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Drew Shanahan


Drew Shanahan is a technical architect of software solutions for CDW. Previously, he worked as a practice architect and was responsible for providing customers with system center, Windows client, hybrid cloud, mobility and client virtualization cross-product solutions from various vendors, including Microsoft, Citrix and VMware. During his 20-year IT career — half of which has taken place at CDW — Drew has gained real-world experience at many levels, including help desk, engineer, consultant and architect. He holds a bachelor's from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and resides with his family in Trevor, Wis.

Software Solutions Technical Architect


How Windows Virtual Desktop Supports Remote Working

This solution maintains the security and productivity of your work-from-home users.

By Drew Shanahan  and Brandon Pierce
|
April 1, 2020
Digital Workspace, Security

[sayit]How do you keep your data secure while enabling workers to be productive? Working from home creates many challenges to delivering apps and data to those remote users. This blog will walk you through some of those specific challenges and then propose some possible solutions for either a short-term fix or a long-term strategy. Windows…

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Are Virtual Desktops Finally Ready for Primetime?

Microsoft’s new Windows Virtual Desktop may get you to reconsider virtualizing your desktops.

By Drew Shanahan
|
September 5, 2019
Cloud, Digital Workspace

Virtual desktops, virtual desktop infrastructure, client virtualization — whatever you want to call it — is expensive and difficult to deploy and manage. Virtual desktops help solve a lot of problems when it comes to delivering applications and data to your users. However, they have not been worth the hassle and cost to justify their…

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Expanding Business Use Cases: Why You Should Learn to Love AI

Concerns about the implications of artificial intelligence abound, but IT leaders should focus on the fact that this technology is already making inroads in the enterprise.

By Michael Mullery  and Drew Shanahan
|
March 1, 2019
Software, Data Center, Security

My colleagues and I jokingly follow the Fight Club rule when talking with business and IT leaders about artificial intelligence: The first rule of AI is you don’t talk about AI. When people hear the phrase “artificial intelligence,” they often imagine complicated, expensive solutions, their minds leaping to sci-fi cultural artifacts such as the 2001…

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Hitting the Road: How I Put My Digital Workspace to the Test

Three weeks of travel proved that with the right planning, you can push the limits of remote work.

By Drew Shanahan
|
October 26, 2018
Digital Workspace, Networking

Recently, my family and I took a three-week trip along the East Coast, stopping at campgrounds from Washington, D.C., to Charleston, S.C. We traveled with two young kids, the dog and a travel trailer full of stuff. Fortunately, my wife and I have jobs that allow us to work remotely. My wife works as a…

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Why Your Organization Should Automate with Infrastructure as Code

Data center provisioning can be a simpler and easier process with this automation process.

By Drew Shanahan
|
October 2, 2018
Data Center, Software

How much time do you spend building servers, configuring the settings and installing software? In my experience, a typical server can take anywhere from four to eight hours before it is ready for production. And it can take even longer to wait for numerous approvals and even purchase requests. Once it is built, how do…

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4 Tips for Getting Started with Microsoft Azure

Achieve migration success by defining your goals early, assessing what you can realistically accomplish and focusing on the details throughout the process.

By Drew Shanahan
|
December 11, 2017
Cloud, Data Center

Let's face it: Migrating to Microsoft Azure just isn't as straightforward as switching from a local version of Office to Office 365. Managed well, cloud migrations can pay great dividends, but for small and midsize businesses, the move can be more than a little intimidating. Most IT organizations tackle the process by starting with infrastructure…

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How Much Microsoft Office 365 Costs Small Business (And Why It’s Worth It)

Essential mobile productivity now comes with a lower price tag and less administrative labor.

By Drew Shanahan  and Mike Catena
|
September 22, 2017
Software, Cloud

[sayit]Small to midsize businesses have small staffs, so they’re profoundly dependent on technology that enables their employees to be productive all day, every day — whether they’re in the office, on the road or working from home. Software solutions that support this level of mobility have become must-haves for such businesses, enabling small teams to…

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Are You Taking the Right Approach to Backup and Recovery? — Part 4

Configuring Veritas Backup Exec to use Microsoft Azure storage ensures greater data safety and reduces costs.

By Drew Shanahan
|
August 17, 2017
Cloud, Software

You’ve read through Part 3 of my backup and recovery series and decided that cloud backups are the right thing to do. What do you do next? First, you will need an Azure subscription that has access to create a Storage account. This can be obtained a couple different ways, the easiest of which is to…

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Are You Taking the Right Approach to Backup and Recovery? — Part 3

Determining which data to back up, how much storage you’ll need and how much the migration will cost are key first steps.

By Drew Shanahan
|
July 25, 2017
Cloud, Data Center

Backing up data to the cloud sounds like a great idea. But, then what? You’ve decided to take the plunge, now you have to start the journey. I talked about other parts of backup and recovery in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. There are several factors to consider when making the switch…

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Are You Taking the Right Approach to Backup and Recovery? — Part 2

Cloud backup solutions have cost and convenience advantages over tape storage.

By Drew Shanahan
|
July 5, 2017
Cloud, Data Center

In Are You Taking the Right Approach to Backup and Recovery? Part 1 we covered many of the reasons backups fail, as well as the importance of having a backup strategy that fits your situation. Data storage needs are growing exponentially, which means more data also needs protecting for longer periods of time. Tape storage…

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Are You Taking the Right Approach to Backup and Recovery? — Part 1

Knowing the key differences between this core IT function and disaster recovery will help you easily access your data, whatever the drivers are.

By Drew Shanahan
|
June 6, 2017
Other

Are you still using tape to store your organization’s critical data? Are those tapes sent offsite daily? How long does it take to restore data if it is deleted, corrupted or destroyed? How will it impact your business? Backup and recovery are at the cornerstone of any IT shop. Above all else – if you…

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Windows 10: Stepping Up Enterprise Security

The popular operating system’s virtualization-based security features help lock down Windows devices.

By Drew Shanahan
|
April 3, 2017
Security, Software

Windows is not known for its security protection; attackers mostly target Windows devices because of the large install base and lenient security practices. Most IT admins know the pain of trying to clean an infected Windows machine from a multitude of toolbars, ad programs, malware and viruses. In a large organization, this problem is compounded…

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4 Big Software Trends in 2017

Exciting developments are on the horizon for software next year.

By Drew Shanahan
|
January 31, 2017
Software

Software is quickly evolving to deliver just-in-time services with frequent updates. Our mobile devices get updates to the OS and applications almost every single day, which is seamless to the users. Everything from our phones to our computers, thermostats, cars, servers and SaaS apps have all adopted this method to constantly keep software up-to-date. This…

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Windows Server 2016 — Taking It to the Cloud

By Drew Shanahan
|
September 30, 2016
Software

Windows Server 2016, Microsoft’s cloud-ready operating system, promises to deliver new layers of security and Azure-based innovation when it becomes available this fall. A look at the preview version reveals that Microsoft has built multiple layers of protection into its latest iteration of the server operating system. Additionally, software-defined data center technologies will give businesses…

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Hybrid Cloud Monitoring – Integrate Across Platforms

Microsoft Operations Management Suite has a lot to offer widely distributed IT operations.

By Drew Shanahan
|
August 22, 2016
Cloud

You have deployed some virtual machines into Azure, AWS, Google, Rackspace — or all of the above. Your email and a growing number of applications are being hosted not just in your data center, but also in the cloud. The tools you have been using to monitor and manage these platforms don’t work so well…

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Improving BYOD Security with Microsoft EMS

By Drew Shanahan
|
February 18, 2016
Digital Workspace

It’s easy for just about anyone to pick up a device and be productive in no time. Your users expect their documents and apps to be available just about anywhere from any device -- and sometimes many devices. But how are you protecting the sensitive data on these devices that could be anywhere in the…

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Windows 10: Addressing New Data Security Challenges

Don’t let your corporate data fall victim to hacking, insider leaks and negligence

By Drew Shanahan
|
December 15, 2015
Security

What is your data worth? What if it got out into the public or fell into your competitors’ hands? Would it impact your organization or your reputation? What about your customers? How much would it affect your bottom line?  Data is your organization’s lifeblood and it contains a lot of sensitive information, not just about…

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Windows 10 Tablet Comparison; Which Surface Pro is Right For You?

Is the Pen Mightier Than the Keyboard?

By Drew Shanahan
|
October 14, 2015
Digital Workspace

Microsoft has built upon their success with the Surface Pro 3 with the recent announcement of the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. These two new devices use the latest Intel chipsets, processors and components to deliver the best performance, battery life and security features of any tablet or notebook on the market today.  The…

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Top Windows 10 Features for Business Users

Businesses eagerly await the rollout of Microsoft’s latest operating system.

By Drew Shanahan
|
July 29, 2015
Software

The question to upgrade to a new operating system for any organization has far reaching impact to not only IT staff, but also to all of your users. There are always risks, the cost of support and the potential loss of productivity for the organization. With that said, should you take the time to evaluate…

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Upgrading to Windows 10

What do you need to know?

By Drew Shanahan
|
July 24, 2015
Data Center

So, Windows 7 has been out for six years and is the most reliable and stable operating system to-date. It is used on almost a billion devices around the world (870 million to be exact). Support doesn’t even end until 2020. It took a lot of effort and time to get off of Windows XP…

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Is Microsoft Mobility Management Right for Your Business?

By Drew Shanahan
|
May 21, 2015
Cloud, Digital Workspace, Security

Mobility is dramatically changing the workplace to make companies more agile, efficient and productive. But these benefits don’t come without costs, and one of those costs is security. As more work is done on mobile devices that could fall into anyone’s hands, sensitive corporate data and documents must be appropriately protected. Companies must be diligent…

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Thinking about Upgrading to Windows 10?

Everything you need to know before making the switch

By Drew Shanahan
|
April 15, 2015
Data Center

Windows 10 is coming – soon. Microsoft has announced that it will be giving away Windows 10 for free, but is this offer too good to be true? There is fine print for you to be aware of and some requirements, but you might be pleasantly surprised on what qualifies. The Requirements – Windows 10 has been…

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Windows 10 – One for All?

By Drew Shanahan
|
February 10, 2015
Data Center

Microsoft is making some ambitious goals with the next release of Windows – Windows 10. It’s not only targeted at the firm’s desktop/laptop users, but also Windows Phone and Xbox customers. Windows 10 will be a common platform for the majority of devices that are used at home and work. The features include the ability…

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