Tool

This assessment and roadmap development tool will help you create a roadmap for future development of a managed virtual infrastructure and internal cloud.

Note

Server virtualization has gone from hot emerging trend to a mainstream reality. As virtual infrastructure becomes core infrastructure, focus investment on getting the most benefit at the lowest total cost.

Solution Set

For many enterprises, server virtualization is moving beyond basic consolidation into a more managed virtual environment, and potentially to the internal Cloud. Understanding the benefits of each of these stages and their associated costs will...

Note

VMware continues to dominate the server virtualization landscape; however, challengers such as Microsoft, Citrix, and Red Hat are providing competitive features for consolidation and virtual infrastructure management.

Tool

This tool allows enterprises to generate a customized shortlist of vendors based on required capabilities and future requirements around server consolidation, virtual infrastructure management, and the internal cloud.

Vendor Research

This report helps vendors and solution providers in understanding the market dynamics surrounding cloud adoption decision making. The analysis and guidance provided will help in selling and marketing cloud-related offerings.

Template/Policy

This template is designed to provide server virtualization vendors with a consistent set of instructions, ensuring an objective comparison of product features, all while evaluating ease-of-use, and ease of setup and configuration. This template...

Tool

This TCO tool provides organizations with a framework for estimating the costs associated with deploying a server virtualization solution relative to a server refresh, or an alternate vendor.

Video

VMware continues to dominate, but selection isn't just about who is the leader. Competitors are providing legitimate alternatives for consolidation and virtual infrastructure management.

Template/Policy

Organizations embarking on the selection process for server virtualization may elect to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) after determining their final selection criteria.

Tool

For organizations that have issued a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) to evaluate server virtualization vendors, gathering and scoring the various responses can be difficult and time consuming. This tool enables enterprises to evaluate and...

Tool

Info-Tech Research Group has established that savings through lower one-time and ongoing server acquisition costs is the strongest argument in a business case for server virtualization. Use this calculator to get a broad sense of the...

Video

An internal cloud requires capacity management to cost effectively match business requirements with infrastructure. Develop a capacity management plan that optimizes infrastructure as a service by inventorying current capacity while planning for...

Tool

Use this capacity tiering workbook to keep track of applications and infrastructure, and introduce tiers of service that deliver "good enough" performance for cost effective capacity management.

Template/Policy

Having an internal cloud strategy can control costs and improve efficiency of a consolidated infrastructure. Use this process checklist to track your organization's progress in developing your internal cloud.

Note

An internal cloud requires capacity management to cost effectively match business requirements with infrastructure. Develop a capacity management plan that optimizes infrastructure as a service by inventorying current capacity while planning for...

Template/Policy

In an internal cloud, careful assessment of applications is needed in order to make efficient use of current capacity and plan for hardware upgrades to capacity. Use this assessment checklist can be used to gather the requirements of new and...

Solution Set

Provisioning an app or service in a consolidated environment is less about acquiring and deploying technology than it is carving resources out of an existing pool of capacity. Server and storage consolidation breaks a neat 1-to-1 connection that...

Template/Policy

Having an internal cloud strategy can control costs and improve efficiency of a consolidated infrastructure. Use this business plan to demonstrate how ongoing capacity assessment and planning will help deliver service goals at the lowest...

Interest in cloud computing is strong among small enterprises as they explore potential for cost savings and agility. The disruptive potential of the cloud exists, but be careful to set appropriate cost saving expectations when considering cloud...

Small enterprises are often able to make higher risk investments in emerging technology for lower costs, and to take advantage of large enterprise capabilities, such as security and flexibility. Cloud computing is one such technology that can...

Note

Info-Tech's recent survey on cloud computing has revealed that although it is still early days, the external cloud is taking hold in small enterprises. And it appears to be more than just a fad: IT decision makers expect the external cloud to...

Solution Set

Cloud computing offers a compelling opportunity for small businesses to reduce IT costs. Cloud costs are orders of magnitude lower than the per unit costs of internally developed IT resources.

Solution Set

Take virtualization to the next level (internal cloud). Bring the management and resiliency of server virtualization to 80 to 100% of server workloads by building and managing appropriate compute, network, and storage capacity.

Note

Most enterprises have already seen success in virtualizing the low-hanging fruit in the data center. As the percentage of the data center that is virtualized increases, IT must focus on building an internal cloud that leverages virtualization...

Video

Lead Analyst John Sloan and Info-Tech client George Neill of Organic Valley Family of Farms talk about the strategic and practical implications of building an internal cloud.

The internal cloud - a term increasingly used by datacenter infrastructure vendors - is only the most recent name for a converged utility infrastructure. Understanding private cloud infrastructure as a kind of birthday cake, with hardware layers...

Video

Think of private cloud infrastructure as a kind of birthday cake with hardware layers and virtualization icing. This will be critical in evaluating emerging server, storage, network and virtualization offerings. As the icing on the cake,...

Video

Think of private cloud infrastructure as a kind of birthday cake with hardware layers and virtualization icing. This will be critical in evaluating emerging server, storage, network and virtualization offerings. Blades, and particularly blades...

Video

Think of private cloud infrastructure as a kind of birthday cake with hardware layers and virtualization icing. This will be critical in evaluating emerging server, storage, network and virtualization offerings. 10 Gigibit Ethernet is a key...