Utilit-e Central

• Security: The hosting center and the disaster recovery center are locked down with limited access to the physical facility.  Access to the hosting center from the Internet is handled by very strict security protocols. 
• Performance and Uptime: Servers in the hosting facility are designed to be “fault tolerant”.  This means servers are equipped with redundant components such as disk drives and power supplies.  In the case of failure of one component, the redundant part takes over.  Servers are monitored 24/7 to ensure systems are available and secure.
• Staff Availability: The effort of managing the server, operations, maintenance, and support is part of the hosting fee.  Time spent on managing technology now can be focused on serving your customer. 
• Easy to Budget: PCS hosting fees are easy to budget and will eliminate the need to plan on major server replacements, adding memory, disk, or other components, operating system updates, and network software.  PCS provides continuous improvement of the hosting center.  Examples include virus protection, technology improvements, operating system and network upgrades.  All items are included in a monthly hosting fee.  
• Lower Cost of Ownership: PCS provides a very low upfront fee to migrate into the hosting center.  Ongoing, PCS provides a consistent monthly fee based on the number of applications hosted and users on the system.  The monthly fee also includes future server migration costs and the cost to move applications to any new computing environment.

The PCS application hosting center, called Utilit-e Central, is an innovative method of delivering software applications via the Internet.  In today’s business arena, it is imperative to stay up-to-date with all aspects of the computer system’s hardware and software.  This has become a major budget item in most utilities.  As the utility of tomorrow expands their product and service offerings, they have a real need to stay on top of the tools needed to accommodate these changes.  Normally this means constant updating of computer servers along with a continual upgrade of software applications.  Both require a substantial investment in equipment, licenses, and personnel.

Utilit-e Central provides a method of software delivery eliminating many of the headaches and expenses that go along with maintaining a proper computer server. Companies subscribing to Utilit-e Central use the applications, which can range from billing applications to accounting software.  Utilit-e Central houses all applications and data at a central facility where PCS professionally manages hardware and communications, backups, and disaster recovery.

Servers installed in the hosting center support “Virtual Computing”. Using multiple virtual servers, each operating within their own dedicated and protected environment, allows the servers to be shared by a multitude of applications and users.  Virtual servers can be increased across physical computers.  This allows for increased load and additional users without compromising performance and reliability.  The PCS hosting center can scale from a few users to hundreds of users.  This provides the ability to add almost an unlimited number of users with little effect on system performance.