Are you weighing the pros and cons of the cloud for business continuity? Let’s take a closer look at why the cloud is best for this strategy. Better uptime Backing up to an internal drive or an external hard drive won’t completely secure data. If someone steals your device, you instantly lose the backup it […]

Microsoft has previously published end-of-life dates for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2010 – set to occur in less than five months. As a result, more and more software applications are moving to the cloud and many organizations are looking to make the migration to cloud computing.

Whether you're concerned about Microsoft's end-of-life implications, the time has come for a hardware refresh or you have a desire to eliminate on-premise servers, the cloud migration movement appears to be building steam. The increased volume of discourse includes misconceptions and overgeneralized statements about “the big move,” which may or may not be the best choice for your business.

The affordability of cloud computing and virtualization are helping small businesses do away with in-house IT hardware. Virtual containers are the next step in that trend. They come with plenty of benefits and are becoming easier to manage every day.

What are containers and why are they so popular?

Virtual containers are like digital versions of shipping containers, which use uniform packaging to simplify the portability and transportation of goods.

Virtual desktops, the predecessors to virtual containers, let users simply log into a web-based desktop, complete with a Recycle bin, Start bar, you name it. They’re wonderfully convenient, but require a fair amount of computing power to run. The next logical step was to let users work from non-cloud desktops, but connect them to individual apps powered by servers across a local network or internet connection.

A qualified IT professional just needs to gather everything an app needs to run, put it in a container, and give users a way to access it. The servers that make this possible are designed to do all the work so users don’t need high-end computers or specific operating systems to take full advantage of the app.

What are the benefits of containers?

The best thing about virtual containers is its simplicity. Your IT technicians can make important applications available to the entire office without having to install them on each computer. This also means you don’t need to worry about computers with limited hard drive space, incompatible operating systems, or slow processors.

Furthermore, when containers are updated on the server, the changes are immediately applied to any computer connected to the app.

The biggest obstacle to taking advantage of these benefits is the amount of technical expertise required to set them up and support them. It’s not something most in-house technicians can keep up with if they’re also in charge of day-to-day troubleshooting. Thankfully, the fact that containers can be accessed over the internet means IT providers can take care of most of the work remotely.

Want to maximize your business potential through virtualization and containers but need outside help? Call us today.

Virtualization and cloud computing are sometimes mistaken as one and the same, causing much confusion. For the record, virtualization is different from cloud computing, but these two technologies usually overlap. Virtualization Imagine a company with five servers, each assigned a single task such as storage, email, etc. If there were a spike in email traffic, […]

The term “serverless computing” conjures images of a world where business owners don’t need to purchase expensive hardware or configure complex software. Luckily, serverless computing isn’t just a dream — it’s completely real and is the next big thing in cloud computing. What is serverless computing? Serverless computing is a bit of a misnomer since […]

Cloud computing marketing can be deceiving. When you see an image of the cloud, it’s often a happy, bubbly, white puffball floating delightfully in front of a blue sky background. Its presence is both calming and reassuring, which makes you believe that anything is possible. Security would never be an issue, right? Ask one of […]

The cloud allows businesses to take a more hands-off approach to managing their IT resources. And the hybrid cloud is rapidly becoming the most popular option in this category, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Hybrid clouds are a combination of private and public clouds. In the former, data and applications that require tighter […]

Cloud computing and virtualization are similar but not interchangeable. Both have their own benefits, so it’s worth learning how each technology works. With this knowledge, you can make the most out of your technology investment. Virtualization Imagine a company with five servers, each assigned a single task such as storage, email, etc. If one day […]

Virtual containers have recently gained prominence with the open-source container platform, Docker. It promises to change the way IT operations are carried out, just like virtualization technology did a few years ago. Read on to know more about this revolutionary breakthrough and how it can help your business. What are containers and why are they […]