How much can you actually save by going virtual?

February 11th, 2019
How much can you actually save by going virtual?

Technology makes business collaboration and communication easier than ever. With virtualization, your employees no longer have to be at the office to do their tasks and interact with colleagues. All they need is a trusty device and a stable internet connection, and they can work anytime, anywhere.

Thanks to high-speed internet and the fast-evolving job market, 50% of the US workforce will be telecommuting by 2020. But apart from flexibility and convenience, cost efficiency is the most cited reason why businesses go virtual.

#1 Fewer hardware

Most of the processing power of your typical high-tech server goes to waste, as you only need 5–15% of its computing capacity. When you go virtual, you’ll have access to virtual machines, increasing your utilization rates by around 70–80% because you’ll need significantly fewer hardware than before.

With virtualization, you can save servers, networks, and desktops as a single file called an image and store them in a well-maintained virtual server. This means less facility space is necessary for efficient operations.

#2 Less energy

Virtualization is considered a “green” technology because of its reduced energy use and carbon footprint. Having fewer hardware and a smaller space, you’ll need less energy to cool your office, run your devices, and prevent your equipment from overheating.

#3 Less expense on IT staff

Having servers from multiple vendors forces your company to conduct employee training for each vendor’s operating system (OS) — a costly endeavor. With virtualization, you can reduce system administration and maintenance time spent by your IT staff by about 20%. Standardizing your OS reduces labor costs for specialized OS knowledge. What’s more, fewer servers mean less issues for your IT staff to resolve, saving more time.

#4 Improved cybersecurity and disaster recovery

Virtualization reduces business disruption in the event of natural disasters, power outages, and cyberattacks — an important perk of going virtual, as the average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute. By having a backup virtual server, you can replicate your files, store copies offsite, and recover them anytime. A tornado can hit, and all you have to do is switch on a new computer somewhere safe, connect to a stable internet, and resume operations as if nothing happened.
Even better, you can hire a managed services provider (MSP) like OC-IT to monitor your server backups 24/7 and store encrypted copies of your data to prevent cyberattacks and breaches.

#5 Easier maintenance

Consolidating multiple images into one hardware allows for easier and cheaper maintenance. Your IT staff can take all hardware that needs constant monitoring, centralize the operations, and manage them using fewer devices. They will maintain fewer machines, giving them more time to rapidly respond to any IT emergencies.

Going virtual is no easy task; you need a trusted partner to guide you along the way. If you’re planning to virtualize your Miramar, Coral Gables, and Miami business, contact OC-IT for a cost-efficient and stress-free migration.

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