(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Data storage provider NetApp (www.netapp.com) announced on Friday it will provide the storage infrastructure to support telecommunications provider BT’s (www.bt.com) new virtual data center.
BT is offering a multi-tenanted service designed for those mid-sized and larger businesses that are looking to move all or part of their IT resources onto a pay for use platform.
The company says it chose NetApp hardware for VDC because of the strong relationship the two companies have established for several years. BT has already used NetApp equipment extensively in its existing data centers.
BT currently hosts data and applications for a wide range of businesses. The company’s new VDC is designed to move customers from customized hosting solutions to a service where organizations can purchase the exact capacity they need.
BT can now configure an entire data center from a single console with the ability to provision servers, storage, and network resources with built-in resilience and business continuity.
This latest partnership agreement with NetApp lets BT automate the day-to-day storage management resources required for its solutions.
“NetApp’s involvement in the development of VDC further builds on our successful track record in working together,” says Craig Parker, head of global IT services propositions at BT Global Services. “The scalability of NetApp hardware and its ease of use enables us to fulfill customer provisioning orders made via VDC’s self-service portal in a rapid and cost effective manner.”
A blade service architecture, combined with NetApp storage systems and virtualization software ensures BT customers that their infrastructure and Windows-based applications will be set up and operating on the VDC in five days, says the company.
NetApp recently opened an energy-efficient dynamic data center at the NetApp technology center in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.
