Autonomic Resources views Information Technology services in a holistic nature - assisting in services and solutions that run across technology stacks creating true data center automation. Our services are inclusive of the data center through the end-point. We realize the importance of automation resource by resource. Automation works best where multiple, simple tasks must be performed repeatedly. More often than not, that means automating at the user client.

Our Services:

Desktop Patch and Compliance

Autonomic Resources has assisted numerous customers with FDCC compliancy efforts for their desktop environments. Our current toolset includes two different products proven to effectively apply patches and ensure your desktops are in FDCC compliance.

For accurate policy enforcement, you need the tools that never stop working. Our BigFix and Sentinel solutions allow your company to be rest assured of all compliance procedures. The active dashboards present in these tools allows for the automation of security monitoring for IT systems and controls in real time, enabling you to identify and respond to anomalies and policy violations quickly and efficiently. By using these tools for DCA efforts, we help to ensure success in your company's desktop patch and compliance needs.

Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC)

Autonomic Resources utilizes BigFix's high performance technology to offer you a comprehensive, low-cost approach for continuous assessment against the Federal Desktop Core Configuration standard. This technology offers:

• FDCC Scanner
• Mis-configuration Database
• Mis-configuration Remediation
• Authenticated Configuration Scanner
• Authenticated Vulnerability & Patch Scanner
• Common Configuration Enumeration (CCE)

Specifically designed for the FDCC standard, the BigFix Security Configuration Management (SCM) solution addresses the regulatory need for complying with FDCC. FDCC also requires the ability to prove compliance across all systems connected/not connected to agency infrastructure. BigFix SCM solution solves the operational need to maintain centralized visibility and enforce policy in real-time. You can easily and quickly assess the systems throughout their infrastructure and remediate systems identified as non-compliant to the FDCC standard. An effective solution must meet these requirements:

By leveraging the BigFix solution, your company can automate the assessment and remediation process through a unified management console. This approach enables process improvements, tremendous cost savings, and improved accuracy. We can assist to ensure you easily meet and even exceed requirements while spending a small fraction of the cost required for manual remediation.

Encryption / Data at Rest (DAR)

We understand the complexity of DAR encryption choices, and work with our customers on understanding key factors in the differences in encryption methods, such as file based encryption vs. sector based, as well as which solutions are Host Based Security System (HBSS) compatible.

In June of 2006, the Office and Management and Budget released a memorandum that made the following recommendations for all Federal agencies:

1. Encrypt all data on mobile computers/devices which carry agency data unless the data is determined to be non-sensitive, in writing, by your Deputy Secretary or an individual he/she may designate in writing;
2. Allow remote access only with two-factor authentication where one of the factors is provided by a device separate from the computer gaining access;
3. Use a "time-out" function for remote access and mobile devices requiring user re-authentication after 30 minutes inactivity; and
4. Log all computer-readable data extracts from databases holding sensitive information and verify each extract including sensitive data has been erased within 90 days or its use is still required.

As a result, GSA issued Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) in response to the Government's Data at Rest (DAR) Encryption RFQ. As a DAR BPA holder, Autonomic Resources is able to work with your company to address DAR solutions. Our solutions include tools from SPYRUS, WinMagic, Kingston, and auto-deployment for FDE software such as Mobile Armor.

Server Infrastructure

Automation capabilities are more extensive at the server level than at the desktop. Server automation includes provisioning of new machines, doling out virtualized resources and perhaps providing a foundation on which to build more automation.

We work with several software vendors, such as BladeLogic and Opsware, to enable automation by combining automated tasks. These solutions can help your IT staff deploy new servers, distribute software updates and patches, and aid in starting to document frequent fixes in software.

Server automation has the goal of moving IT shops from manually executing custom-written scripts and turn such tasks over to the software. Our solutions help detect when servers need to take the pre-defined actions. IT managers can automate scripting, provisioning and patching together so they can see the benefits of linking separate jobs with tools or policies when using DCA with servers within the datacenters.

Since Autonomic Resources is a system integrator and reseller of all the major distributions of Linux including RedHat (RHEL) Novell SUSE (SLES) and Canonical (Ubuntu), we can guide you in major decisions such as UNIX to Linux and what the impact of Common Criteria can have on your current Linux environment. We work closely with the highest levels of management of distribution to ensure you understand the roadmaps these manufacturers have for Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) certifications of their major releases.

Storage and Backup

IT managers need to be able to pool resources in order to more effectively automate provisioning and use software tracking. This is especially true with the common practice of doling out storage across multiple machines based on application need, rather than keeping storage specific to a piece of hardware or database.

Storage resources need to be pulled out and centrally managed as storage migrates from the database tier to the application tier, while at the same time resource managing and provisioning, backup and recovery in an automated fashion.

Autonomic Resources can assist your IT staff in realizing the ultimate utility computing vision - the clustering of server software to bring up a database and associated services on another server without intervention from anyone. Using cluster server software for failover allows the customer to manage infrastructure so when a server fails, it does not consume a huge amount of IT staff time.

Network Infrastructure

Network vendors have been building intelligence into their equipment for some time. Today, most enterprise switches can fail over to a back-up processor module if need be. Lately vendors have integrated security functions into their wares to keep viruses and other breaches from taking down the network.

Failover design automates the "failover process", and the software automates the monitoring and alerting. Automated monitoring has been in existence for some time but automated management has not. We work with you to provide increased management capabilities. While management vendors fine-tune automated management software, we work with our customers to virtualize and automate the distribution of network resources in the new data center.

We can help you to begin to automate your networking infrastructure by using virtualized instances of IP services rather than deploying new appliances for each firewall, VPN or intrusion-detection/intrusion-prevention device.

Applications

Automation efforts continue to get more complex as enterprise IT managers look to reduce the number of manual tasks needed to keep applications running smoothly. While applications use server, storage and network resources, automating the allocation of resources based on application demands typically does not meet the end goal for DCA.

Automation to support applications aligned with business services requires mature configuration management practices. Autonomic Resources assists our customers to develop these practices that keep an inventory of all IT assets.

Our firm subscribes to the establishment of "run books automation" for problem fixes with popular applications. Run books can be customized so that senior-level application and network administrators can put their own processes for fixing applications into the hands of lower-level staffers and ultimately be entirely automated.

Cyber Security & Situational Awareness

Security represents the largest automation challenge within new Federal data centers. Enterprise security managers must balance the need to keep security systems "open" enough to integrate with other tools with the need to protect against external threats.

Autonomic Resources uses Novell technologies for a process called Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). This approach to user provisioning and access control improves security and compliance while reducing IT administrative costs. RBAC is comprised of Novell eDirectory and Novell Identity Manager in conjunction with several third-party role-management and role discovery software products.

Cyberspace is the control system of our country, and is composed of hundreds of thousands of interconnected computers, servers, routers, switches, and fiber optic cables that allow our critical infrastructures to work. A healthy functioning cyberspace is essential to our economy and our national security. Autonomic Resources was awarded the Situational Awareness Incident Response (SAIR) contract in July 2009. The contract is intended to address some of the vast and complex challenges of cyberspace. It addresses the fact that the nation's critical infrastructures are composed of public and private institutions in multiple sectors.

We can assist you in addressing these issues through our relationship with BigFix. Our integration of the BigFix SAIR solution brings together the BigFix Unified Management Platform, BigFix Patch Management, BigFix Security Configuration Management, BigFix Asset Discovery and Inventory modules.

Autonomic Resources offers a full suite of network infrastructure services, ranging from wireless network survey and deployment to Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) infrastructure upgrades. Our professional network engineering staff can assist you with all of your design and deployment needs.

Our Services:

LAN/WAN

Our certified network engineers have vast experience in designing and deploying LAN and WAN implementations of various sizes and scopes. Whether you need assistance in building your network infrastructure from the ground up or you are due for a network refresh, we have the talent and expertise to ensure you receive a dependable and reliable network infrastructure.  

An up and running LAN / WAN infrastructure is essential for agencies to manage resources for their company. As we have designed and implemented many networks for our customers in the past, we can offer our high level services to you with assurance.

Wireless and Mobility

Our experienced wireless engineers can provide your company with an enabled workforce though our Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Real time Location System (RTLS) services. Whether you need a complete network design and installation or tracking solutions for your existing network, Autonomic Resources can help.

Autonomic Resources is proud to offer an array of Oracle and EBS outsourcing services of which our customers can now take advantage. By using our remote service offerings, your company has no need for the laborious effort of finding and hiring professionals in-house.

Our Services:

Remote Oracle DBA/ Oracle Apps DBA Support

We can provide complete outsourced services or augment your in-house Database Administration (DBA) staff. We tailor each service to suit your needs, and have includes: the right mix of certified Oracle DBAs on staff to cater to all your specific needs. Our vast array of services

Since Oracle technologies are so vast, it is nearly impossible for one person to have expertise in all of the service areas. We offer a team of experts with specializations in different areas that our customers can tap into. Our team members are always up to date with new technologies and we have an extensive lab at our facilities where our staff is capable of providing proof of concept experiments with the latest technologies.

Remote Oracle EBS Support

Autonomic Resources provides system administration, development and functional support to Oracle e-business suite products. We can do complete outsourced support of your system or provide services catered to your needs. Some of the services we provide include:

Since we provide a team of experts, we can ensure consistent high availability. We can also help your company avoid issues with retention of experienced professions, support during absence of personnel, and availability during emergency situations.

Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them. Furthermore, cloud computing employs a model for enabling available, convenient and on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Autonomic Resources defines its cloud computing offerings in much the same way the Federal Government is explaining cloud platforms to its agencies. With proven tools designed specifically to take the headache out of expanding infrastructure, we can eliminate up to 50% of the manual processes that your organization uses today to set up and maintain new infrastructure.

Additonal Cloud Resources:

• Check out Autonomic Resources CTO, Cole Crawford's blog on all things Cloud Computing - Head in the Cloud
• Poll Finds "Multi-Factor Authentication" Top Factor Considered in Federal Public Cloud Use and Adoption - View Poll Results

Our Services:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Our Autonomic Resources Cloud-Platform (ARC-P) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering supplies our customers with raw computing power, storage, and networking infrastructure as a service through the public internet OR as private connections into our FISMA and SAS 70 certified datacenter. This datacenter has received previous Authority to Operate (ATOs) and is in compliance with NIST 800-53. We can provide you with a fully patched and compliant (agency dependent) hosting environment to run software.

ARC-P shown above describes how virtual machines built for our IaaS environment are provisioned and uploaded to the environment, configured, and then deployed within the environment. Once configured, the virtual machine can be deployed and started through automation which automatically finds available hardware to run the virtual machine. The computers and raw storage needed to run applications are owned and supported by Autonomic Resources. Our virtual machines can be fully "taken back" by our customers into their .gov, or .mil domains unlike other commercial offerings.

ARC-P provides value to our customers by supplying simplified computing power, storage and supporting infrastructure that can be acquired and utilized on-demand. Your company can now achieve rapid datacenter capabilities without the need to be provisioned, coordinated with contractor IT organizations, or purchased by the government. ARC-P / IaaS allows these capabilities to be turned on and off at will, and our customers are only charged for what they use, when they use it.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Our PaaS environments provide our customers with computing power by supplying a runtime environment for compiled application code. Additionally, our PaaS environments also offer you a hosting environment for your applications.

The application package shown above only contains what was developed by the software owner using a programming environment that can be supported by the Autonomic Resources PaaS. Our platform can support the .NET Framework, php or Java and Python.

Our PaaS environments can be scaled specifically through configuration, and provided automatically by the environment. For example, if three instances of a web user interface are required in order to deal with anticipated load then this could be specified in a configuration file, and our PaaS environment would deploy three instances automatically.

Our PaaS environments cater more to the developer than the infrastructure architect. In addition to providing a runtime environment and cloud services, our PaaS will provide an Interactive Development Environment that allows for offline development of an application by emulating the runtime environment on the developer's workstation.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Autonomic Resources SaaS offering supplies offers on-demand availability of an application to our customers. The application will either exist within our cloud, or within the customer specific private cloud that we can build onsite - all of which can be consumed from any browser. We are able to use our IaaS or PaaS for the computing power, storage, and networking infrastructure necessary for providing SaaS.

We can provide multiple applications - many of which we sell and integrate into our customer environments. These applications are up and running, and available on-demand to our customers that wish to consume the service.

This means your company will not need to license and support the software in the traditional fashion. Also, you do not have to purchase and support the infrastructure that the application runs upon.

The needs of every organization are complex and unique. Sometimes an off-the-shelf solution will not meet your company's needs or doesn't even exist. Autonomic Resources can help. We can aid organizations to centrally manage and deliver customized and integrated open source applications across the enterprise. We have been trusted to develop mission critical software applications by some of the largest organizations in the world. Our custom solutions can scale to any size organization and can develop a solution for your organization.

Keeping pace with ever-changing computing environments, reducing support for older operating systems and applications, and elevated security threats is becoming more challenging by the day. With our open source solutions, you have an experienced partner that is part of a select inner circle of service providers who get a first look at new software upgrades and developments. This ensures that our customers always stay ahead of the curve on important developments.

Our Services:

Architecture Review

Autonomic Resources can work with your team at both the enterprise architecture level and on the smaller scale changes. We can come in prior to a new implementation to evaluate the design, as well as test the solution architecture at any point along the way before or after implementation. We lead the architecture review and development process with four key phases:

1. Understand the current state
2. Articulate the desired future state
3. Identify the gaps between the two
4. Develop approaches to close the gaps

Our architecture reviews are not performed in a vacuum. It is important that key resources are involved along the way so the resulting architecture supports each of our customer's business and technical requirements. Because of our depth of experience, our customers benefit by receiving an architecture that is flexible, creative and strategic. Our reviews encompass:

Open Source Replacement Analysis

Open Source software (OSS) has proven to be safe, scalable and a cost-effective to many marketable products. The biggest benefit of Open Source is the readily available source code that can be modified at ease to make it work according to specific needs. This allows programs to be tailored specifically to your requirements, without the cost of commencing the product from scratch. The advantages of customizing and creating your own product can be a decisive business advantage for your company to those using packaged products.

In recent years, software development organizations have recognized the potential of open source consulting as a mean to customize and implement cost-effective, high-quality, and secure open source solutions. Open source projects result in better software - as they use the best ideas and implementations from anyone using it.

Autonomic Resources is a leading provider of open source solutions for mission-critical enterprise applications. We offer open source consulting services that help increase the quality, consistency, and efficiency of the open source software. We provide open source consultancy services in following areas:

Business Intelligence (BI) Services

BI is the latest term that refers to the skills, technologies, applications, and practices used to help a business acquire a better understanding of its information. BI applications provide historical, current, and predictive views of business operations and often aim to support better organizational decision-making. BI can refer to items such as:

• Data warehouses
• Data marts
• Decision support systems
• Executive information
• Reporting systems

Autonomic Resources provides open source business intelligence solutions to federal, state, and local governments as well as commercial entities. We can help you bring actionable intelligence to your organization's strategies and operations, through best practice data warehouse integration, analytics, and performance management services. We harness your enterprise data and focus its use on both operational decision management and strategic performance measurement. With a transformative approach, structured to fit your existing organizational capabilities and IT investments, the opportunities are limitless.

We coordinate with your staff on a BI project until it is implemented. It can vary, but a typical project can last anywhere from 1-2 years and have team sizes of 3-10 people. We have expertise with the following specific technologies used in many BI projects:

Software Solution Implementations

Autonomic Resources can assist IT organizations in software analysis and design, development, and coding of applications. We specialize in maximizing the incredible benefits of Java technologies for Internet, extranet, and intranet client/server applications. Our staff has experience with J2SE and J2EE technologies including: Swing, Servlets, JSP, EJB, Java Web Start, and much more. We do consulting, programming, and mentoring for Java-centric projects either onsite, or remotely via the Internet. We also provide small, medium, and large fixed price bid-based projects. All of our consultants are available to be at your company's site for project initiation right away.

 With over 15 years of experience, our Java team specializes in building enterprise level java applications. We know that building effective Java applications requires a thorough understanding of the Java language, Java frameworks (including Java EE/J2EE, Java ME/J2ME, JDBC, JMS, JSP/Servlets, Spring, Struts, AJAX frameworks, etc.), and mature object-oriented design. We can help you navigate, leverage, build and implement the Java technology that will bring the best results for your specific goals. We offer complete solutions, whether your need is augmenting technical staff, running a complete java project, or retooling your department in the latest Java technologies.

Because of our commitment to Java technologies, we use our in-house expertise to pre-screen candidates to obtain the best fit for positions based on their technology and industry experience. Our consultants are true experts in requirements gathering, design, development, implementation, testing and enterprise deployment. Our Java consulting services include:

• Java Application Development, Architecture and Design
• Java Application Performance Tuning
• Web Application Development
• Database Administration
• Mentoring & Training
• Enterprise-Wide Integration (with technologies like .NET, Oracle, Progress, ESBs, ERP packages, portals, handheld devices and others)
• Java Application Installations, Upgrades and Migrations
• Co-Implementation
• Project Management

Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS)

CMIS is a standards proposal consisting of a set of Web services for sharing information among disparate content repositories that seeks to ensure interoperability for people and applications using multiple content repositories. If the CMIS proposal is passed, it will be the first Web services technical specification for exchanging content with and between Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems. The standards proposal has been registered for public comment with OASIS.

More specifically, CMIS is a technical specification domain model (data and services) for interacting with an document centric ECM repository via Web Services. It provides a content management domain-specific data model, a set of generic services that act on that data model and several protocol bindings for these services, including: SOAP and Representational State Transfer (REST)/(Atom).

CMIS specification provides a Web services interface that is beneficial in that it:

• Is designed to work over existing repositories enabling customers to build and leverage applications against multiple repositories -- unlocking content they already have
• Decouples Web services and content from the content management repository, enabling customers to manage content independently
• Provides common Web services and Web 2.0 interfaces to dramatically simplify application development
• Is development platform and language agnostic
• Supports composite application development and mash-up on the glass by the business or IT analyst
• Grows the ISV and developer community

Autonomic Resources can help our Federal customers with specific CMIS integration services. Contact us to learn more.