News in the Channel - issue #8

OFF-SITE DATA CENTRES

own IT for a hybrid strategy. “Using off-site data centres also removes the need to train your own staff on data centre services and infrastructure, which may not be your core business,” he adds. “Together, these benefits can help free up cash for other areas of your operation.” Physical vs cloud Of course, there are different benefits between physical and cloud-based data centres, although as Joe notes, it is a complex topic. “Most data centres today provide a mix of dedicated (bare metal) and cloud-based servers. What kind of IT suits your business best – and your workloads and data – is going to vary from business to business, and if you don’t have a full understanding, you should seek advice from your provider. “In broad terms, the cloud model enables infrastructure as a service, which implies more usage-based pricing (but doesn’t have to be) while the traditional dedicated server model typically gives you a chunk of hardware infrastructure for a fixed price per month. However, most cloud services offer reserved instances for fixed pricing too. There are many shades of grey in between. Cloud offers the benefits of greater scalability and flexibility, because you can adjust IT resources according to your needs – but it is not always cheaper, especially if your IT is being provided by one of the very large public cloud providers. Many cloud offerings are massively overpriced, and for smaller businesses, you’ll get a much better deal – and more personal advice and support – if you partner with a local MSP or CSP, which can help with the whole migration process.” That said, cloud-based solutions such as Azure are a popular option and, as Will Ominsky, VP of MSP sales at Nerdio, notes, there are numerous benefits of using it. “Customers are moving to Azure for increased infrastructure flexibility, access to data from anywhere and improved security,” he says. “When you move your infrastructure to Azure you are not locked into specific hardware, like on-premise or even in some private data centres. Microsoft is always upgrading their equipment, which allows you to make changes any time you want. “With on-prem equipment we have a sunk cost, and most businesses want to hold on to that sunk cost as long as possible to realise the maximum ROI. Microsoft has also built unique user access methods not available

anywhere else like Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Windows 365 to allow end-users to access their cloud infrastructure in a user- friendly manner while keeping data protected and secure. “One of the great benefits of Microsoft Azure is the pricing transparency and ability to custom-build an infrastructure solution tailored to your own business needs in terms of performance and costs. Because of their scale Microsoft can negotiate lower rates and invest in green technology, which can keep costs down for one of the most expensive components in running a data centre – power. “Azure provides benefits of costs and convenience because of its proprietary technologies like AVD and Windows 365. These technologies allow users to access a familiar Windows desktop from any device, in any location. Once the user logs in to their virtual desktop, they have access to anything their IT administrator allows them to see in Azure. AVD and W365 are not only powerful for end-users, but they are extremely cost- competitive compared to other solutions.”

Using off- site data centres removes the need to train your own staff on data centre services and infrastructure, which may not be your core business. “

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Joe Morgan VP of cloud

virtuozzo.com

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Customers

are moving to Azure for increased infrastructure flexibility, access to data from anywhere and improved security.

Complex move But many businesses do still want to make the move to off-site data centres, although migration from on-premises can have its challenges. “It is not something to be taken lightly,” says Joe. “It’s critical to have a full understanding of the infrastructure you want to migrate, the workloads and data you need to move, the outcomes you want to achieve and how you will minimise or eliminate the risk of any downtime. “Even moving from on-premises bare metal to third party bare metal is not a trivial process, and if you’re moving from in-house

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