Client Profile: Sparkling Hill Wellness Hotel

Stunning. World-class. Unique. These are but a few of the superlatives being used by the press and public alike in describing what they see and experience at the newly-opened Sparkling Hill Wellness Hotel in Vernon. The $122 million, 152 room Swarovski-designed and owned resort is perched on a mountain-top next to Predator Ridge, with unequalled 360 degree views of Okanagan Lake and the Coldstream Valley. Nearly 2 million crystals have been incorporated in every aspect of the property’s design. The 40,000 square foot spa has 7 different saunas and North America’s first cryotherapy sauna, chilled to -110 ⁰ Celsius. With more than 100 available treatments and a primary focus on wellness, the spa has already been described by the Globe and Mail as one of the very best in the world. And though Sparkling Hill is sure to become an international destination, management believes their primary market is local and room rates are priced accordingly.

Voda has been engaged with the Sparkling Hill team for the past two years. While we provide solutions and services to many hospitality industry clients, this is the first property where we were involved before the ground-breaking, and in recommending and designing every aspect of the hotel’s technology needs. Says Jim Radford, COO of Sparkling Hill: “Voda was chosen by Sparkling Hill resort because of your large professional team with expertise in all facets of integrating IT solutions in a complex business environment”.
Indeed, hotels can have surprisingly complex technology requirements. There are many separate systems which must all be linked and interfaced: property management, point-of-sale, security, door entry systems, audio, video, building management and more. The most critical aspect in such an environment is a well-designed network: it must be robust, secure, easy to manage and flexible. The network at Sparkling Hill is based upon HP ProCurve gear, and incorporates fiber, CAT6 and wireless connectivity. VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) are used extensively in the network design to isolate different systems and enhance security.
This network serves as the backbone to which the following systems, also supplied and/or integrated by Voda, are connected:

1. IBM rack-mount servers and storage, utilizing VMware for redundancy and failover
2. Lenovo and HP computers and printers
3. Liebert UPS systems for power continuity
4. Maestro PMS (Property Management System) from Northwind, an integrated solution which also features spa and event management
5. Squirrel systems for Point-of-Sale in the restaurants and store
6. Guest-Tek High Definition in-room video systems with LG televisions
7. EverSafe RFID door lock systems
8. Mobotix cameras for high-resolution IP surveillance
9. Polycom WiFi phones for staff communication
10. Symon digital signage for marketing and information displays
11. Projectors and other audio-visual equipment

The above solutions were chosen because they are leading edge and reliable, able to interface well with the other systems, enable hotel operations, and ultimately, contribute to a memorable guest experience.

This has been an exciting and fulfilling project to be a part of, and Voda’s portion was delivered on time and under budget. Says Hans-Peter Mayr, CEO of Sparkling Hill: “I can confirm that we are very satisfied with all services from Voda, especially your flexibility in emergency situations and the personal support of your team members is very appreciated”. Jim Radford adds: “The advice from the team has been sound and we look forward to a continued working relationship during the newly commenced operational stage of the hotel”. As do we at Voda!

Congratulations to the management and ownership at Sparkling Hill on a successful completion and opening! We wish you much success and encourage all of our clients to experience firsthand this incredible destination in our own backyard.

www.sparklinghill.com

VODA Tip

From time to time, we come across work areas with post-it's all over users desks.  This can make for quite a mess and poor organization.  Windows 7 has come up with Sticky Notes that can replace all those notes.  To access Sticky Notes, go to the Start menu, choose All Programs, Accessories, then Sticky Notes, or run StikyNot.exe from Internet Explorer.  Now you can quickly write down numbers, reminders, etc without wasting paper.

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Quote of the Month

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.
— John Lubbock

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Product of the Month

ESET Smart Security 4

Antivirus | Antispyware | Firewall | Antispam

The Internet is a wonderful place for networking, searching for information and entertainment, but it is also where malicious software and other threats lurk. ESET Smart Security 4 keeps your PC safe with advanced proactive detection that blocks most known and undiscovered threats hours or days faster than other Internet security technologies.

Key Benefits

Built on the award-winning NOD32 antivirus and antispyware engine, ESET Smart Security stops most new threats proactively, well before other vendors have issued a signature, maximizing your defense against new and unknown threats.

• Integrated antispam and personal firewall keeps your online life safe and cleans Internet traffic and email, even when it's SSL-encrypted.
• Stops threats from entering through removable devices so you can share files with confidence
• Integrated SysInspector and SysRescue simplify system diagnosis and recovery
• Self defense prevents malware from degrading your level of protection
• Tiny signature updates happen discretely as needed and won't bog down your system

Key Features

Smarter Scanner – Threats don't always enter in ways you expect. ESET Smart Security inspects SSL-encrypted communication channels like HTTPS and POP3S, and intelligently scans compressed files to find threats that other products miss. ESET's Smart Optimization feature makes file scanning faster than ever.

Time-saving Firewall – New Learning Mode saves time by automatically creating firewall rules by observing how end users use the network, while offering advanced firewall modes for power users. Pair customized firewall profiles with trusted network zones and have appropriate firewall rules applied automatically based on detected network presence.*

Trusted Zone Authentication – Identify trusted network zones by network configurations (a configurable combination of host/DNS/DHCP server IP address, wireless SSID, connection profile, etc) or securely authenticate into a network using ESET Authentication Server.*

Upgraded Antispam – ESET Smart Security now takes care of annoying spam with a smaller, faster, and even more effective spam filter.

Removable Media Security – Threats can enter your PC from removable media such as USB thumb drives. For self-running media, ESET Smart Security scans autorun.inf and associated files when the medium is inserted, in addition to scanning any file on any removable device when it is accessed, or during a full-scan of the media.

System Tools – ESET SysInspector and ESET SysRescue simplify diagnosing and cleaning of infected systems by allowing deep scans of system processes to find hidden threats, and creating bootable rescue CD/DVD or USB drives to help you repair an infected computer.

Self Defense – ESET Smart Security has built-in technology to prevent malicious software from corrupting or disabling it, so you can rest assured your system is always protected.

* Available with version 4.2

Usability Improvements

ESET Smart Security has numerous speed, security and usability upgrades such as:

• Energy-sipping battery mode extends laptop battery life without compromising security
• Advanced Protection Status screen informs you of threat detections
• Information pop-ups are hidden when running full screen applications like games, video players or presentations
• Password protection prevents ESET Smart Security from being uninstalled by strangers
• New interface and keyboard shortcuts simplify use for visually impaired users

 

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Ask the VODA Expert

Q: How do I get more calendar printing options from Outlook 2007?

A: Install the Calendar Printing Assistant for Outlook 2007, free from Microsoft at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA101687211033.aspx. This will provide even more customization of what your calendars will look like when printed.

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Latest Virus Threats

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