NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) recently announced it will provide the storage infrastructure to support BT's new Virtual Data Centre (VDC). BT, one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services, is offering a multi-tenanted service aimed at mid-sized and large businesses that are looking to move all or part of their IT resources onto a pay for use platform. BT chose NetApp hardware for VCD due the strong partnership the two companies have had for several years. BT uses NetApp equipment extensively in its existing data centres.
BT already hosts data and applications for a wide range of businesses. VDC aims to move customers from tailored hosting arrangements to a service where organisations can buy the exact capacity they require. BT has added the ability to configure an entire data centre from a single console with the ability to provision servers, storage, and network resources with built-in resilience and business continuity. The partnership with NetApp allows BT to automate the day-to-day storage management resources needed as part of the package, which in turn allows BT's engineers to focus their time and energy on revenue generating activities.
“NetApp's involvement in the development of VDC further builds on our successful track record in working together,” said Craig Parker, head of global IT services propositions at BT Global Services. “The scalability of NetApp hardware and its ease of use enables us to fulfil customer provisioning orders made via VDC's self-service portal in a rapid and cost effective manner."
A blade service architecture, combined with NetApp storage systems and virtualisation software allows BT customers to have their infrastructure and Windows-based applications up and running on the VDC in just five days. Once the system is up, existing VDC customers will be able to deploy a virtual server in as little as 15 minutes. Because the NetApp storage infrastructure takes care of so much of the basic storage management, from Snapshots and off-site replication to deduplication, the storage infrastructure is largely self managing, needing little in the way of day-to-day support.
“With NetApp, BT VDC will be able to provide a reliable, resilient, and low cost alternative to in-house data centres, conventional, single tenancy outsourcing, and one-size-fits-all hosted services,” said Mike Styer, country manager NetApp South Africa. “BT has taken the concept of server and storage virtualisation - already proven in customer's own data centres - and applied it to providing IT as a service. NetApp is excited to be part of this offering with BT.”
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