Evo-ERP and DBA Hosting Service
A Mix of SaaS and PaaS
When researching cloud-based technologies you often come across the terms Software
as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS). Our hosting service provides both SaaS and PaaS: we provide an up-to-date
Windows server that has Evo-ERP and/or DBA Classic and the Pervasive Database Engine installed
and ready to use. You have the option to use and manage the server as desired
(PaaS) as well as using the installed software (SaaS). All you need to access
Evo-ERP or DBA is an Internet connection.
Cloud-based systems allow your company to convert what is normally a capital investment (server hardware and software) in to an operating expense. This lets you focus on using the service instead of maintaining it. Let the companies whose business is managing servers make sure your server is working so you can focus on running your own business.
We have a demo server available and can provide a free demo upon request so you can test the speed and responsiveness from your network.
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Features
The Hardware
Your server runs on world-class hardware provided by Amazon AWS, which is the global leader in cloud computing services. We navigate the AWS landscape for you giving you direct access to a Windows server.
The server always runs on modern hardware including solid state disks for fast storage. In the unlikely event of a server problem, we can snapshot your data and boot up an identical server to use within minutes. Your company data is kept on an encrypted disk so only you can see the data while the server is in use. Data backups will always be encrypted so that company data is kept private.
Based on your specific needs, we can choose from one of a large range of available server hardware options to make sure you only pay for what you need. It is also possible to switch a server to more or less powerful hardware in minutes.
Amazon has datacenters in various regions around the world. We currently have customers running servers ranging from Oregon to Stockholm. AWS also offers GovCloud regions for customers that require compliance with regulations such as ITAR. You can get more information about GovCloud here.
Windows 2022 Server
You have access to the latest Windows server features from Microsoft without having to worry about keeping track of licenses. The server licensing is handled by AWS when the server is created. As part of the service, we will keep Windows up to date with the latest security patches and system updates. We also scan for malicious software and manage user accounts. Accessing the server does require a one-time cost for Windows RDP licenses per user. We will also manage a valid server certificate for free so that the server is properly authenticated and can set up either OpenVPN for client access (no charge) or AWS site-to-site VPN to connect to your intranet if needed (charges based on AWS site-to-site VPN costs)
Evo-ERP, DBA and Pervasive
We will install and maintain Evo-ERP, DBA Classic, and the Pervasive Database Engine. We will optimize the database engine for maximum performance depending on your server configuration. All Evo-ERP, DBA Classic and necessary Pervasive updates and patches will be applied as part of our regular server maintenance. We can also assist with archiving older data and managing excess files in the Evo-ERP or DBA application folder to ensure Evo-ERP and DBA are always running at their best.
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Data Security
If you have been one of the many victims of Cryptolocker or other similar ransomware, pay close attention to this section! Based on your desired schedule, we will run automated backups of your entire Evo-ERP system. Our default backup schedule is nightly backups stored for one week. If you would like to make daily backups at 2AM, we will set it up. If you'd like to keep month-end or year-end for extended periods of time, we can do it. We could also have the system make snapshots while your employees are out to lunch. There is a small additional fee based on how many snapshots you would like to keep, but this is based entirely on Amazon's data storage fee; maintaining the backups has no additional charge. We also offer archiving old data using AWS Glacier Deep Archive which has a storage cost of only $0.00099 per GB per month.
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Rapid Deployment
The system can generally be deployed within one day, but usually we schedule setup over a weekend for existing customers so we can migrate data while not in use. System Migration is done free of charge.
Testimonials
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Mark, California (5 users)
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What was your main reason for choosing the cloud server? Is it meeting your expectations?
We have been managing our software as in internal process for many years, dealing with the ever changing hardware environment, the need for space, the need for effective backup protocols and the worry of having all of our most important data on a singular system that is at risk for everything from hardware failure to theft of the machines that store and control it. As our business has grown so has the need for the data to be accessible from multiple areas with improved access that is not dependent on a local phone line or power supply, the cloud was the obvious place for us to grow to and the place that could allow us the access that our business needs today.
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How smooth was the implementation?
Implementation was a great concern for us as our day to day operations are not something that we can afford any time down for a change of that magnitude. It was necessary to find someone that could handle all of the possible issues, troubleshoot as it happens and have the responsiveness that would be a necessity to make this type of change both in practice and reality. Without a doubt the implementation of the system, the upgrades to the software, the quick and exacting responses to our questions have made this surprisingly easy and smooth. EVO ERP has responded to every need, every question immediately and made sure that all of this was a seamless and invisible procedure. Our decision to do this was on a Thursday and the system was up and fully running on Monday morning within an hour after first login.
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Did we make it easy to get your users set up and using the new system?
The staff of EVO ERP has made the set up and use for the users on the system better than even the original implementation. I know that because I personally did the original implementation years ago. The staff of EVO ERP allowed us to focus on the day to day needs and take care of everything else allowing my staff to do the work that they needed to without any time lost due to new software implementation or changes. Without a doubt this could have never been done this easily and correctly without the involvement and assistance of Lynn and the staff of EVO ERP.
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How is the server performance (Evo usability and network connection)?
One of our original concerns was the speed of information and response to the system and the users that would be online with it. There was of course some adaption needed to what we were used to, however unlike our concerns what we found was that we needed to adjust to the system being faster in most tasks and certainly faster in the more complex items. The overall performance of the system is without a doubt better than anything that we would have imagined in a hosted system.
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How is server uptime, maintenance, and ongoing support?
After a month of full time use and daily requirements we have had zero downtime, we have logged into the system at all hours from multiple locations and been able to fully utilize the system. All of the routine maintenance that we were dealing with has been eliminated and we no longer deal with any of it. The ongoing response and support of EVO ERP and Lynn Pantic have kept this change as a positive experience that will only assist us as we grow and our demands on the software increase.
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How do you feel about the costs?
The cost for the proper management, continual updates, effective data storage, access and all of the other benefits of being in the cloud is more than reasonable and has continued to prove that this method was a cost effective decision that pays for itself over and over. All in all this move for us to a cloud based system being managed by Lynn and EVO ERP has continued to make us wonder why we had not done it earlier.
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Dustin, Kentucky (10 users)
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What was your main reason for choosing the cloud server? Is it meeting your expectations?
With an aging server and malicious attacks (particularly ransomware) on the rise, our main reason for choosing the cloud server was to better protect our Evo data against loss. The cloud server has exceeded our expectations.
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How smooth was the implementation?
The implementation was extremely smooth. We simply provided a list of usernames and passwords and granted temporary remote access to our server, and within a few hours our Evo installation was up and running on the cloud server. The migration took place over the weekend so our operation experienced no downtime. With the exception of a slightly different login procedure, the transition was completely transparent to our users.
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Did we make it easy to get your users set up and using the new system?
Yes! I was worried that users would complain about the extra step of having to login to the remote server before logging into Evo, but this has proven to be a nonissue.
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How is the server performance (Evo usability and network connection)?
We are very pleased with the server performance. A number of our users have remarked that Evo actually seems to run faster on the remote server than it did when we hosted is locally. There were a number of errors (usually resource-related) that users experienced when we were hosting Evo locally, and these were completely eliminated when we moved Evo to the cloud. We have a 60MB internet connection with 10 full-time users and have not experienced any connection issues.
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How is server uptime, maintenance, and ongoing support?
Server uptime, maintenance, and ongoing support is great. We haven’t experienced any server downtime, maintenance takes place behind the scenes, and support is as responsive and helpful as ever.
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How do you feel about the costs?
We feel the costs are very reasonable given the security and peace of mind that we gained by moving our Evo installation to the cloud. We have eliminated the 3-4 hours per week we were spending applying updates, performing routine maintenance, and backing up our data. These savings alone make the cloud server option well worth the cost. The montly charges are comparable to what other hosting services offer, but none of them have the specific expertise to deploy and manage Evo.