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Virtualization
in the New World
anywhere in the world knowledge workers collaborate without the headaches of syn- chronization and the risk of important data on their hardware getting lost or stolen. Se- curity is tight, but access is unlimited.
A Better Way to Work
Because of virtualization, businesses en- joy lower startup costs and access to enter- prise-class computing without being tied to a physical location. Such a virtual business enjoys increased access to knowledge work- ers, and lower overhead. Many of the limi- tations on starting or growing a business are removed making the opportunities endless. The new possibilities include:
• Multiple offices across the country
sharing the same applications and data; • Enterprise-class solutions and security available to any business at an afford-
able price;
• Mobile access and bring your own de-
vice (BYOD); and
• Telecommuting employees.
The benefits of virtualization are compel- ling:
• Lower costs and less travel;
• Increased productivity;
• Improved performance;
• Faster setup and less downtime; • Better application integration;
• Less IT maintenance; and
• More time to grow the business.
Freedom to Grow
The fading paradigm of distributed com- puting, marked by powerful desktop PCs with locally installed applications and ex- pensive maintenance is giving way to a more standardized, efficient computing model, the world of virtualization and the cloud. With anywhere, anytime access and greater efficiency at a lower cost we have entered the information age without lim- its. It all adds up to the freedom to focus on what’s most important and more time to grow the business.
With 13 years and numerous tech-centric company launches under his belt, Josh Weidman, vice president of infrastructure at Trapp Corp., leads a team of engineers in the conception and implementation of intricate, customized network infrastructure environments for businesses. For more information, visit www.trappcorp.com.
By Josh Weidman
Accelerating change in technology has brought increased competition, new mar- keting channels and innovative business models making it difficult for companies to keep up. Fortunately, the problem is also the solution. Change creates opportunity.
In this article, we will discuss virtualiza- tion, one of the key enabling technologies of cloud computing.
Virtualization Creates Options
Virtualization technology creates new, more flexible working and process options for companies without an investment in expensive hardware infrastructure. Virtual- ization technology is powerful and it’s here today.
An excellent example of what virtualiza- tion means to business is a California book- keeping firm. This firm has no central of- fice, employees in multiple states, data for multiple clients secured in multiple remote locations, and simultaneous access by em- ployees and their clients at anytime from anywhere. Through virtualization technolo- gy, this business is 40 percent more efficient and with 85 percent lower IT costs than the standard business model of employees coming to the office and transferring data back and forth from clients’ computers. Similar stories exist in other industries.
What is Virtualization?
Virtualization is the decoupling of a computer’s operating system, applications and data from the underlying physical hardware. With hardware virtualization, physical machines can be home to multiple virtual machines, with their associated ap- plications, which are easily moved from one physical machine to another. CPU utiliza- tion goes up, efficiency goes up and main- tenance is simplified. Failover capabilities automatically move a virtual machine to another physical machine when hardware fails.
With virtualization and the Internet, hardware can be located or accessed any- where in the world. Physical servers be- come a resource to be shared among mul-
tiple operating systems, applications and departments. With desktop virtualization, desktop computers can be simplified, stan- dardized and maintained more easily. On- site IT staff can be reduced or eliminated. Virtualization allows computing resources to be consumed via the cloud like a utility, that is, pay for what you use.
Configuration Options
Multiple configuration options of man- aged virtualized environments allow com- panies to meet individualized needs to achieve a variety of goals:
• Private cloud – more control
• Public cloud – lower cost
• Hybrid cloud – best of both worlds
• Virtualized on-premise servers – total
control
• Virtualized desktops – standardized
experience across multiple devices
A private cloud, or hosting using dedi- cated resources, opens up access from any- where while still providing control and data security. Hybrid clouds combine the cost savings of a public cloud with the advan- tages of private clouds. Virtualization of on- premise hardware can make better use of computing resources and reduce the num- ber of servers required while keeping physi- cal hardware on-site. Virtualization on the cloud transfers nearly all of the technical challenges to a remote data center meaning that businesses can get along just fine with- out an IT team or managed service provider
(MSP).
Collaboration Anywhere
Today’s cloud and mobile technologies enable more cooperative work forces with real time data updates working in virtual- ized environments. Centralized resources with universal access simplify and expand collaboration. An employee’s virtual desk- top can be accessed from the office, the laptop at home or the tablet on the road, all providing access to the same resources with the same experience.
With the ability to access the same ap- plication and desktop experience from
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