Using IT effectively ensures your business becomes more efficient and realises a greater return on investment. The reality is however, that most IT hardware is under-utilised. So how can virtualisation help your business resolve this issue and become more future-proof?
Virtualisation – doing more with less
Modern businesses rely on a number of server functions for day-to-day operations: email and diary management, customer relationship data, stock management, file storage –and so on. Often businesses have multiple physical servers to help with each.
However, very few servers actually use all of the processing and storage power available – they simply do not need it, leaving much of the available capacity wasted.
Virtualised servers are designed to make use of surplus space by combining multiple server roles and placing them onto a single physical machine. This could see your CRM and ERP systems combined, allowing you to retire now-redundant servers, saving on running and support costs.
Virtualised servers still behave like traditional standalone units, retaining all of the functionality you need, but without the physical footprint.
Virtualisation – future-proofing and preparing for the Cloud
Moving to a virtual server infrastructure also greatly increases your options for the future. The one constant of modern IT is that demand for storage and computing resources will always increase.
Virtualised servers have a significant advantage when it comes to upgrading the physical machine on which they sit. Rather than having to set up a new machine and migrate data as in the past, the entire virtual server can be transferred in one move, just like copying a single file between folders (albeit much larger in size).
By moving to a virtualised server infrastructure, your business also has much greater choice in how to develop systems for the future needs of your business. Rather than simply upgrading onsite servers periodically, your business could choose to move to a Cloud-based system. Your systems can take advantage of the unlimited processing and storage power of a hosted platform and benefit from improved availability, mobility and reliability in the process, as well as saving on costs.
Again, the single-location nature of virtual servers makes the move to the Cloud simple and efficient, and still leaves you with options for moving provider, or even bringing systems back in-house at some point in the future.
To learn more about virtualisation and what can be achieved for your business, please get in touch with our expert team today.