Virtual solutions to real business challenges…they really work!

Guest post from Cindy Bates, Vice President, US Small and Medium Sized Businesses (US SMB)

Do these challenges sound familiar to your business – a limited IT budget, high electric bills and an ongoing struggle to make efficient use of your IT staff’s time and your hardware and software investments? You’re probably no stranger to these scenarios. In my conversations with SMB decision makers, we often spend time talking about these very issues, as well as new ways to address them.

One such way is through virtualisation. If you’re not familiar with the term, it simply refers to a computing technique that harnesses unused computing power, often by consolidating physical server hardware. Even small businesses experience server sprawl, with numerous dedicated servers running perhaps just one application each and often up to 90 percent of their computing power going unused. Running this many servers undoubtedly increases power management costs and squanders valuable physical space, as well as adds to already heavy workloads for IT staff.

However, businesses that adopt virtualisation gain the ability to run numerous operating systems on one physical server instead of having to go out and buy a new server each time they launch new software. The benefits that ensue include savings on energy and hardware, as well as greater business continuity. Because virtual machines compartmentalize workloads and can be backed up while running, it’s easier to recover from system or application failures, as well as conduct server maintenance. Also, in virtualised scenarios, IT staff can manage physical and virtual machines from one, unified tool, which allows for greater agility and time savings.

The great news for SMBs is that virtualisation is not just an option for larger, enterprise organisations, but also for smaller businesses. For instance, SMBs that already have Windows Server 2008 will get Hyper-V already built in and can get up and running with virtualisation quickly and easily.

Click here to learn more about how virtualisation can help you solve many of your business challenges and streamline your organisation in new and powerful ways.

To learn more about virtualisation and how the technology can help your business, we recommend you talk to a Microsoft Partner for information and advice. Find a partner near you, using our Pinpoint tool.