About Jennifer O'Neal

Jennifer is the Marketing and Public Relations Manager for ABS. She developed a love of writing in high school and continued that path by majoring in English at college. She manages and contributes to the blog for ABS and blogs personally about her adventures with food, cooking and dining out.

Cisco Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialization

Posted on April 8, 2013 by by Jennifer O'Neal

Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialization, ABS has it. We were recently Cisco recognized by Cisco for the accomplishments. This specialization recognizes ABS Technology Architects as having fulfilled the training requirements and program prerequisites to sell, design and deploy comprehensive Cisco Data Center solutions.

The specialization provides role-based training in three essential areas: Unified Fabric for optimizing data and storage needs; Unified Computing for streamlining data center resources and uniting network, computational, storage and virtualization platforms; and Unified Network Services for advancing the way application delivery and security services are provided in the data center network or computing environment.

Citrix Certified Advanced Administrator and What That Means to Your Business

Posted on February 20, 2013 by by Jennifer O'Neal

ABS Senior Virtualization Engineer, Hersey Cartwright, earned his Citrix Certified Advanced Administrator (CCAA). This level of certification with Citrix builds on his CCAs for XenApp and XenDesktop that he has also acquired over the past 60 days. The CCAA is the highest Administrator level Citrix certification offered for XenApp and should pave the way for ABS to offer varying degrees of virtualization at the Application level, Desktop level, and Server level thereby completing our virtualization portfolio overall.

Citrix XenApp is an application delivery solution that enables any Windows application to be virtualized, centralized and managed in the data center, and instantly delivered as a service to users anywhere on any device. Virtual application delivery with XenApp enables organizations to improve application management by:

Centralizing applications in the datacenter to reduce complexity and lower the cost of desktop management by up to 50 percent
Controlling and encrypting access to data and applications to improve security
Delivering applications instantly to users anywhere on any device
Simplifying and automating the process of delivering or updating applications, enabling IT to focus on strategic initiatives

As an example of how this technology can be leveraged, consider this use case we are exploring with a local school system:

Currently the school system administers the National SOL (Standards of Learning) test each year and each year this is a logistical nightmare for system administrators and facilitators of the test. This is because the test is administered online via Internet Explorer across approximately 4000 unique end-points (workstations) simultaneously. Due to the varying configurations of each end-point, the different levels of software installed such as Java, and the network bandwidth required to support each end-point, this process places quite the burden on the school system each year and occupies a significant operational expenditure and time commitment for employees to prepare.

Instead of accessing the test at each workstation locally, Hersey can virtualize the Internet Explorer application with a common and tested configuration specific for the SOL test and then deliver this application from a centralized location to each end-point thereby removing the configuration discrepancies, standardizing on a common level of software required to support the test, and significantly reducing the burden on the network thereby ensuring the consistency and usability of the application for the students. By consolidating the application across all end-points to a central application, the school system only needs to prepare and test the single configuration instead of certifying 4000 end-points. This represents a significant cost savings for the school system in the form of work hours that allows them to concentrate on other strategic initiatives to move the school system forward instead of spending a large amount of time managing the day-to-day.

Students Learning About Careers in Technology

Posted on February 18, 2013 by by Jennifer O'Neal

Spotsylvania County Public Schools and Fredericksburg City Public Schools introduced career minded students to potential professions showcasing how businesses currently use technology last week through live practical demonstrations. Over 200 students with an interest in a career in technology saw current equipment, trends and uses on the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV).

The ATV is a mobile demonstration van operated by ABS Technology Architects that has been outfitted with the most innovative technology options. It showcases solutions in collaboration, video and virtual desktop integration. Hands-on demonstrations are feature rich in all areas of technology.

Spotsylvania hosted the ATV on Thursday, February 14 from 8:15 a.m. till 2 p.m. at the Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center next to Courtland High School. “The ABS ATV is a unique opportunity for students involved with STEM related classes to explore potential career paths in their areas of interest,” said Meghan O’Connor, Assistant Principal at Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center. “It is always positive for students to see industry interested in their futures and for industry to see their future work force.”

Fredericksburg hosted the ATV on Friday, February 15 from 8 a.m. till 12 p.m. at James Monroe High School. “Students visiting the ABS ATV will have an opportunity to see real world application to the skills they are learning in the classroom, said Warren Kelchner, CISCO Instructor at James Monroe High School. “They will also be able to discuss the advantages of obtaining industry certifications with professionals who are at the forefront in the ICT industry.”

Now Serving – Customer 20,000

Posted on February 4, 2013 by by Jennifer O'Neal

On Monday, January 28 ABS served its 20,000 customer. Now that isn’t 20,000 in the past 40 years of business, rather the 20,000 customer support case that we’ve addressed since implementing SalesForce as a cloud based CRM ticketing system in 2010.

The customer was Reckitt Pharmaceutical in Richmond, Virginia. Reckitt is an ABS Blueprint customer, which means that they subscribe to our managed services where our engineers act as an offshoot to their IT department to manage portions of the network.

On Friday last week, ABS treated the IT help desk staff in Parsippany, New Jersey and the office in Richmond, Virginia to a pizza lunch. It’s a party! Pizza party!

Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company that is committed to expanding access to medical therapies for patients suffering from the chronic, relapsing brain disease of opioid dependence.

Out! To Help Hampton Roads Children Beat the Odds

Posted on January 31, 2013 by by Jennifer O'Neal

You’re out! Rather, you’re in! In on raising funds in support of the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters. ABS Technology Architects was a sponsor of Vegas Night on Friday, January 18, which was a benefit event hosted by New York Mets third baseman David Wright. The event raised $144,000 for CHKD patients.

: Tres Swann, Director of Implementation Services and Project Management, David Wright and Walker Dorroh, CEO.

David Wright is a Chesapeake, Virginia native and graduate of Hickory High School. This was Wright’s third year hosting the event and feels that “The Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters is a special place of hope and healing for thousands of children each year.”

ABS has supported the event from the beginning. CEO, Walker Dorroh helped in planning and participation.

Main menu

Author Archives: Jennifer O'Neal