Find the right hosted cloud service that will support your growth, resilience, and budget.
For a small local furniture manufacturer, disaster nearly turned into a catastrophe. During the night, a pipe burst and flooded part of their office. The factory floor was unaffected, but the water destroyed business computers.
Fortunately, the damage was limited. While the computers had to be replaced, the company’s data was safe. They had previously changed from hosting servers at their location to using a Virtual Data Centre Service. Their information was safe, protected by a site run 24/7 by Vodacom’s professionals.
Data protection was just one advantage. Using the Virtual Data Centre Service saved the company money and gave it access to powerful cloud resources and features.
The company also hosted some of its business-critical applications in the data centre, using VMWare’s virtualisation technologies, and the data centre’s high-speed connectivity enabled staff to access data and applications from different locations, improving collaboration. Whether it’s their procurement manager visiting a supplier to negotiate a new order or their admin staff working from home while the office underwent repairs, business could continue and keep growing.
Data centres for every business
Ambitious businesses boost their growth when they use data seriously to scale and create high-performance data operations. There are many examples of this effect in action: companies use data to find efficiencies, deliver better customer services and personalisation, compliantly store sensitive and regulated information, and use disaster recovery when things go wrong.
But not every company has the resources or budget to jump headfirst into cloud hosting, which is why Vodacom created its Virtual Data Centre Service. This managed service uses Vodacom’s award-winning data centres, covering physical and digital measures that normally prevent companies from using robust cloud infrastructure. There are physical safeguards, such as fire protection and backup power, as well as software protections like firewalls and anti-intrusion software, monitored around the clock by skilled staff.
Using Virtual Data Centre Services is also better for budgets. It saves the costs of owning and running hardware and avoids the wastage of underutilised servers. Companies also save because they only pay for what they use, which they can track on the service’s dashboards. Prices are in rands, so there are no exchange rate shocks.
Services on demand
Above all, companies don’t have to worry about the technical details, since cloud management software automatically creates and deploys services for them. These services include:
- Disaster Recovery: Backup and restore data and applications securely.
- Networking: Connect and collaborate with remote teams and customers.
- Security: Protect data and applications from cyber threats.
- Monitoring: Track and analyse complex systems in real-time.
- Data Protection: Protect sensitive information in compliant storage.
- Containers: Create virtual containers to develop and test digital systems safely.
Most companies do not use such extensive cloud services because they are far too expensive and risky to create internally. A managed Virtual Data Centre Service changes that, providing all the benefits while taking care of technical requirements. Companies stay in charge. They deploy services, track usage, and generate reports using intuitive interfaces. If they have questions or problems, support staff are only a message away.
The best part is that any company can use these services. Whether they are a startup, a small business, or growing to medium or enterprise sizes, a Virtual Data Centre Service has the flexibility and scope to support everyone.
