Virtualization Overview

eMazzanti Technologies - Virtual ServersVirtualization has proven to be a successful strategy for large corporations in the last year. What we have learned from these large scale projects is now being used to assist medium sized enterprises. This is the first in a series of Virtualization articles exploring the opportunities available to our customers.

Introduction
Among the leading business challenges confronting CIOs and IT managers today are: cost-effective utilization of IT infrastructure; responsiveness in supporting new business initiatives; and flexibility in adapting to organizational changes. Driving an additional sense of urgency is the continued climate of IT budget constraints and more stringent regulatory requirements. Virtualization is a fundamental technological innovation that allows skilled IT managers to deploy creative solutions to such business challenges.

Virtualization in a Nutshell
Simply put, virtualization is an idea whose time has come. The term virtualization broadly describes the separation of a resource or request for a service from the underlying physical delivery of that service. With virtual memory, for example, computer software gains access to more memory than is physically installed, via the background swapping of data to disk storage. Similarly, virtualization techniques can be applied to other IT infrastructure layers – including networks, storage, laptop or server hardware, operating systems and applications. This blend of virtualization technologies – or virtual infrastructure – provides a layer of abstraction between computing, storage and networking hardware, and the applications running on it . The deployment of virtual infrastructure is non-disruptive, since the user experiences are largely unchanged. However, virtual infrastructure gives administrators the advantage of managing pooled resources across the enterprise, allowing IT managers to be more responsive to dynamic organizational needs and to better leverage infrastructure investments.

Using virtual infrastructure solutions, enterprise IT managers can address challenges that include:

• Server Consolidation and Containment – Eliminating ‘server sprawl’ via deployment of systems as virtual machines (VMs) that can run safely and move transparently across shared hardware, and increase server utilization rates from 5-15% to 60-80%.

• Test and Development Optimization – Rapidly provisioning test and development servers by reusing pre-configured systems, enhancing developer collaboration and standardizing development environments.

• Business Continuity – Reducing the cost and complexity of business continuity (high availability and disaster recovery solutions) by encapsulating entire systems into single files that can be replicated and restored on any target server, thus minimizing downtime.

• Enterprise Desktop – Securing unmanaged PCs, workstations and laptops without compromising end user autonomy by layering a security policy in software around desktop virtual machines.

Carl Mazzanti is Co-Founder and President of eMazzanti Technologies, Microsoft’s four time Partner of the Year and one of the premier IT consulting services for businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area and internationally. Carl and his company manage over 400 active accounts ranging from professional services firms to high-end global retailers.

eMazzanti is all about delivering powerful, efficient outsourced IT services, such as computer network management and troubleshooting, managed print, PCI DSS compliance, green computing, mobile workforce technology, information security, cloud computing, and business continuity and disaster recovery.  

Carl Mazzanti is also a frequent business conference speaker and technology talk show guest and contributor at Microsoft-focused events, including frequent prominent roles at the Microsoft Inspire (Worldwide Partner Conference / WPC).

Carl, a serial Entrepreneur, gives back to the community through Entrepreneur teaching engagements at Georgetown University, the company’s ocean wildlife conservation effort, the Blue Project, and Tree Mazzanti.

SHARE:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Video Resources

Are You It Resources Effective In The New Normal

VIDEO/WEBINAR

Are Your IT Resources Effective in the New Normal?

Align2020 A Virtual Conference

VIDEO/VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Align 2020
Cyber Security, Compliance & Collaboration

Best Practices For Working In A Modern, Mobile, And Secure Environment

VIDEO/WEBINAR

Best Practices for Working in a Modern, Mobile, and Secure Environment

NEWSLETTER