Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) like yours must maximize every dollar and extract the greatest value from their resources to stay competitive against larger companies. Virtual servers support this effort by lowering hardware requirements, easing maintenance tasks, and minimizing risks.
Let’s dive into what virtual servers are and how they help reduce IT expenses for SMBs.
What is a virtual server?
A traditional physical server is designed to do just one job at a time, such as managing your email, running software development tools, or storing files.
Modern servers are much more powerful and can handle multiple tasks at the same time, such as running your email or different operating systems (like Linux or MacOS), without needing extra physical machines. A virtual server takes advantage of this capability by splitting one physical server into several separate sections through a process called virtualization. Each section acts like its own independent server, but all within a single physical machine.
So, instead of having a server for this and a server for that, you can create multiple virtual servers that share computing resources.
Direct savings from virtual servers
There are several direct ways that virtual servers can help you better manage your IT budget, such as:
Reduced hardware expenditure and maintenance costs
First, the obvious one: being able to house multiple virtual servers on the same physical machine means you don’t have to shell out for multiple expensive physical servers. You also don’t need to burden your IT department or pay your managed IT services provider (MSP) for server setup and maintenance, and once your servers’ life cycle is up, you don’t have to purchase new ones all over again.
Lower secondary costs
Beyond their initial price, physical servers demand high ongoing costs. They require:
- Office and server room space
- Energy for operating and cooling
- Data cabling and network equipment
- Repairs and maintenance
- Staff to perform these repairs and maintenance
- Insurance
Switching to virtual servers not only reduces your capital expenditure, but also your long-term operational costs.
Indirect savings from virtual servers
Besides the direct cost benefits, virtual servers also help save money in other ways by improving different parts of your technology setup.
More efficient management
Virtual servers can be controlled from one simple dashboard using modern management tools such as Proxmox VE or Red Hat Virtualization. These tools are easy to use and connect with your existing systems, so your IT team or service provider spends less time handling routine tasks. This lowers your labor costs and gives your team more time to focus on work that helps grow your business.
Better flexibility and scalability
Need a new kind of server to develop your business’s capabilities? Has a shift in the market required you to pivot quickly? Instead of buying, installing, and configuring a new server, you can have your IT department or MSP simply create a new virtual server.
Your SMB will have the capabilities it needs in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of doing it the traditional way. Plus, if your business grows, it’s easy to copy and expand your virtual servers to keep up with demand.
Faster and easier disaster recovery
If your traditional physical server fails or falls prey to a cyberattack, your business could come to a standstill. But with virtual servers, you can create digital snapshots, which are backup copies stored safely in a different location. These snapshots can be restored quickly, helping your business get back up and running fast. The downtime that this saves you could mean the difference between recovering smoothly from a disaster and shuttering your business for good.
Considering virtual servers? Here’s where to start
Get in touch with SpectrumWise to find out how virtual servers can help reduce your SMB’s IT and operating costs. With nearly 25 years of experience specializing in SMB networks, our consultants have the expertise to create a virtual server plan tailored to your business.
Schedule a consultation, and our team will analyze your current network setup and server needs. We’ll show you how to consolidate your systems with virtual servers and highlight the savings you can achieve.
