When you’re looking for an IT service provider, a lot of terms get thrown around that don’t always make sense. Sometimes they’re highly technical, and sometimes they just don’t mean anything close to what you expected. The term “virtualization” is one of those words. It’s a very popular IT buzzword these days, and while it’s used all the time, it can be difficult to define. So we thought we’d break it down for you in this post:
When we say virtualization, what do we actually mean? In fact, the term can apply to multiple different service areas, so we’ll define three of the most popular here:
Network Virtualization
This type of virtualization works to improve the security, speed, and flexibility of your network. Essentially, the available bandwidth of your network is divided into channels, each of which can be assigned to a particular server in real time. This makes the job of the network administrator much easier, as the network automatically takes care of many tasks, and is considerably more user-friendly.
Storage Virtualization
This is a useful tool that virtually pools all of your network storage into one location, making it much easier to access, backup, and recover files and data. It is also another time saver since everything is stored in one place, it’s much quicker to find and perform tasks on any data kept in the central storage space.
Server Virtualization
This is a method of partitioning one server into multiple virtual servers that can each handle their own operating system. Server virtualization is a great way to reduce equipment costs, boost your operating power, and save on space. In fact, server virtualization is so useful that it tends to be one of the first virtualization tasks that businesses undergo.
What Are The Benefits of Virtualizing Your IT equipment?
Virtual services attempt to make your life easier and your technology simpler by optimizing it to best fit your company’s IT needs. The most popular form of virtualization is server virtualization, as it provides many benefits, increasing both efficiency and productivity, and saving most companies on equipment costs.
Increased Business Continuity
The goal of business continuity is to reduce a number of interruptions to your business operations. Virtualization of your server is one of the best ways to improve your business continuity, because, with virtualized servers, there’s no need for downtime, even during scheduled maintenance. An operating system can easily be powered by another server during the time that another is undergoing maintenance, ensuring that your business operations are never interfered with.
Increased Security
Another bonus of server virtualization is the increased security that comes with it. Since virtualization servers are handled primarily by security experts, your data can now be kept and securely backed up without additional cost, and with the increased security you get from professionals. While small and medium-sized businesses without virtualization have to pay for firewalls, spyware, adware, and all other technologies meant to protect against imminent threats, with a virtual server, your security comes with the virtualization.
Fewer Servers
Along with server virtualization comes the bonus of needing considerably fewer servers to run your business. That means more physical office space, and less money spent on expensive servers. When you virtualize your server, you’re using it to its full capacity by dividing it into several virtual servers that can manage multiple operating systems that would originally have needed their own individual servers. Since those operating systems can now be managed by virtual servers all from the same physical server, you won’t need to buy as many physical servers.
Along with server virtualization comes the bonus of needing considerably fewer servers to run your business. That means more physical office space, and less money spent on expensive servers. When you virtualize your server, you’re using it to its full capacity by dividing it into several virtual servers that can manage multiple operating systems that would originally have needed their own individual servers. Since those operating systems can now be managed by virtual servers all from the same physical server, you won’t need to buy as many physical servers.
Improve Disaster Recovery Efforts
Most virtualization software provides you the opportunity to test your server’s ability to function in a disaster recovery situation. Not only does this give you insight into how well your failover plan will work, it gives you the chance to improve it! Additionally, with the improved technology that virtualization offers, you’re able to spend more money on backup servers, and the virtualized server itself will be more capable of recovering your data and files, in considerably less time.
Improve Communications
Most importantly for many small to medium sized businesses, virtualization affords your company better communication opportunities. Virtualization helps your employees function more efficiently from wherever they are, and it also allows you to expand to additional locations when the time comes. Virtual services make it easy and affordable to allow your employees to work from home, or to set up another office location.
If you think virtualization might be the right move for your business, call the experts at Red Five! We’re a trusted, local IT company that believes in providing unique solutions to each client. We can set up virtualization plan that not only improves your company’s IT capabilities, but increases both productivity and efficiency. Give us a call at 1-877-890-RED5 (7335), or contact us online today!