FAQ:
1. What is the cost to become a member of the UWITC?2. What support is provided?
3. How does the UWITC charge members?
4. How do I access my data and applications?
5. Is there any application the UWITC cannot host?
6. What are the tecnnical requirements to access the UWITC system?
7. Is my data secure?
8. Who owns the software licenses?
9. Do I need to buy any Hardware?
10. How often is my data backed up?
11. How does printing work?
12. Which devices (including smartphones and tablets) do you support?
1. What is the cost to become a member of the UWITC?
We make our pricing as simple as possible. Currently it is $50 per user per month. That's it! There are no hidden charges and you only pay for the users who are active in any given month. On top of that, every new members gets three months free to try our service. If at the end of three months you decide the service isn't for you, we part as friends.
2. What support is provided?
We support everything about your citrix session - meaning from the time you log into our portal until you log out. This does not include application support - for instance, if you want to know how to run a payout in Andar you would still contact Helix. We can provide remote desktop support for your local workstations - including patch management and web filtering - for an additional charge.
3. How does the UWITC charge members?
We will automatically deduct your monthly fee from your bank account at the start of every month.
4. How do I access my data and applications?
You access your data and applications over the internet by logging into our Citrix portal. Once you are logged in, you will access your applications just like you did before you became a member. The best part, your applications and data are available to you whether you are at the office, at home, or at a hotel attending a conference. As long as you have a computer (or other device) with internet access, you can get to your data.
5. Is there any application the UWITC cannot host?
We are unable to host video and graphic editing applications like Photoshop in our citrix environemnt. In those rare occasions where we cannot host the application, you will continue to access those applications locally and we will backup your data remotely every night.
6. What are the technical requirements to access the UWITC system?
Any device that has a Citrix client and internet access can access our system. This means you are able to run Andar (and your other applications) from a Windows computer, a Macintosh computer, an Ipad, or any other compatible device.
7. Is my data secure?
The security of your data is our top priority. We employ 3rd party security monitoring services such as Alert Logic to monitor our network security 24/7/365. In addition, we have weekly security scans of our equipment to ensure we are as protected as possible.
8. Who owns the software licenses?
In general, the UWITC will provide server licenses (for instance Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server, Citrix, etc) and members provide application and CAL (client access) licensing. Each organization will retain ownership of their respective licenses. For instance, if your United Way users Andar, you will be responsible for buying the Andar licenses and paying the yearly maintenance costs to Helix and the UWITC will provide the Windows Server and SQL server licenses.
Most members need Microsoft Licensing for four products. Luckily, you should already own these licenses on your own network so when you convert to our system you will use those same licenses. We will do an audit of your licenses every July to ensure you own the proper licenses. Unfortunatly, access to our systems will be suspended until you can provide documentation to support you own the proper licenses.
If you don't already own the proper licenses, the most cost effective way to obtain them is to request a donation from techsoup.org. You can get more information on techsoup.org here.
For information on Microsoft's specific donation policy, visit the Microsoft donation page here.
Once you purchase these licenses, they are current for two years after which you will need to pay a small yearly maintenance fee. If you do not continue to pay the maintenance fee you will have to repurchase the licenses every time we upgrade the system.
Below are the links to the licenses you will need on Techsoup's website.
Microsoft Office 2010 -- $31.00 per user
Windows Server User CAL (Includes Software Assurance) -- $2.00 per user
Exchange Server User CAL - Enterprise (Includes Software Assurance) -- $2.00 per user
Windows Remote Desktop Services User CAL (Includes Software Assurance) -- $6.00 per user
If you cannot obtain these licenses from TechSoup.org, CDW has special non-profit pricing available to you. You should contact Geof Carlson via email (geofcar@cdw.com) or phone (866-874-3596)..
Microsoft Office 2010 Pro Plus -- $112.29 per user
Windows Server User CAL (Includes Software Assurance) -- $10.28 per user
Exchange Server User CAL - Enterprise (Includes Software Assurance) -- $14.36 per user
Windows Remote Desktop Services User CAL (Includes Software Assurance) -- $29.39 per user
If you need assistance in obtaining these licenses, please feel free to contact us.
9. Do I need to buy any Hardware?
Not only do you NOT need to buy new server hardware or software but your workstations will not need to be refreshed for twice as long as before because they will in essence be acting like dumb terminals. This also means you don't need to worry about server security, backups of your data, disaster recovery, etc because your information will be housed in our state of the art facility and monitored 24/7 for problems.
10. How often is my data backed up?
We use the Barracuda backup system and all data is backed up every night and we store a backed up copy onsite and a copy offiste at a secure, remote location for disaster recovery. Nightly backups are done by UWITC so in the case of a full system loss, the UWITC can restore the server's data. A happy byproduct of those nightly backups is that the UWITC may be able to recover individual files, email messages, transactions, etc in the case of their accidental deletion; however, that is not the purpose of the backups and cannot be guaranteed. If a member needs files restored they must open a ticket with UWITC who will do its best to recover the data within 48 hours. PLEASE NOTE: Individual Contacts and calendar items are not backed up nightly. They will only be restored in case of a system failure.
11. How does printing work?
When you log into your Citrix session, Citrix will attempt to map your local printers to your Citrix session. Although the vast majority of printers are able to work with citrix, not all functions of all printers will work properly.
12. Which devices (including smartphones and tablets) do you support?
You can access and run any of your applications from any device that has a Citrix client. This includes Windows, Macintosh, Linux, iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod), and Android PDAs and tablets. You can access your email, calendar, and contact items from any device that supports activesync such as Windows Moble, iOS, and Android devices. PLEASE NOTE: Blackberry devices do not fully implement the activesync standard; therefore, only email (not calendar or contacts) are accessable from a blackberry. To fully synchronize your blackberry you can download AstraSync (www.astrasync.com) which will manage the synchronization process.