Pittsburgh-Based IT Services Firm Tier1, Inc. Launches The Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud, First Customer Goes Live

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tier1, Inc. announced today the availability of the Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud, the most optimized and protected computing environment for Oracle Applications and databases. Leveraging Oracle's Virtual Compute Appliance (VCA) technology, the only virtual environment certified to use Oracle Trusted Partitions – the Tier1 Private Cloud provides the flexibility to license Oracle software on a virtual CPU basis.

The Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud is designed to minimize customer costs and the complexities they face when hosting Oracle applications in-house. Private cloud environments are hosted in a world class data center and designed specifically for Oracle customers.  

Tier1 CEO, Dave Busch, says, "We thoroughly evaluated the build versus buy for our private cloud solution and decided to purchase Oracle's VCA for a number of reasons:  The VCA uses all Oracle products that are pre-configured and wired. It's a turnkey solution. It's pre-built, and it's easy to install and configure. We were able to get our virtual computer clients running very smoothly, very quickly." Additionally, he notes, the VCA was versatile enough to serve their diverse clients' needs. "Our customers have a lot of different versions and variability in their software and we needed a solution that can help us support all of them."

The VCA enables rapid, repeatable software-defined infrastructure deployment for virtually any x86 application and workload. It is an easy-to-deploy, integrated system with the flexibility required for cloud computing.

Ed Eichler, COO and VP, Consulting Services for Tier1 Inc., says, "With technology already engineered and integrated together, the VCA allows us to enable our clients to spend more time adding value to their company and less time managing the day-to-day issues that come with supporting their own Oracle environment."

Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a leading innovator and provider of biometric identity management solutions, went live with the Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud on July 28, 2014. For the Palm Beach Gardens, FL-based company, an affordable, scalable, and highly secure Cloud environment was critical to theirs and their clients' data-sensitive missions. Cross Match serves governments and law enforcement agencies, as well as businesses throughout the world.

CIO of Cross Match Technologies, Scott Minter explains their thought process, "We decided to use Tier1's Private Oracle Cloud months ago to fulfill our IT Cloud Strategy: Partner with a cloud provider whom we can trust and rely on for cost-effective, adaptable delivery of business applications and services. Through the ease of our migration, their responsiveness to our needs, and their common sense approach, Tier1 has proven that they are the right partner for us." 

Customers access their software on the Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud through private circuits via a secure site-to-site VPN. They also receive Oracle VM Compute Nodes, Oracle ZFS Storage, and Backup and Disaster Recovery services. Customers bring their own software and licenses, and can run them on Linux, Unix, or Windows platforms.

There are significant cost benefits for the customer. The Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud saves repeated, expensive investments in IT infrastructure like servers, SAN, and network hardware; increased IT staffing retention and costs; and higher power and HVAC bills. Customers also just pay for the space they need and can adjust it as demand changes. Tier1 handles installation, deployment, and management of the Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud – and also provides support for third-party and homegrown applications. Tier1 manages Backup/Restore, Backup/Recovery, and security services.

Busch explains one of the biggest cost savings, which is tied to licensing. "When companies decide to move their business applications to a virtual environment, there are typically licensing issues for the Oracle database. But with the VCA leveraging Oracle's trusted partitions licensing policy, it enables our customers to bring their Oracle Database licenses over and not incur additional license fees.

Additionally, Busch says, the Tier1 Private Oracle Cloud enables the firm to help customers manage their Oracle applications from start-to-finish. "The VCA gives us an opportunity to provide a full lifecycle of services to our customers, not only the managed services but to completely host the applications for them. We own the entire environment and we can manage the entire environment for them." See more of his interview with Oracle at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0u-mQXx4GM.

About Tier1
Established in 2003 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Tier1, Inc. is a leading provider of business consulting solutions and 24x7 managed services for Oracle applications. The company serves over 250 customers in a large range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, retail, and education, among others. They employ solely US-based consultants, and the average experience among Tier1 experts is over ten years. As an Oracle Gold Certified Partner, Tier1 has earned one of the highest Oracle designations, with expertise in Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Hyperion, Database, Business Intelligence, and Identity Management.

Tier1 is currently offering a Complimentary Cloud Analysis; contact them at [email protected], 888.284.0202, or through their site, www.tier1inc.com.

SOURCE Tier1, Inc.