4ward: Leaping Forward with Innovation in Mind

Ivan Fioravanti, EVP, CTO & Co-Founder
A move to the Cloud is often dubbed as a doubled edge sword by many. “On one side it offers unquestionable benefits and IT flexibility, but on the other side, issues related to cost, security and manageability of the new infrastructure can be too hot to handle for numerous organizations,” affirms Ivan Fioravanti, EVP, CTO and Co-founder, 4ward. “By offering an out-of-the-box, robust ‘Cloud in a Box’ solution, we are helping companies overcome these barriers and realize the benefits of a Cloud-based approach,” he explains. 4ward’s Cloud in-a-box, powered by Dell PowerEdge VRTX, offers Cloud at the cost of a common virtualized infrastructure, with the added possibility to move workloads among different Cloud provider or to client’s Datacenter at their convenience. The software layer created by 4ward automates the integration between the Cloud and the existing IT infrastructure, bringing down to zero time, effort and costs of deployment. The solution also makes it possible to decide which workloads host within the security boundaries of client’s Datacenter and which ones on a national or foreign Cloud Provider.

4ward’s business acumen is not just limited to offering Cloud solutions. Being a certified Microsoft Gold Partner, the company also offers products and solutions that help customers overcome the complexities of implementing Microsoft solution. “At 4ward, we have embraced Microsoft’s Cloud strategy from the very beginning,” Fioravanti continues, “While using any of the Microsoft products—Azure and Office 365—we integrate open source technologies into the suite. This enables us to leverage the best of Microsoft Azure, Office 365, as well as the tools that we have in the open source and in the process create a unique value for our customers.”

The company’s unique focus on Office 365 adoption needs a special mention. This exclusive focus has been instrumental in the development of innovative offerings such as 4ward365 that is used to cover the gap left by Office 365. “Office 365 is limited to providing reports for up to 2000 users. We have removed this limit,” reveals David Mascarella, President, 4ward. "At a time when most of our competitors are providing aggregated information, we provide every minute detail available at the user level.”
David Mascarella, President
This provides the complete picture of the Office 365 adoption rather than the partial overview provided by others. “With this kind of information, partners and customers can understand who are using Office 365 and drive the adoption accordingly,” explains Mascarella.


The software layer created by 4ward automates the integration between the Cloud and the existing IT infrastructure, bringing down to zero time, effort and costs of deployment


4ward is fully integrated with the Microsoft environment, and offers rich analytics, and robust reporting, management and delegation capabilities that set the company apart from the rest. “Our flagship product, 4ward365, is covering all the features that are offered by our competitors. Or in other words, our competitors are offering only a subset of features that we offer,” says Fioravanti. Out of the many success stories associated with 4ward, it is the case involving Dedagroup— an Information and Communication Technology company— that stands apart. The client was planning an Office 365 adoption and a switch to the Cloud that would provide a more agile flow of information at the personal and corporate levels and approached 4ward for assistance. “4ward support was important in understanding what might be the ways to realize our innovative ideas and at the same time illustrate the full potential of the product,” claims an executive of Dedagroup.

Going forward, the company aims to expand 4ward365 to include Office 365 services and highlight the usage of machine-learning to help customers drive the consumption of the services. “We also plan to move our company from the native market— Italian market—to the global stage,” concludes Mascarella.

Company
4ward

Headquarters
Peschiera Borromeo, Italy

Management
Ivan Fioravanti, EVP, CTO & Co-Founder and David Mascarella, President

Description
A company striving to make cloud computing more accessible to SMEs.