Common Uses for a Virtual Datacenter
What are some common uses for Virtual Datacenters?
As a pool of cloud infrastructure resources, a Bluelock Virtual Datacenter can be used to meet most of your common demands for IT resources. In general, enterprises see the most positive benefits of a Bluelock Virtual Datacenter when they need to act quickly, when the amount of resources needed is unknown, and when they may change their mind about where and how to run the workload in the future.
The most common uses of these situations include:
- Pre-production
- New production
- Disaster recovery
- End-of-life applications
Virtual Datacenter use cases for pre-production workloads.
The various types of pre-production demands an application places on information technology resources can be among the most challenging. Whether built internally or provided by a commercial software developer, the application lifecycle repeatedly demands capacity for upgrade testing, development, functional testing, performance testing and the like. These needs tend to come in waves and are of varying duration and intensity.
A Bluelock Virtual Datacenter addresses this situation brilliantly with its flexible resource allocation and the ability to provision a complete vApp from a public or private catalog. You can provision one or multiple test environments for as little or as long as needed. When the test is complete, Bluelock Portfolio gives you the ability to see that the resources can be freed by simply turning them off or by making them available for other projects.
As an example, one Bluelock customer uses their Bluelock Virtual Datacenter to create a test environment for the new version SharePoint™. This environment mimics their production environment for SharePoint. Once the various tests and exercises are complete, the new version is placed in production and the resources are released in the Bluelock Virtual Datacenter.
Virtual Datacenter use cases for new production workloads.
The launch of a new application is an exciting period and is often accompanied by optimism. However, it can also be surrounded by uncertainty. Even with excellent research and thorough testing, it is hard to predict how many users will place demands on the application, how they will work with it and how the application will perform. By its very nature, the launch and the time directly following the launch is a period with a steep learning curve.
Launching new applications in a Bluelock Virtual Datacenter helps you react to the new information effectively and economically. If demand exceeds expectations, simply add memory, storage, or CPU to an existing virtual server or you can add whole virtual machines. If demand is slower to materialize than planned, or the application is simply running more efficiently than expected, you have the visibility with Bluelock Portfolio to release under-utilized resources. The flexibility of the Bluelock Virtual Datacenter helps you avoid the excess expense associated with the traditional way of coping with uncertainty: over-investing in capacity that may not be required.
Bluelock customers deploy new production workloads for a wide range of applications. Some are internally developed, customer-facing applications that generate revenue. Others are internally-facing applications that utilize commercially available or internally developed software.
Virtual Datacenter use cases for end-of-life applications.
Regardless of how valuable an application is, there usually comes a point when usage is declining and the application is headed for retirement. These mature applications present special challenges to the information technology team as they often force tough decisions about whether to reinvest in infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, even though the overall load on IT capacity is declining. They also tend to take IT attention away from other, more strategic projects and activities.
A Bluelock Virtual Datacenter provides a new alternative. It can be provisioned with the capacity that the application needs right now, but capacity can gradually be released as demand decreases over time. Because Bluelock Virtual Datacenters are complemented with Managed Services, the IT team can offload significant portions of the effort required to maintain the Virtual Datacenter to the Bluelock, thereby freeing time for other important work.