We’ve recently written about the reasons why your business needs virtualization in this blog post. But like everything technology related, a virtual infrastructure is not immune to issues and challenges.
However, overcoming virtualization obstacles is well worth the effort, with benefits ranging from increased IT efficiency and affordability to streamlined business continuity and cloud efforts.
You can reinforce these benefits by partnering with a IT provider that ensures you and your in-house technicians never need to worry about the reliability of your virtualization solutions.
Traditionally, troubleshooting an IT issue in a non-virtualized environment is simple. But virtualization enables multiple mediocre servers to perform like one high-end server, complicating the task of tracking and identifying errors.
Here are some ways a managed IT services provider can help you overcome these challenges.
#1 Resource performance issues – Problems with underserved desktops and servers often occur early in the transition to virtualization and can be mitigated with specialized solutions installed by a provider. MSPs with the right certifications can prevent and troubleshoot
performance issues with something called dynamic load balancing, which ensures that IT resources are redistributed to your most important tasks on a minute-to-minute basis.
#2 Compatibility – Another common virtualization challenge is making sure various hardware and software solutions are compatible with each other. For example, many small businesses rely on virtualization to continue using outdated line-of-business applications that only work with certain operating systems. These are time-consuming issues that are tough to resolve without causing downtime.
An MSP can easily stay on top of these difficulties and suggest upgrades or workarounds to make sure everything’s compatible and functions the way it should.
#3 Network/bandwidth – It’s critical to ensure your business’s network infrastructure can handle the added strain of accessing virtualized computing resources over a network connection. Not doing so jeopardizes all the benefits of your solution, because whenever a problem comes up, it will be very difficult to tell whether the issue is linked to insufficient bandwidth or a misconfigured server.
A reputable MSP knows how to maximize your network’s capabilities by reallocating bandwidth and resources as needed by the additional traffic. This gives your business more flexibility to virtualize IT resources and increase efficiency.
#4 Storage and network bottlenecks – When too many users request virtualized resources at the same time, bottlenecks are bound to happen.
Ensuring constant availability and performance is a primary concern in virtualized environments.
Often, bottlenecks are the product of a solution becoming so complicated that administrators lose track of where resources are shared. You need an MSP, like Spectrumwise, to detect and quickly resolve issues related to complex solutions.
#5 Security – Protecting information is another huge concern with virtualization. Virtual servers and desktops can be compromised when users don’t use best practices for passwords, downloads, and other tasks.
For example, one physical server can become several virtual servers, so there’s a risk that one server is compromised and the contents of all the others will be exposed to cybercriminals if proper measures are not taken.
Challenges will creep up on you, especially when you’re not prepared for them, but that doesn’t mean the risk is not worth taking. Virtualization allows you to do more with less, so you can enjoy more advanced technology without installing more equipment in your office, whether that be in Charlotte, Gastonia, or Rock Hill.
Fortunately for you, we at Spectrumwise are more than ready to provide worry-free virtualization solutions. Let us pool and manage resources across your business for a solid, efficient, virtual infrastructure. Call us now to discuss a virtualization solution from our experts.
