At AGT, we recently had the opportunity to virtualise the entire hardware structure of one of our clients. The system was no longer covered under warranty, but rebuilding the server and domain was not practical. By virtualising the existing hardware, we were able to make a complete clone of the current setup, which we then moved onto new hardware. This eliminated the risk and danger of a failure in the older hardware. Virtualisation has other benefits as well, from reduced energy costs to improved uptime. The combined pros of virtualising your hardware far outweigh the cons. Below are 5 benefits for virtualising old hardware to help you decide if virualisation is right for you and your business.
Rapid Provisioning and Simple Deployment – Deploying a virtual machine is much easier and faster than deploying a physical counterpart. Rapid provisioning is possible by using a storage area network, or SAN, to perform a clone of virtual machines. Rapid deployment and provisioning will help streamline your operation and make it more productive.
Lower Costs and Strengthen Your Bottom Line – Creating virtual servers saves money, that’s the bottom line. When your company is able to host multiple virtual servers on a single physical machine, this eliminates the need for multiple physical machines. It’s just simple math. Reducing the amount of hardware your business operates will reduce costs and strengthen your bottom line.
Lower Your Energy Usage – As energy prices rise, it is very possible that energy costs may exceed your hardware costs over the lifetime of your system. Using virutalisation to consolidate servers will yield a significant reduction in energy costs over time. This can add up to big savings for small businesses. It’s a simple equation of less physical mass equallingless energy consumption.
Improve Uptime – Virtualization can improve the uptime and ensure your servers are running at maximum capacity. Increased uptime means increased customer satisfaction. A satisfied client base is the foundation of any successful and well-run company.
Upgradability – Upgrading hardware, while necessary, can be a time consuming endeavor. Virtual servers, however, can be upgraded quite easily by simply adding more RAM and hard drive space. When upgrades are performed seamlessly, your business can easily take advantage of the latest developments in hardware and provide added value to your customers and clients.
At AGT Computer Services, we can help you with all of your virtualisation needs so you can streamline your operation and save money. Fast and simple upgrades, rapid deployment and improved uptime are reasons enough to make the switch. Reducing the physical space that your business needs to dedicate to hardware and servers is just one more advantage of virtualisation. Virtual operating systems are the future of computing so there’s no reason not to virtualise. Enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that any damage caused by a failure of physical data storage and network servers will be mitigated. Contact AGT Computer Services and find out how we can help you make the transition to virtual hardware.
