Impact document Project MUSCLE - LuxCloud...LuxCloud S.A. | 1. Introduction The goal of this document is to collect all information about Project MUSCLE and share it within one document

Impact document Project MUSCLE

Update: 15.03.2017

Version 0.3

LuxCloud S.A. | www.luxcloud.com

Table of Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2

2. Key Service Improvements ............................................................................................... 2

2.1.1. Exchange2010and2013Migration:DeprecatedinExchange2016.............................2

2.1.2. Exchange2016GeographicRedundancy.......................................................................3

2.1.3. SWHLwebhostingtobediscontinued30April2017.....................................................4

2.1.4. BlackberryBISserversupporttobediscontinued30April2017...................................4

2.1.5. WindowsHostingtobediscontinued30April2017......................................................4

2.1.6. Virtuozzotobediscontinued30April2017...................................................................4

3. Platform Upgrade ............................................................................................................. 5

3.1.1. UpgradefromOSA5.5.toOSA6.0................................................................................5

3.1.2. UpgradetoOSA7...........................................................................................................5

3.1.3. IntroductionofStripe(NewPaymentMethod).............................................................7

4. Portfolio expansion ........................................................................................................... 9

4.1.1. Office365.......................................................................................................................9

4.1.2. Office365BusinessFeatures.........................................................................................9

4.1.3. Office365Pricing.........................................................................................................10

4.1.4. Exclaimer......................................................................................................................10

4.1.5. Emailbackup................................................................................................................11

4.1.6. CloudInfrastucture-as-a-Service..................................................................................11

4.1.7. PremiumSupportandPremium24*7Support............................................................12

5. Improve Operational Support ......................................................................................... 13

5.1.1. Additionalsupportpeople...........................................................................................13

5.1.2. Additionaloperationspeople......................................................................................13

5.1.3. IntroductionofaNOC(NetworkOperationsCenter)with24/7mannedoperation...13


1. Introduction

ThegoalofthisdocumentistocollectallinformationaboutProjectMUSCLEandshareitwithinonedocument.Thisdocumentwillberegularlyupdatedwithnewinformationandcannotbeconsideredfinalordefinitive.

ProjectMUSCLEcoversfourmainareaswherechangeswillbeexecuted:

1. KeyServiceImprovementswillmakesurethekeyserviceslikeExchangeandwebhostingareupgradedtothelatestversions.

2. PlatformUpgradewillfocusonbringingtheOSA(ODIN/Parallelsprovisioning)platformfromversion5.5to6,thento7.

3. PortfolioExpansionintroducesnewproductslikeOffice365andCloudDesktop.4. ImproveOperationalSupportfocusesonimprovementsinsupportandpartner

communication.

2. Key Service Improvements

2.1.1. Exchange 2010 and 2013 Migration: Deprecated in Exchange 2016

Newversionscomewithnewfeatures,andatthesametimeanewversionisusedtocutoldfeatures,ordeprecatethem.ThefollowingarefeaturesthatarenotavailableordeprecatedinExchange2016:

• SupportforOutlook2007• SupportforExchange2007• OutlookAnywhere• ClientAccessserverrole:TheClientAccessserverrolehasbeenreplacedbyClientAccess

servicesthatrunontheMailboxserverrole.TheMailboxserverrolenowperformsallfunctionalitythatwaspreviouslyincludedwiththeClientAccessserverrole.FormoreinformationaboutthenewMailboxserverrole,seeExchange2016architecture.

• MAPI/CDO-TheMAPI/CDOlibraryhasbeenreplacedbyExchangeWebServices(EWS),ExchangeActiveSync(EAS),andRepresentationalStateTransfer(REST)*APIs.IfanapplicationusestheMAPI/CDOlibrary,itneedstomovetoEWS,EAS,ortheRESTAPIstocommunicatewithExchange2016.

Client access • Outlook2003isnotsupported:ToconnectMicrosoftOutlooktoExchange2016,theuseof

theAutodiscoverserviceisrequired.However,MicrosoftOutlook2003doesn’tsupporttheuseoftheAutodiscoverservice.

• RPC/TCPaccessforOutlookclients:InExchange2016,MicrosoftOutlookclientscanconnectusingOutlookAnywhere(RPC/HTTP)orMAPIoverHTTPOutlook2013ServicePack1andlater.IfyouhaveOutlookclientsinyourorganization,usingOutlookAnywhereand/orMAPIoverHTTPisrequired.Formoreinformation,seeOutlookAnywhereandMAPIoverHTTPinExchange2016.


Outlook Web App and Outlook • Spellcheck-OutlookWebAppnolongerhasbuilt-inspellcheckservices.Instead,itusesthe

spellcheckfeaturesincludedinyourwebbrowser.• Customizablefilters-OutlookWebAppnolongerhascustomizablefilteredviewsandno

longersupportssavingfilteredviewstoFavorites.Customizablefiltershavebeenreplacedbyfixedfiltersthatcanbeusedtoviewallmessages,unreadmessages,messagessenttotheuser,orflaggedmessages.

• Messageflags-Theabilitytosetacustomdateonamessageflagisn’tavailableinOutlookWebApp.YoucanuseOutlooktosetcustomdates.

• Chatcontactlist-ThechatcontactlistthatappearedinthefolderlistinOutlookWebAppforExchange2010isnolongeravailable.

• Searchfolders-TheabilityforuserstouseSearchfoldersisn’tcurrentlyavailableinOutlookWebApp.

2.1.2. Exchange 2016 Geographic Redundancy

Afterdiscussionswithmanypartners,wehavedecidedtoprovideExchangehostingplatformslocatedinmultiplecountries-initiallyLuxembourgandtheNetherlands,andpossiblyinGermanylaterthisyear.Thiswillofferseveralbenefits,includingthechoiceofhavingdatastoredineitherLuxembourgortheNetherlands,aswellastheoptionofenhancingthebuilt-inredundancyofExchangebyaddinggeographicredundancy,whichmeansthatiftheExchangedatabaseinonecountrywentdown,theplatformcouldautomaticallyswitchtotheotherandavoidanydowntimeforcustomers.


2.1.3. SWHL webhosting to be discontinued 30 April 2017

PleasebeinformedthatwebsitesstillusingouroldSWHLhostingplatformwillnolongerbesupportedbyLuxCloudafter31March2017.Thismeansthattheywillnolongerbeavailableafterthisdateandshouldberedevelopedusingcurrenttechnology.

Why is SWHL webhosting being discontinued? WereplacedtheoutdatedSWHLwebhostingsolutionwithLinuxNextGenerationwebhostinginourportfolio4yearsago,butcontinuedsupportingthesewebsitesuntilnow.However,theSWHLplatform,includingscriptinglanguagesanddatabases,isnolongersupportedbytheopensourcecommunity,andisnolongerbeingupdated.Thismeansthatitisvulnerabletosecuritythreatsandotherissues.

What are the options I can provide my customers? Asmentionedabove,theSWHLwebhostingplatformisnolongerbeingsupportedorupdatedbytheopensourcecommunity(pleasevisitphp.netormysql.comtoseetheversionscurrentlysupported).Thismeansthattheaffectedwebsitesshouldberedevelopedusingadifferenttechnology.WesuggestthattheexistingwebsitecontentbecopiedtoadifferentCMSenvironment,orwhererelevant,thatthecompletewebsiteberedesignedonadifferentplatformlikeourLinuxNGplatformorusingtheBasekitSitebuildersoftware.

Does this also apply to the NG Hosting platform?

No,theNGHostingplatformisamorerecentdevelopmentandhasbeenupdatedregularly.

2.1.4. Blackberry BIS server support to be discontinued 30 April 2017

LuxCloudwillstopsupportingtheBlackberryEnterpriseServerforExchangeon30April2017,asthedemandforBlackberryhasdroppedsignificantly.ThismeansthatremotesetupandremotewipingofdevicesconnectedtoLCBES01willnolongerbepossible.EmailaccessshouldstillbepossiblebutwillneedtobereconfiguredtousethenewExchange2016serverdetails.

2.1.5. Windows Hosting to be discontinued 30 April 2017

LuxCloudwillstopsupportforWindowsWebHostingasthedemandforthisproducthasbeenextremelylowandmaintenanceforthisproductishigh.WearelookingatanewflavourofhostingthatODINislaunchingthisyear,whichisbasedonthepopularPLESKhostingsolutions.

2.1.6. Virtuozzo to be discontinued 30 April 2017

AstheversionofVirtuozzothatLuxCloudprovidesisreachingEnd-Of-Lifestatusfromitsprovider(Virtuozzo)wealsoneedtodiscontinueit.Unfortunately,thereisnomigrationpathprovidedfromthecurrentsolutionwhichmeansthatwecannotofferamigrationserviceforthisproduct.LuxCloudwillcontinuetosupplyinfrastructureservicesviathenewCloudInfrastructureasaServicesolution.


3. Platform Upgrade

3.1.1. Upgrade from OSA 5.5. to OSA 6.0

OnFriday,16December,LuxCloud’sODINServiceAutomationplatformwasupgradedfromversion5.5to6.0.TheupgradewascarriedoutinpreparationforasecondupgradetoOSA7.InOSA6.0therearemanyimprovements,butmostlyatcorelevel,sotheyarenotalwaysvisible.

Herearejustafewhighlightsfromthisrelease:

• Version6.0expandssupportforMicrosoftsolutionsandallowsserviceproviderstoofferWindowssharedhostingwiththelatestversionsofWindowsServer2012andSQLServer2014,aswellastomigratecustomersfromthe2007and2010versionsofHostedExchangetothe2013edition.

• Serviceprovidersandresellerscannowtransfersubscriptionsbetweencustomeraccounts.Forexample,ifanenduserunintentionallycreatesaseparateaccountwhentryingtobuyadditionalservices,thesenewservicescannowbetransferredbacktotheirmaincustomeraccountensuringthatallusersandserviceslinkuptothesameaccountandinvoice.

• Customeraccountscannowbetransferredbetweenaserviceproviderandtheirresellers,enablingserviceproviderstokeepacustomerwithintheirresalechanneleveniftheyexperiencechangeswiththeircurrentreseller.Thetransferscenariosinclude:

o Transferringfromoneresellertoanother,o Fromaserviceprovidertoareseller,o Orfromaresellertoaserviceprovider.

• Tieredvolumepricingallowsaserviceproviderorresellertochargedifferentpricesfordifferentrangesofresourceamountswithinasinglesubscription.

• IdentityManagerofferstheabilitytolinkuseraccountstoexternalidentitiesofregisteredauthenticationproviders–alsoknownassinglesign-on.WithIdentityManagerausercanlogintoaserviceprovider’scontrolpanelandonlinestoreusingtheirGoogle,Facebook,orcorporatedomainaccount,orbyusingasimple4-digitPINfromCertivox.IdentityManageralsoallowsAPS-enabledservicestointegratewithOdinServiceAutomationusingthestandardSAMLprotocolwhichenablesuserstodirectlylogintocloudservicesusingtheirServiceAutomationcredentials.

ThesearejustafewofthemanynewcapabilitiesandbenefitsdeliveredinServiceAutomationversion6.0.

3.1.2. Upgrade to OSA 7

OdinAutomationPremiumisahighlyscalableandflexiblecloudcommerceautomationplatformthatempowersthetopserviceprovidersworldwidetoofferabreakthroughmodernuserexperienceandstreamlinetheirend-to-endcloudcommercemanagement.Withthenewrelease,OdinAutomationPremium7,youcannowtakeadvantageofamoreintuitive,brand-newcustomercontrolpanel,enhancedperformanceandscalability,andnewSDKs(softwaredevelopmentkits)forpaymentpluginsanddomains.Youcanelevatecustomerrelationships,runmoreefficientcloudbusinesses,andsellmoreserviceswithinnovativescenariosthroughitsadvancedmodernuserexperience.ThemodernuserexperienceofOdinAutomationPremiumisdesignedtomaximizeself-serviceforendcustomers,providingproductivityimprovementsforyouroperations,productmanagersandsalesteams.Itcanbedeployedtosupportmultiplecloudcommercebusinessmodelswithconfigurableoptions.


WithOdinAutomationPremium7,youcanalsobringnewservicestothemarketrapidlybyleveragingthecompletecatalogueofplatform-readyservices,andupsellandcrosssellintegratedcloudsolutions,includingMicrosoftCSP(cloudsolutionprovider)programservicesacrossmulti-saleschannelsandresellers.TheplatformprovidesthemostcomprehensivecloudcommercecapabilitiesthatencompassastorefrontwitheCommerceshoppingcart,ordermanagement,integratedmarketingtools,customerandresellermanagement,businessandfinancialreports,andmoderncustomercontrolpanelswithin-contextsellingcapabilitiestoincreaseaveragerevenueperuser(ARPU).

WithOdinAutomationPremium7youcan:

DeliveraBreakthroughModernUserExperience

• Simple,intuitivecustomercontrolpaneldeliveringbrand-newself-serviceexperience• Monetizeeveryinteractionwithin-contextupselling• Streamlineon-boardingandcustomeractivationprocesses• Anydevice,anywhere,usingtabletsandsmartphones• Boostcustomerengagementwithreal-timenotifications

RunaMoreEfficientCloudBusiness

• MoreextensibleandopenpaymentanddomainSDKsandAPIs• Cost-effectivedevelopmentofpaymentanddomainpluginsusingPHP• DomainSDKnewcapabilities,DNSSec,immediateavailabilitycheck,etc.• Enhancedperformanceandscalability

SellMoreServiceswithInnovativeScenarios

• NewSaaSserviceswithmodernuserexperience• StreamlinedadoptionprocesswithAPSservicesbackwardcompatibility• SharedhostingandVPSmodules


3.1.3. Introduction of Stripe (New Payment Method)

OneoftheperksofthenewplatformistheintroductionofthepaymentmethodStripe(https://stripe.com).Stripeisfamousforsupplyingafastandeasysignupprocessformerchantswhowanttoprovidecustomerswith(amongstother)creditcardpayments.Weareexcitedaboutthispaymentproviderasitallowsourpartnerstoaddanautomatedrecurringpaymenttotheplatform.BelowyouwillfindtheprocessforaddingStripetoyouraccount:

1. Signupasanewmerchantviawww.stripe.com2. ProvidetheAPIkeystoLuxCloud3. Startacceptingautomatedpaymentsontheplatform


YourcustomerswillhavetoprovidetheirdetailsonlyonceandafterthattheirmonthlyinvoicewillbehandledsmoothlyandautomaticallyviaStripe.PleasenotethatStripeiscurrentlytestingadditionalpaymentmethods(forEurope):

Thismeansthatinthenearfutureyouwillbeabletoacceptpaymentsusingmanytypesofpaymentmethods.


4. Portfolio expansion

4.1.1. Office 365

Office365BusinessisabundleofcloudservicesbyMicrosoftaimedatthesmallandmedium-sizedbusiness (SMB) customer. Itmakes themost popularMicrosoft productivity products available inonepackageat anattractiveprice.Office365Business ishostedbyMicrosoft inaEuropeandatacenterandoffersbothonlineandofflinetoolsinthreedifferentpackages.

These bundles of productivity applications provide businesses with two important capabilities:mobilityandflexibility.AllMicrosoftbusinessservicesarecentralizedandavailablethroughasimpleperuser/permonthmodelthatallowschangesatanytime.

4.1.2. Office 365 Business Features

§ Email,CalendarandContacts(HostedExchange)§ CloudStorage(OneDriveforBusiness)§ OfficeOnline(Word,Excel,PowerPoint,OneNote,OutlookWebmail)§ DesktopversionsofOfficeApplicationsforPC/Mac§ Onlinemeetings(SkypeforBusiness)§ Corporatesocialnetwork(Yammer)

ThethreeflavoursofOffice365Businessare:• Office365Business-AimedatuserswhoarelookingforthetraditionalOfficeapplications

suchasWord,PowerPointandExcel(onlineandoffline).Thismeanstheycandownloadandinstall the desktop version of the software or use the online version aswell as store andaccessalloftheirdocumentsdirectlyinthecloud.

• Office 365 Business Essentials - Aimed at users who are looking for email, calendar andcontactmanagementandwhoonlyneedtheonlineversions(browser-based)oftheOfficeapplications.

• Office 365 Business Premium – This full suite of products combines email, calendar andcontactmanagementwithonlineandofflineOfficeapplications.


4.1.3. Office 365 Pricing

4.1.4. Exclaimer (email signatures for Office 365)

Tryingtomanageemployeeemailsignaturesacrossacompanycanbecomplicatedandmessy,resultingindisplayissuesandalackofbrandconsistency.

ExclaimersimplifiessignaturemanagementforOffice365,allowingyoutocreateunlimitedemailsignaturesandupdatetheminreal-timewithouttheneedforITexpertise.Choosefromalibraryofprofessionaltemplatesoruseacustomdesign,andhavecompletecontroloveremployeesignatures.

Exclaimerisanadd-ontoMicrosoftOffice365forBusiness,offeringpowerfulsignaturemanagementforbusinessemail.

Products CatalogueListPriceper

month

CatalogueListPriceperyear

MicrosoftOffice365(CSP)ExchangeOnline(2016)ExchangeOnlineBasic 1.70€ 20.40€ExchangeOnlineBusiness 3.40€ 40.80€ExchangeOnlineEnterprise 6.80€ 81.60€Office365(SmallBusinessEdition-upto300users)Office365Business(OfficeClientSuite+OneDrive) 8.80€ 105.60€Office365BusinessEssentials(Exchange+Officeonline+OneDrive) 4.20€ 50.40€Office365BusinessPremium(Business+Essentials) 10.60€ 127.20€Office365(Enterpriseedition)Office365ProPlus 12.90€ 154.80€Office365E1 6.80€ 81.60€Office365E3 19.70€ 236.40€Office365E5 32.50€ 390.00€SharepointOnlineSharePointOnline(Plan1) 4.20€ 50.40€SharePointOnline(Plan2) 8.40€ 100.80€SkypeforBusinessSkypeforBusinessOnline(Plan1) 1.70€ 20.40€SkypeforBusinessOnline(Plan2) 4.60€ 55.20€Productsmarkedwith*areproductsthatarecurrentlyunderdevelopment.


4.1.5. Email backup

Weareverypleasedtobeabletoaddthisproducttoourlineup.Foryears,partnersandcustomershavebeenaskingforthisfeatureastheyseethatalotofend-usersusetheirmailboxasadigitalarchive.Withoutittheywouldbelostandsotheimportanceofthedigitalmailboxisbecomingbiggereveryyear.Toensure,bothasaresellerorasacompany,thatvitalinformationisnotaccidentally(ordeliberately)lost,emailbackupandrestoreareessential.LuxCloudislaunchingnotone,butthreedifferentproductstoachievethis.

1. ArchivingbySpamExperts

IncomingandoutgoingmailthatpassthroughourSpamExpertsspamfiltercannownotonlybecheckedforspamorviruses,butalsocopiedforarchivingpurposes.

2. EmailBackupbyDropSuite

ThissolutionisbackeduptoDropSuiteandaccessesyourmailboxeverytwohourstoseewhathaschanged.Itallowsyoutorestorethestateofamailboxtoacertainpointintime,andcanalsorestorethemailboxtoadifferentmailbox.

3. Office365EmailBackupbyAcronis

Thisbackupisstoredcentrallytogetherwithdesktop,mobilephoneandserverbackupsintheAcronisCloud.

4.1.6. Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service

CloudInfrastructurefromLuxCloudallowsyoutoprovidecost-effectivecloudinfrastructuretoyourcustomersthroughasingle,highly-automatedplatform.

Withautomatedoperationsandbilling,acustomerself-servicepanel,abuilt-inonlinestoreandtheabilitytocreatebothvirtualmachinesandcontainers,CloudInfrastructureisacompleteandflexiblesolutionforprofessionalcustomersthatneedtodeployoneormorevirtualservers.


4.1.7. Premium Support and Premium 24*7 Support

Support-as-a-ServicefromLuxCloudallowsyoutofocusonyourcorebusiness,whilebuildingyourownCloudServiceBrokerCompany.Whetheryouneedround-the-clockpremiumlevel2partnersupportortemporarydedicatedfirst-levelsupportwhilestartingup,wecanprovideyouwiththerightsolution.

Offeryourcustomersthebestserviceanddifferentiateyourbusinessfromthecompetitionbyofferingquickresolutiontimesand24/7support.


5. Improve Operational Support

5.1.1. Additional support staff

Thefirstandsecondlevelpartnersupportteamhasgrownwithextrapeopleinordertobetterandmorequicklyserveourpartners.

5.1.2. Additional operations staff

Theoperationsteamhasbeenincreasedinordertomakesurethatduringandafterthemigration“normal”operationswillcontinue.

5.1.3. Introduction of a NOC (Network Operations Center) with 24/7 manned operation

TheemergencynumberstaysthesamebutwillberoutedtoaNOCthatisstaffed24/7startingon1February2017.Thismeansthatinseverity1incidentsourpartnerscancallthisnumberanddirectlyspeaktoanoperationsemployeeonthephonewhoisabletoinvestigateandtakeaction.

Documents

Impact document Project MUSCLE - LuxCloud...LuxCloud S.A. | 1. Introduction The goal of this document is to collect all information about Project MUSCLE and share it within one document