Is Virtualization Right for your Chicagoland Small Business?

Server Virtualization has been around for a while but has quickly become more popular for small businesses due to the long-term costs saved when your servers are virtualized. What exactly is server virtualization and how can it benefit Chicagoland businesses?

What is Server Virtualization?

Let's say your company needs a new server to handle a new business application. Instead of purchasing new hardware and having a physical server added to your network, a software-based virtual server can be installed on the same hardware that other virtual servers are housed on. Hardware and resource allocation control how much processing power and hard drive space each server has access to. The end result is a single server hosting multiple servers that behave like separate pieces of equipment.

What are the benefits of Server Virtualization?

The big benefit that small businesses experience is fewer expensive servers that need to be managed, maintained, updated, and regularly upgraded. The costs associated with a server powerful enough to handle multiple virtual servers is drastically less than two servers, and comparable management costs are equally improved. Virtualization has big benefits on power consumption as well; the reason virtualization even works is due to the fact that most of the time, server hardware is extremely underutilized. Getting more work done with the same amount of hardware reduces your energy footprint.

For some businesses, space is an issue. Fewer physical servers means less space is needed.

What does it take to get my company's Servers Virtualized?

Contact Preferred at 708-781-7110 for a consultation. Some applications may not support server virtualization or may need special licenses to work in a virtual environment. Some server hardware might not be powerful enough to be repurposed into a virtual server, so evaluation and planning is required. Our technicians can organize a detailed project plan for cost-effectively consolidating your servers.