Where to Start
Strategic Virtualization Assessment
Assessing your specific business needs is the best place to start. Several virtualization solutions are available in the market with more being added each month. Virtualization technology is forcing hardware and software vendors to rethink product strategies and modify existing products in order to capitalize on virtualization and offer new innovative solutions.
Virtual Technologies is positioned to help businesses create the right plan and implement the correct solutions.
The following information should be examined when considering virtualization:
-
Current mission of the organization
-
Existing technology and infrastructure
-
Strategic plan (direction and anticipated growth)
For example, companies who have:
| Datacenters with 50 or more servers. |
May want to focus on datacenter consolidation and containment and create a "Virtual Datacenter".
|
| Inadequate high availability strategy |
May want to implement virtual technologies that enable simple and effective business continuity solutions.
|
| Software development teams |
May want to create a Virtual Development Environment to enhance development and testing activities and accelerate software time-to-market.
|
| Large group of desktop PC Users |
May want to focus on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure to streamline asset management and enhance compliance and security initiatives.
|
| Backup requirements |
May want to investigate Virtual Tape Library solutions to enhance data retention and recovery performance.
|
V-AssessSM - Strategic Virtualization Assessment
Begin the process by conducting a Virtualization Assessment. Normally this is a 2-5 week exercise where Virtual Technologies' experts analyze the existing environment and use this information along with company and IT goals to create a specific virtualization recommendation and roadmap. Our team of experts has conducted over 100 virtualization assessments and tailors each recommendation to the specific needs of the customer.
Each assessment employs the following process:
-
Discovery Session: Virtual Technologies' experts meet with key business and IT team members to understand the current technology environment, problem areas, business and growth initiatives.
-
Monitor Existing Environment: Install software to monitor existing IT environment performance characteristics focusing on servers and desktops (if applicable). The software gathers key time-of-day and day-of-week performance statistics over 5-7 business days (or more if required). Also, gather information relative to existing high availability, IT management and system deployment processes.
-
Data Analysis: Gather performance data captured during monitoring period and analyze results. Initial report is created listing technology performance characteristics. Existing IT technology management processes are also detailed.
-
Data Validation & Findings Session: Meet with key IT and business team members to validate the data collected and review relevant processes. Discuss initial findings and recommendations and select initial virtualization focus area(s) for final report and business case.
-
Deliver Strategic Assessment Report: Present the final assessment report and recommendations to key team members and budget committee. Discuss next steps needed to finalize business case.
|
|