NetBenefit is a leading provider of managed hosting services in the United Kingdom. Faced with ever more expensive London data center costs, the company decided to implement the Windows Server 2008 operating system featuring Hyper-V virtualization technology to give it the ability to create competitively priced entry-level virtual machines to complement its existing managed hosting services.
Hosting Provider Uses Virtualization to Expand Services and Reduce Costs
"Virtualization extends the range of services that we can offer which allows us to more fully meet our Overview customers' needs." Country or Region: United Kingdom Industry: Professional services Jonathan Robinson, Chief Operating Office, NetBenefit Customer Profile London-based NetBenefit is a managed hosting company that has been providing NetBenefit is a leading provider of managed hosting services in the flexible hosting services in the United United Kingdom. Faced with ever more expensive London data Kingdom for over 12 years. center costs, the company was looking for ways to expand the Business Situation hosting solutions it offered its clients while maximizing data center NetBenefit wanted to create a competitively priced entry-level hosting space. NetBenefit decided to implement the Windows Server® 2008 service that would allow it to reduce server operating system featuring Hyper-VT virtualization technology to management and hardware costs. give it the ability to create competitively priced entry-level virtual Solution machines to complement its existing managed hosting services. NetBenefit uses the Windows Server® 2008 operating system with Hyper-VT The company is also using Microsoft® System Center Virtual technology and Microsoft® System Center Machine Manager 2008 to simplify virtual machine management. Virtual Machine Manager 2008 to achieve high-availability, low-cost virtualization. Using Hyper-V, NetBenefit can maximize its data center space, reduce server management work, and enhance customer data Benefits „ Expanded customer services security by adding an extra layer of protection to its underlying „ Easier server administration server hardware. „ Reduced data center costs „ Enhanced security
"London data centers Situation count any further, NetBenefit wanted to first NetBenefit is a London-based managed simplify its server management. "We spend a are some of the most hosting provider. It delivers managed hosting great deal of time performing server expensive in the world. services in both the United Kingdom and administrative functions," Dean Clark, France and is a part of Group NBT, which Hosting Services Manager, says. "Virtual In addition to our employs over 270 people worldwide and machines would dramatically reduce the customer servers, we delivers Internet services across Europe and number of servers we have to manage. It is have infrastructure the United States. not effective for staff members to spend hours each day administering individual servers that cost us Customers rely on NetBenefit to provide servers. If we host entry-level virtual significantly. We are continuous availability whether hosting online machines on high-quality physical servers, applications, Web sites, or online advertising any problem can be dealt with quickly and eager to trim these campaigns. Chief Operating Officer Jonathan easily because we can dynamically move operating costs." Robinson says, "All customers want a service affected virtual machines to other hosts. This they can rely upon to keep their businesses both improves the level of customer support Dean Clark, Hosting Services Manager, online and delivering an excellent user we can provide and reduces time spent on NetBenefit experience. However, irrespective of whether server redeployment work, again freeing up customers are searching for a complex our technical staff for more proactive disaster recovery solution or a simple entry- customer support." level server, there is always the need to offer a cost-effective solution. Whilst many of our In addition to introducing a competitive entry-customers are interested in the technology level hosting service and reducing physical advantages offered by server virtualization, server costs, NetBenefit wanted to use others are simply looking for a reliable, cost- virtualization to reduce data center and effective solution that is fast to deploy. electrical power costs. "London data centers Virtualization extends the range of services are some of the most expensive in the world," we can offer which allows us to more fully Clark says. "In addition to our customer meet our customers' needs." servers, we have infrastructure servers that cost us significantly. We are eager to trim NetBenefit offered virtu... [download for more]
