consistently to ensure our products and services meet or exceed expectations and deliver strong business results.

For more information, call us at 1-877-895-2474.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Louis Le, Marketing Director
Gibraltar Solutions
Phone: (416) 849-5273
Toll Free: 1-877-895-2474
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Toronto, Ontario, April 19, 2012 - Gibraltar Solutions announced today it has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Canada. The annual list, presented by the Great Place to Work Institute, recognizes companies that have exceptional workplace cultures.

This list of "Best Workplaces in Canada" is compiled by Great Place to Work® Institute Canada. The competition process is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from a 58-statement survey completed by a random selection of employees, along with their open-ended comments about their organization; the remaining one-third of the score comes from an in-depth review of the organization's culture, including an evaluation of HR policies and procedures. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture. Together, they provide crucial data relative to the five trust-building dimensions of a great place to work®: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

"It is truly an honour to be recognized nationally as a Great Place to Work," says Gibraltar solutions COO, Jeff Williams. "Philosophically, we have always believed Gibraltar's key to success is our people. By focusing on our people's aspirations and giving them the environment and the tools to achieve their professional and personal goals, I believe we have one of the most engaged workforces in Canada. The quality of our people is the reason Gibraltar is able to bring innovative and compelling IT solutions to market."

This year's list received over 230 nominations and over 49,000 employees participated in the 2012 "Best Workplaces in Canada" survey.

For information on how to participate in next year's "Best Workplaces in Canada" list or on how to create a Great Place to Work®, please contact the Institute at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.greatplacetowork.ca.

About the Great Place to Work® Institute

Great Place to Work® Institute is a global research and management consultancy with expertise on workplace transformation and a presence in 46 countries worldwide. Our mission is to improve society by creating better workplaces. We are best-known for our global Best Workplaces Programme, which we produce in conjunction with prestigious media partners such as the Globe and Mail, the Financial Times and Fortune. With more than 5,500 organizations surveyed every year across the globe, the programme is the world's largest of its kind. We believe passionately that any company or organization can become a great place to work. Our mission is to help you do it.

About Gibraltar Solutions

Gibraltar specializes in helping organizations to use virtualization technologies to improve IT agility, security and efficiency. Supported and certified as technology experts by industry-leading vendors (like Citrix, Microsoft, VMware, and HP), Gibraltar offers an exceptional combination of consulting talent and implementation expertise to organizations that want to realize the full benefits of virtualization. Working closely with you and your team, we can assess, architect and deploy virtualization solutions that is guaranteed to meet all of your needs.

For more information, please call us at 1-877-895-2474.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Louis Le,

Marketing Director

Gibraltar Solutions Inc.

Phone: (416) 849-5273

Toll Free: 1-877-895-2474

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

GIBRALTAR SOLUTIONS

Continues to be recognized as one of Canada’s Best Workplaces!

Toronto, Ontario, April 10, 2013 - Gibraltar Solutions announced today it has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Canada for the second consecutive year. The annual list, presented by the Great Place to Work Institute, recognizes companies with exceptional workplace cultures.

This list of “Best Workplaces in Canada” is compiled by Great Place to Work® Institute Canada. The competition process is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from a 58 statement survey completed by a random selection of employees, along with their open-ended comments about their organization; the remaining one-third of the score comes from an in-depth review of the organization’s culture, including an evaluation of HR policies and procedures. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture. Together, they provide crucial data relative to the five trust-building dimensions of a great place to work®: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

“We are honoured and pleased to be recognized nationally as a Great Place to Work for the second year running and three out of the last four years,” said Don Lee, Gibraltar Solutions CEO. “Philosophically, we have always believed satisfied and engaged employees are the best guarantee for continued business success and a source for our innovative and compelling IT solutions. In a service and knowledge based industry, our people make a difference to our customers and to us.”

“We have revamped and improved our employee review process over the past couple of years in an effort to drive engagement and to better career development paths for our employees,” added Joan Hughson, Director of Human Resources. “We strive to have the most engaged workforce in the industry by creating an environment where our people can achieve their professional and personal aspirations. Being recognized as one of Canada’s best workplaces is an indication we are on the right track."

For information on how to participate in next year’s “Best Workplaces in Canada” list or on how to create a Great Place to Work®, please contact the Institute at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.greatplacetowork.ca.

About the Great Place to Work^® Institute

Great Place to Work® Institute is a global research, consulting and training firm that helps organizations identify, create and sustain great workplaces through the development of high-trust workplace cultures. We serve businesses, non-profits and government agencies in 45 countries on all six continents.

Our clients are those companies and organizations that wish to maintain Best Company environments, those that are ready to dramatically improve the culture within their workplaces, and those in between the two. We know that organizations that build trust and create a rewarding cycle of personal contribution and appreciation create workplace cultures that deliver outstanding business performance.

About Gibraltar Solutions

Gibraltar specializes in helping organizations to use virtualization and cloud computing technologies to improve IT agility, security and efficiency. Supported and certified as technology experts by industry-leading vendors (like Citrix, Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, and HP), Gibraltar offers an exceptional combination of consulting services and solution implementation expertise to organizations that want to realize the full benefits of virtualization and cloud computing. Working closely with you and your team, we can assess, architect and deploy virtualization and cloud computing solutions that is guaranteed to meet all of your needs.

For more information, please visit www.gibraltarsolutions.com or call us at 1-877-895-2474.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Louis Le,
Marketing Director
Gibraltar Solutions Inc.
Phone: (416) 849-5273
Toll Free: 1-877-895-2474
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

GIBRALTAR SOLUTIONS

Named as a Top Employer in the Greater Toronto Area!

Toronto, Ontario, Nov 29, 2012 – Gibraltar Solutions is honoured to be recognized among Greater Toronto's Best Employers for the third year in a row. This prestigious list is compiled every year by Aon Hewitt, which recognizes businesses in the Greater Toronto Area that stand out for their human resources practices that engage employees. The list was published in the November 29th edition of the Toronto Star.

“We are very pleased with being recognized as a top employer for the third year running. This award is a testament to our corporate philosophy of always hiring the right people and surrounding them with a challenging and engaging work environment,” said Jeff Williams, COO. “Our unique combination of exceptional employees and an engaging culture have allowed Gibraltar to stay ahead of our competitors and to continually grow and innovate in our industry.”

“Knowing our employees actively participated and voted Gibraltar as a top employer in the GTA gives me a tremendous sense of pride,” said Joan Hughson, Director of Human Resources and Administration. “Public confirmation of our engaging work culture will allow us to better recruit and retain top talent which will help us to achieve our vision of being Canada’s leading virtualization and cloud computing solutions provider.”

Gibraltar was also recognized as a top GTA employer in 2011 and 2010.

About Gibraltar Solutions

Gibraltar specializes in helping organizations use virtualization and cloud technologies in innovative ways to solve common IT and business challenges. Working closely with our clients, we determine the optimal solution with the highest ROI and the least risks. Supported and certified as top tier partners by industry-leading vendors (like Citrix, Microsoft, VMware, and HP), Gibraltar offers an exceptional combination of architectural innovation and implementation expertise to organizations wanting to realize the full benefit of virtualization and cloud computing.

For more information, please visit www.gibraltarsolutions.com or call us at 1-877-895-2474.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Louis Le, Marketing Director
Gibraltar Solutions
Phone: (416) 849-5273
Toll Free: 1-877-895-2474
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Some companies like the idea of letting their own IT department manage their virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). The logic goes that it’s a company network, and just like all other elements of the company, it should be operated and maintained by the company. In some cases this approach works well enough, but there are several benefits to having a VDI managed by a virtualization solutions provider.

Issues with managing your own VDI include:

• Interdisciplinary Requirements – VDIs have a lot of moving parts that penetrate into all areas of IT. Elements of the infrastructure span server groups, networking, security, storage, applications, desktops, and more.  Consequently, VDI management can lead to disagreements within IT departments, which can in turn lead to lost time and an ineffectual product.
• Unconventional nature – Most aspects of IT are approached with a defined protocol to ensure everything is done smoothly. VDIs, on the other hand, are dynamic computing organisms that present novel challenges to IT departments unused to managing anything like them.
• Personnel capacity – Few IT departments are equipped with virtualization specialists. Reading technology manuals is not enough for a person to fully acquaint themselves with the nuances of VDI management, which means those running things are often unsure about the best way to optimize the environment.

Upgrading VDI software requires an investment of both time and money, and recognizing the optimal moment to make that investment is not as easy as you might think. There are many considerations that go into the decision, each one impacting your computing environment in several ways.

One of the first decisions you must make is to determine who will oversee updates. Will it be something handled by corporate IT, or will you contract managed virtual services from a computing solutions provider?

Some businesses prefer to let their own employees handle it, which is fine so long as those involved are kept up to date about advancements in virtualization. This means:

• Having IT members attend trade shows
• Executing early trials of new products in demo mode
• Playing with new versions to assess them and gain familiarity
• Keeping a meticulous watch on new product launches

What perhaps most strongly defines Gibraltar as a company is that we provide clients with more than just technology; we arm them with the comprehension and continued support to ensure they are able to best make use of that technology. One of the solution sets we are proud to offer is Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI).

While our VDI solutions naturally include VDI technology, that is really just the tip of the virtualization iceberg; Like all of our solutions, VDI is focused on Desktop Virtualization for companies looking to save costs, streamline access and processes, and secure their computing environments.

When it comes to any sort of virtualization initiative, concerns over security inevitably spring up. For companies that have always done things in a more traditional manner – run a secured local network only accessible from corporate devices – the idea of opening an environment to limitless machines and innumerable access points can be a pretty scary proposition.

Though concern over virtualizing your computing environment is logical, any issue can be handled if these two steps are taken:

Make Generous Estimates

There is the tendency when making a business decision to do everything possible to cut costs to the bone. While this logical inclination is often part of sound operational procedure, there are certain times when making generous estimates (and subsequent investments) are necessary. Developing and deploying a virtual computing infrastructure is one of those times.

When implementing a virtualized computing program, it is vital to look beyond the immediate cost of adoption, to see the long-term impact of the solution. The following considerations should never be neglected:

It is not always necessary to obliterate an organization’s existing virtual infrastructure before laying the foundation for a new Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI) solution. In fact, deploying VDI technology within the existing virtual framework of a company’s datacenter can save time and money, and in combination can create the computing environment the organization is looking for.

The practice of utilizing new VDI software to run in conjunction with an existing infrastructure is not an overly difficult one to apply, but it is difficult to apply effectively and without threatening the integrity of the implementation process.

Gibraltar offers a computing solution that can be likened to a corporate app store. The store itself – a portal or website – contains everything within a company’s computing system: every app, every program, and every piece of internal information.

The model takes the best features from public clouds and the most desirable security benefits of operating on premise and combines them to create an effective computing solution. Features of the Gibraltar corporate app store include:

There is a prevailing belief among many companies that fortifying an internal network with a firewall is the best way to ensure electronic security. This practice makes logical sense, as outsiders lacking access to company machines (or remote access credentials) will be turned away, unable to get at valued data and private information.

While this sounds simplistic and efficient, there are inherent deficiencies with the firewall method of protection, which not only limit network effectiveness but also may frustrate employee access.

Gibraltar’s approach to Secure Remote Access (SRA) does not just entail providing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to clients. Of course, we deliver a VPN, but that is just one component of our solution.

Whereas most network providers operate with a strong focus on the network (so long as the VPN is functioning normally everything is fine, regardless of end-user experience), Gibraltar approaches SRA by considering what users want and expect from it. This means that beyond keeping the network in working order, we concentrate on getting data, applications, and desktops to users, and on allowing them to access everything in a simple and unobstructed manner.

BYOD is an acronym that stands for “Bring Your Own Device.” It refers to the act of employees bringing personal computing devices to the office and using them for professional purposes. For BYOD to exist, a company’s network must either allow foreign devices to access internal computing resources on premise, and/or via remote access.

Over the past several years BYOD has become increasingly popular. More employees want it, and more companies are offering it as an option. That’s because if implemented properly, BYOD solutions can provide a plethora of benefits for both users and the companies they work for.