Virtualisation Solutions

 

FACT: A typical non-virtualised server is underutilised by 85%!*

On this Page
> The Challenges
> The Implications
> The Solution
> The Advantages
> Benefits
> The BSG Approach
> Why BSG?

The Challenges

Are any of the following challenges affecting your server environment, thus impacting upon the requirements of your business?

  • Increasing server sprawl, often in the form of new servers with disparate operating environments
  • Rising capital and personnel costs to manage your server environment
  • Reduction in data centre space, coupled with increasing power and cooling costs
  • Delays in the deployment of new applications
  • Costly and expansive disaster recovery plans, involving the replication of your entire server estate in a second location
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The Implications

  • Your servers are underutilised, typically running at 5 - 10% of capacity
  • It is taking too long to develop, test and deploy new applications into the production environment
  • The IT team spends too much time managing hardware issues instead of focusing on projects that add real value
  • Data centres and server rooms are running out of space and power
  • Your business is potentially at risk due to the absence of a reliable disaster recovery policy

The Solution

Innovations in virtualisation have produced a powerful set of enabling technologies which are helping organisations drive capital and operational efficiencies.

Virtualisation has accelerated the movement away from single server systems, delivering much improved system utilisation, quicker application deployment, as well as benefiting from the built-in disaster recovery and business continuity advantages associated with it.

As confidence has grown in the technology, the pace of adopting virtualisation in organisations has intensified. In today's marketplace, the question is not "Why virtualise?" but "Why not virtualise?"

The Advantages

  • Increases the speed of deployment for new servers and applications
  • Allows for less physical infrastructure to be maintained and supported
  • Reduces the challenges associated with data centre space, power, & cooling
  • Simplifies systems management and monitoring
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The Benefits

  • Frees up valuable data centre space
  • Reduces the costs of power and cooling, and has a positive effect upon an organisation's carbon footprint
  • Allows for a built- in business continuity solution
  • Increases server utilisation, typically from 5-15% to 60-80%*
  • Allows for reusable hardware platforms, extending the life of assets and reducing capital expenditure
  • Removes compatibility issues with older hardware
  • Reduces hardware management and maintenance costs

*Source VMware

The BSG Approach

BSG has been working closely with organisations across many industries to improve their return on investment through the use of virtualisation tools and technologies.

BSG recognises that many organisations have implemented some virtualisation technologies, yet to date have not achieved all of the potential benefits available, often because of new challenges that typically arise through implementing a virtualised environment. These new challenges include:

  • Conceptually different - Don't think servers, think workload
  • Service oriented as opposed to Technology solutions
  • Changes in Operational Procedures
  • New training requirements
  • Change to Central IT function as opposed to Business funded model
  • Proving it will provide a "better" service
  • Rapidly evolving technology - Choosing the right tools and knowing when to change

BSG understands many of the potential pitfalls and problems that organisations need to take into consideration. When planning a virtual infrastructure environment for its customers, BSG has developed a structured approach using the following process:

  • Strategic Workshop - Providing Scope and Vision
  • Detailed Workshop - Giving Justification and Scope
  • Discovery - Assessment and Analysis
  • Solution Planning and Design
  • Deployment and Transition

Capacity planning tools are used to collect information to determine opportunities to consolidate and model a virtualisation plan. This service will assess current server landscapes to help determine potential savings by consolidating existing physical technologies onto a virtual infrastructure.

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Why BSG?

Incorporated in 1987, BSG is an integrated IT practice, designing, deploying and operating IT solutions for its customers.

As a managed services provider BSG is already deriving benefit from the implementation of virtualisation technologies. Therefore, through working with BSG to design and deploy your virtual environment you will enjoy the benefits of working with an organisation who already embraces and has benefited from these solutions.

Through the implementation of a virtualisation strategy within the BSG data centre environment, BSG has:

  • Reduced the amount customers pay each month for BSG's hosting services
  • Been able to offer even higher availability, increasing the SLA on uptime to 99.999%
  • Increased utilisation of peripheral elements of the infrastructure, such as firewalls and networking
  • Lowered costs for customers wanting to expand their existing managed service agreement
  • Saved customers money through decreasing the power and cooling requirements

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For more information on how BSG can help you click here to contact us