3 Questions To Ask Your Tech Support Company

August 10th, 2018 by admin

Technology Support For Everything From Megabytes to Zettabytes – And More!

Looking at virtualizing your servers instead of upgrading hardware? Seems like the ideal way to reduce your IT footprint, lower costs, and increase efficiency – right now. Whether you have six servers you need to support or 600, the cost to maintain and upgrade add up quickly. When it’s no longer practical to massage more life out of your technology, and you need to upgrade your infrastructure, you want a scalable – and cost-effective – solution, and an economical but dependable support resource in California. Your servers house the technology that runs your business. The databases that store your data, the applications that process transactions and even the software that runs digital business telephone solutions run on servers, which mean these machines are critical to operations and downtime isn’t an option. What is the best combination of technology infrastructure and support resources for you that will help you grow into your future? Right now, you are asking these three questions:

• How much will server upgrades cost?
• How much will it cost to virtualize my servers instead?
• What are my options for support resources, and how much will it cost?

#1 - How much will server upgrades cost? That depends on a few factors:

• Hardware costs
  • Performance requirements dictate much of a server’s hardware costs, given the job or jobs the server needs to perform and the number of users it will serve. Average server hardware can range from $500 to $3,000, and the up-front investment generally only represents about a quarter of the lifetime costs of the hardware.
  • If the server is meant to support email, large databases, or large-scale cloud-based infrastructure for more than 25 users, that figure ranges toward the higher end, needing multiple processors and sophisticated configurations with redundancies.
• Operating system and applications cost
  • These will vary, but a few sample solutions are:
    • The standard version of Windows Server 2016 runs about $900
      • For virtual servers, this cost is about $6,000
    • The standard version of Microsoft Exchange Server is about $800
    • VMWare’s vSphere Standard is about $1,000
  • Ongoing cost to maintain
    • Servers need protected environments, like dedicated closets, and generate massive amounts of heat, requiring separate ventilation systems to keep systems cool.
    • Support staff to monitor uptime, activity, performance, and address problems.

#2 – How much will it cost to virtualize my servers instead? This number is much harder to predict, though the up-front investment for virtualization tends to be greater than that of comparable physical hardware. This much is clear in the cost difference between Windows Server 2016 standard and the version for virtualized environments. With this particular product, why is the cost to virtualize higher? Virtualized environments benefit from being significantly easier to maintain, and when maintenance is necessary, processes running in these virtual environments can be shifted to another virtual environment quickly and easily. Licenses can be added quickly for new users, and the environment can be used longer given the mobility and longevity of use. The flexible and highly-scalable nature of virtualized environments offers significant savings, as well. The upfront cost doesn’t translate into equal costs for additional virtual servers, which is one of the ways savings are realized with the greatest impact. New servers can be added on demand without buying new hardware. Virtualization offers cost savings in ways that offset the virtualization costs:

• Server longevity
  • Servers dedicate up to half of their capacity for operational needs, leaving roughly 50% capacity as a buffer for usage spikes. Virtualizing eliminates the need for such a great buffer and dedicates maximum output to resources.
  • This alone translates into savings by requiring fewer virtual machines to perform the same tasks for which more machines were previously used.
• Energy cost savings
  • Fewer machines running use less power and generate less heat, equating to less energy required to keep cool.
• Real estate savings
  • Vast server rooms are replaced by server closets, with physical space needs to be reduced by up to 80%.
  • The same space can also be used as additional office space as teams grow.
• Centralized management
  • Access and manage all servers from a centralized console.
• Productivity and efficiency
  • Consolidating servers prevents underutilization.

#3 – What are my options for support resources, and how much will it cost? You want the most cost-effective solution in California, without sacrificing support to save money. The cost question here has a more personalized answer – because your needs are unique. You rely on your technology to work so you can work. While only you know what you can afford, you can’t afford to jeopardize your technology. Consider a California-based managed IT services provider (MSP) for your technical support. As an alternative to expensive in-house full-time IT support staff, costs can be minimized by working with an MSP that offers a service line-up that meets your needs. MSPs provide a variety of IT support services:

• 24/7 remote systems monitoring
• Threat prevention and detection
• Security patches and software updates
• Email monitoring and web filtering
• Helpdesk support
• And more

One of the greatest benefits of MSP support is the full-scale support that breaks free from the “break/fix” model and alleviates the cost of on-demand services with a lower monthly retainer. MSPs offer the same services large corporations across California get from internal teams but cost far less, and with knowledge of the systems and software that run California-based companies. MSPs provide support for complete professional IT infrastructure, from software that runs a business, to the machines the software runs on – both physical and virtual. Cybersecurity, business telephony, network security, and cloud technologies are all part of the full MSP package. That’s the beauty of an MSP – like a virtual machine, you don’t need to see the task being done to feel its effects and appreciate the benefits. Did you like this article? Here are more you’ll enjoy:

• Finding The Right Managed Services Provider (Questions/Answers)
• Why Have All Your Technology Covered By One Company?
• Can Outsourced Technology Services Lower My Overall IT Costs?

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