Virtualisation is a disruptive information technology (IT) trend, but companies can use rental and managed services to test virtualisation while addressing specific goals or challenges, says recovery specialist company Veeam South Africa manager Warren Olivier.

Virtualisation offers easy backup and rapid recovery, lower hardware costs and the mobility of applications and data, as well as adaptable information control and security.

However, companies should virtualise specific business functions to control costs while meeting business objectives and gaining an understanding of how virtualisation functions within their business environments. The various services also provide companies with options to test virtual services and functions.

“Managed services and infrastructure as a service may be suitable for smaller companies, but large companies may also want to use a rental or managed service model to control spending on IT systems.”

Further, using services also provides companies with access to technical IT skills and expertise, reducing the burden of managing and maintaining commercial IT systems in-house.

Access to skills and experts may also be useful for companies, as a long-term business relationship can develop into a trusted adviser partnership, enabling companies to assess the latest technological developments without a large internal IT department.

However, companies must have clear objectives and review deadlines, as the costs of renting equipment for more than one-and-a-half years can equal the costs of buying the equipment.

“The option of testing tech- nology before committing to it enables companies to explore various solutions without significant capital investment and can form part of a strategy to identify correct capital expenditure for a business,” says Olivier.

“Managed services can help companies familiarise themselves with the technology and the operational requirements and skills needed. Moreover, managed services also reduce the risk of encountering technical problems after a new system is introduced, as the services will be tested and verified by the service provider,” he adds.

Virtualisation holds the promise of making the management of IT systems easier and possibly automating certain security, backup and record-keeping functions.

“We are starting to see a virtualisation tipping point, where about 60% of some companies’ IT environments are virtualised.”

The tools and capabilities provided by virtualisation must be understood, as they are not direct replacements for older systems, but enable companies to perform certain functions differently

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