For the past year Strem Chemicals, a Massachusetts-based company which manufactures and markets specialty chemicals, has utilized virtualization. This process has seen them improve in several areas such as cost reduction and even disaster recovery. This is one of thousands of companies that has saved a substantial amount of money since incorporating virtualization into their business model. With that in mind, here are couple of ways SMB’s like yours can use virtualization to enhance cost benefits beyond the bottom line.
Virtualization puts IT in control
When a new product launches, virtualization lends a hand by matching spending with fluctuating workloads. For instance, ACI Speciality Benefits, a provider of employee assistance programs and other wellness services, virtualized its desktops with Cisco systems and VMware solutions. By balancing the workload with the introduction of virtualization, this allowed the company’s IT department to develop even more detailed budget reports. So how can this virtualization feature help your business? In your next meeting, virtualization can enable you to present a matrix with a direct correlation of how spending affects the total cost of ownership as well as return on investment (ROI).
Virtualization also helps with power savings because it reduces the number of physical servers needed, meaning less electricity and fewer backup batteries are required. But overall, the reason why it has gained traction amongst SMB’s has more to do with the fact that it enhances control and management of technology.
Scale your business
For iStreamPlanet, a video streaming provider for live events such as the London 2012 Olympics and Sunday Night Football, cozying up to virtualization required little persuasion. In 2010, the company incorporated virtualization into the development of a cloud-based Software as a Service platform for video workflow management.
“Media processing is an ideal service for a cloud-based, virtualized environment due to fluctuating workloads that require scalable compute, storage, hosting and management services,” Dan Penn, director of software engineering says.
It also aids in ensuring that software engineers and operating teams work closer together while testing and deploying across private and public clouds. Vince Tan, IT administrator for Strem Chemicals advises SMBs to embrace virtualization since they are the ones that normally have limited IT staff and resources. Establishing a virtualized environment grants you more scalability and reliability.
It seems that the adoption of virtualization would be beneficial in keeping up with the times, and since many have already made the virtual leap there would be no shortage of peers to consult with on the matter – yes, you are not alone.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our experts for more information on virtualization and its benefits for small and medium-sized businesses.
