Benefits of Server Virtualization with VMware for Small and Medium Businesses in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

Key Benefits of SMB Server Virtualization with VMware:

Lower TCO

High Availability

Disaster Recovery

Run multiple operating systems on a single server

Improve Internal IT Effectiveness

In addition to having faster IT support response times, companies that use virtualization are viewed as being more effective than those that don’t use server virtualization. In fact, almost three out of four SMBs that use virtualization rate their IT departments as being highly effective, while less than half who have not converted to server virtualization believe their IT departments are highly efficient.

Virtualization and Business Continuity Preparedness

Because virtualization improves application availability and data protection and can dramatically shorten disaster recovery time, a “hidden benefit” of virtualization is improved business continuity preparedness. In fact, 67% of SMBs report notable improvements in business continuity preparedness as a result of adopting virtualization

Virtualization is not just for the Fortune 500 anymore. SMBs are rapidly adopting virtualization and achieving significant benefits in a number of areas. Specifically, SMBs are seeing improvements in:

• Time spent on routine IT administrative tasks

• Backup and data protection

• Application availability

• Ability to respond to changing business needs

• Business continuity preparedness

• Company profitability and growth rate

Getting Started with Virtualization from VMware

Companies new to or considering virtualization should be aware of low-cost and easy solutions that will help them get started. For example, VMware offers a free hypervisor for virtualizing your servers called ESXi. When you are ready to step into low-cost complete solutions, the VMware vSphere Essentials editions add central management and business continuity features. You can support your business case with a financial analysis from VMware’s free online ROI calculator. Companies considering virtualization should consider the following four steps to get started:

1. Talk to a trusted advisor about the benefits of virtualization and learn best implementation practices.

2. Conduct an ROI analysis using a free online tool, such as the VMware ROI calculator.

3. Use free tools to get started, such as VMware ESXi, VMware Converter and VMware Go.

4. Start slowly by virtualizing smaller application workloads, such as file, print and web application servers, to become comfortable with virtualization before tackling more critical line of business apps and database servers. In the end, most, if not all, of your server-based application workloads will be great candidates for virtualization.

Conclusions and recommendations

Server utilization and consolidation is a primary benefit of virtualization. However, virtualization can also help IT departments spend less time on routine administrative tasks, enabling them to be more responsive to business needs. Another powerful, yet lesser-known benefit of virtualization is business continuity and disaster recovery. By making IT systems less likely to fail, and by making server restoration substantially faster, virtualization enables SMBs of all sizes to reduce the cost of downtime — in terms of lost productivity, lost sales or damaged reputation. Given SMBs’ relatively limited disaster preparedness, virtualization can act as an important insurance policy.