Are you starting a small business? Are you retooling your infrastructure? If so, maybe you’re trying to implement the best tech solution, and have heard these buzzwords: Cloud Computing and Virtualization. They are similar strategies, but not interchangeable. And their definitions definitely blur together. So let’s take a minute to simplify them a bit. Afterall, they each have benefits, so it’s worth learning how they work.
Virtualization
Let’s say a company has five servers, and each is assigned a single task. One server handles data storage, another sends and receives email, another manages company databases, etc. Now let’s say there’s a spike in email traffic. The email server might become overwhelmed, causing it to slow down. One (expensive) way to solve this problem would be to add another server to handle overload. A smarter way would be to implement Virtualization.
With virtualization, instead of buying new hardware to build a new server, you use software to build a new server. And – what’s really neat – if the email server gets bogged down, it could borrow resources from any of the other servers with extra capacity. Makes sense, right? Implementing this solution is a process, but saves businesses plenty of resources after the environment is configured.
This is an ON-PREMISE solution that is Virtualized. The server in your office may have nothing to do with Cloud technology, so if that server goes down, so do your resources.
Cloud
With Cloud Computing, businesses setup an off-site private (space in a datacenter) or public Cloud (Microsoft, Google, Amazon) that allows you to to manage files, edit documents, share data, and use apps that aren’t installed on computers. All you need is an internet connection that allows you to connect to a web portal. This can be extremely beneficial for organizations that rely on remote workers or have a BYOD (Bring your Own Device) policy.
Cloud Computing is an OFF-PREMISES solution. You don’t own server hardware, it’s all in the Cloud. This solution can also eliminate the need to purchase computers with costly specs. Instead, laptops and desktops can be “dumbed down” a bit because applications are running from Cloud resources and not the computer hardware.
Scaleability is critical in today’s ever-changing business conditions. Cloud computing makes it easier to manage business tasks to maximize productivity. It can streamline operations as more Cloud services are integrated, i.e. email, ERP, CRM, etc. Businesses don’t have to worry about infrastructure maintenance because a Cloud service provider usually covers updates and new features.
I hope this cleared up any confusion and will help you understand the difference, or at the very least, the hardware needs, to implement one of these solutions. Virtualization and cloud computing are both economical technologies that small businesses should be taking advantage of. The results of these solutions will give your business an advantage over the competition.