Tag: Virtualization

Categories
Casserly Consulting Blog

Tip of the Week: Which Storage is Better for Your Needs?

cloud_storage_vs_local_400.jpg

Keeping your company’s data safe is extremely important no matter where it is stored. Making the decision to store data in the cloud or in an in-house server is just one consideration you need to make. Today, we will compare these two options to help you select the one is right for your business.

Cloud Storage
There are many advantages to using the cloud for backup and storage. Firstly, the platform is cost-effective because not only are you likely paying for only the space and services that you need, you also don’t have the extra utility and maintenance costs that onsite hardware tends to come with.

Another benefit is the scalability that you can get in the cloud. You can always get just the amount of space and computing services that you need, which is not something that you can expect in the case of an in-house computing platform. By being able to increase and decrease space as needed, all you’ll need to do is notify your service provider, and they will increase or decrease your storage space accordingly.

With cloud-based storage, you also typically improve on your accessibility. Any data stored in a cloud-based storage facility can be accessed through most Internet-connected devices that run an Internet browser (or through an app). Just log into your account and gain access to all the information you need when you need it.

Depending on your business needs, some of the few disadvantages cloud storage brings may not even impact your decision. The big one is speed. If you have a lot of data to store, and your Internet connection is less than stellar, backing up or transferring data to the cloud provider could take a while.

Local Storage
Speed is the one main advantage of storing your data locally, but there are some others. Businesses that rely on in-house computing infrastructures have more options than those that use cloud-hosted solutions–especially since you can just unhook the drive and the data is protected.

By having complete control over the management and design of your in-house computing infrastructure, you can create some pretty useful setups that will save your business money. Not only can you set up multiple virtual machines on one server, you can have full-scale redundancy to protect all of the information on your systems.

Some downsides include the upfront expense of purchasing all the major hardware and software systems needed. Scalability is more difficult, and most damning, if your data is saved, backed up, and protected in one place, if that one place gets hit with any issues, your data could be inaccessible, or worse yet, destroyed altogether.

While you have to make decisions for your business, depending on COMPANYNAME to help you make the right ones is advisable. Call us today at PHONENUMBER and one of our professional IT experts will help you design and implement a storage plan to meet your business’ needs.

Categories
Casserly Consulting Blog

Virtualization Has A Place Everywhere In Your Business

virtualize_and_save_400.jpg

Virtualization is a key player in today’s efficient workplace. Businesses of all kinds are looking to expand and enhance the way that they function on a fundamental level, and virtualization offers never before seen opportunities to cut down redundancies and implement new methods to improve operations.

First, an explanation of what exactly virtualization is. In essence, virtualization is taking a service or solution and abstracting it to the point where it can be run or accessed through the cloud or another centralized location. Examples of virtualization include digitizing servers or workstations, eliminating the need to manage and maintain hardware; storing applications or data in the cloud to allow for more efficient and dynamic access; and so much more. How can your business benefit from this new way of working with business technology?

Here are some of the most effective ways to utilize virtualization for your organization.

Virtualized Cloud Hardware
Businesses often virtualize servers so that they don’t necessarily have to provide the same maintenance and management required of a physical server unit. Virtualizing servers through a service provider like COMPANYNAME lets your organization store its servers on our infrastructure so that we can directly administer maintenance and management as needed. You can access your information remotely through the cloud. Other benefits include the ability to create specific environments for legacy applications and reducing the overall costs of operations due to fewer resources spent on air conditioning or electricity.

Virtualized Desktops
Just like servers, your desktop infrastructure can also be virtualized in order to preserve energy and assets for your organization. For example, let’s say that you replace all of your business’s workstations with thin clients. Thin clients are sort of like basic desktops that call their resources and applications from a virtualized infrastructure. Thin clients consume far less electricity than an ordinary workstation, allowing you to invest these resources elsewhere. This means a user’s desktop and applications are all processed centrally on a server or in the cloud. If your user needs to access their desktop environment from a laptop or another computer, they can typically do so securely without skipping a beat.

Virtualized Software
Storing software solutions in the cloud is a great way to improve their versatility. If you store them in the cloud, you provide access to any approved device through a mobile app or web browser. This can help your employees stay productive both in and out of the office by staying connected to a number of different software solutions, including your productivity suite, email, and even your phone system.

If you can imagine virtualizing a solution, chances are that it’s a possibility for your business. The only way to know for sure is to call COMPANYNAME. To learn more about virtualization, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

Categories
Cloud

Study Finds that 45% of Virtual Machines Would Run More Efficiently in the Cloud

b2ap3_thumbnail_i_choose_the_cloud_400.jpg By now you’ve surely heard about the benefits of cloud computing, but a new survey by TSO Logic might be just the proof you need to make the leap to the cloud. The survey analyzed 10,000 physical servers and 25,000 virtual machines, and the results are quite revealing!

At the end of the survey, TSO Logic found that 45 percent of virtual machines would run more proficiently if they were managed in the cloud. At 45 percent, this is a pretty significant chunk of servers. The reasons why cloud servers outshone their hardware-based counterparts varies. In 26 percent of the inspected machines, both on-premise and virtual machines suffered from a critical problem called over-provisioning. Basically, this means that the machines were set up in a way which caused them to use more resources than they have to work with.

InformationWeek reported that TSO Logic’s CEO Aaron Rallo came to the following conclusion: “Migrating them to the cloud and right-sizing them there would result in a 36 percent savings over their current operating cost.”

While any amount of savings is welcome in business, a large figure like 36 percent is particularly impressive. The expenses of implementing cloud solutions can be easily covered by the cost savings, and this efficiency only serves to further reduce cost savings. This cloud migration scenario also makes for the perfect time to upgrade older server units as well, since you can save money and reduce the odds of hardware failure with a hardware refresh. InformationWeek reports: “A secondary finding was that merely upgrading systems to the latest generation of servers, whether on premises or in the cloud, would also result in considerable savings. Twenty-five percent of the physical servers surveyed were more than three years old, meaning they dated back into the Intel Nehalem chip era of 2013 and its predecessors.”

Yet, this prompts the question, “Do I really need to take these measures when everything seems to work just fine?” Inefficiencies might not be an immediate problem, but if there are enough of them, they will begin to accumulate and create problems for your organization. Instead, It’s best to use these proactive measures to keep problems from happening in the future. That’s what this study seems to predict, anyway, and it makes sense.

If your business is ready to get the most out of its cloud solutions, reach out to COMPANYNAME. We can host your servers in the cloud so that you don’t have to worry about their management and maintenance. Furthermore, we can offer a complete and thorough IT assessment so that you know exactly what your organization needs to accomplish with the cloud. To learn more, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.