An Internal Cloud for the SME.

I was talking with a colleague the other day about cloud computing  and internal clouds and how they impact Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The abstract is that SMEs have a lot to gain from building a “cloud compatible” infrastructure from the start.

After all, a SME is more likely to exerpience the need for rapid growth and rapid reduction in IT services by virtue of it’s size. The flexibility offered by cloud computing is also valueable to smaller organisations who need IT services quickly and at minimal delay and cost.

It takes time to spec’ up a server, order it, have it delivered, build it and configure it, you can be up and running with a cloud based infrastructure the same day!

No longer need a server? In the traditional model you now have a redundant machine sitting there gathering dust, losing value daily. In a cloud based model, you just turn it off and it stops costing you money.

The first step is often to run a virtualised infrastructure. In the discussion we had, we were asked about the man running a single Windows 2003 SBS server?

My answer remained the same, I would virtualise it!

The moment a server is virtualised it becomes for flexible. The model changes and life gets easier for Mr. Business Owner. Once virtualised, you can backup the server as files. You can snapsot it’s state, apply updates or changes then test. If they break the operation of the server, just rollback to the snapshot.

Once virtualised, there are so many opportunities that were not there before. There is a performance cost, but in a small business it is often not a noticeable one. As the business grows a larger more powerful host server (or servers) can be bought and the original SBS virtual server migrated simply across to it.

Most servers available today could run a hypervisor, it might cost a little more than a server that will run SBS but IMHO it is well worth it!

Lance