Verizon Business Offers New Professional Services to Help Enterprises 'Virtualize' Their IT Environments

LAS VEGAS - Businesses know that the virtualization of information technology resources can bring real benefits: efficiency, flexibility, cost control and energy savings.  Getting started and staying on course can be daunting, however, which is where Verizon Business can help.

Verizon Business Wednesday (Sept. 17) unveiled a new set of professional services aimed at helping enterprises make the most of virtualized environments.  The company also announced that it has earned the top designation as a provider of VMware technology. 

With its new Virtualization Consulting and Management Services, Verizon Business is using its expertise to help the transition to virtualization - a technology that enables businesses to consolidate multiple IT resources, such as operating systems and software applications, on a single server.  Verizon Business experts can design, build and manage a virtual environment that provides the same reliability and performance as the traditional one-application-to-a-server model.

"Virtualization is quickly becoming the prevalent way for enterprises to gain flexibility with their IT resources and work more efficiently," said Wu Zhou, senior analyst at IDC.  "With its Virtualization Consulting and Management Services, Verizon Business can help its customers realize these cost savings along with the assurance of continued network reliability, performance and availability through a set of comprehensive SLAs."

Further strengthening Verizon Business' ability to develop and implement highly complex virtualized solutions is its position as a Gold Partner in the VMware Authorized Consultant (VAC) Program.  This top tier of the VAC program is reserved for IT providers with VMware-certified engineers and experience with virtualization technology.  This designation provides Verizon Business with immediate access to VMware tools, methodology and its newest offerings.

"Verizon Business is uniquely positioned to help enterprises tap the power of virtualization - a critical technology for multinationals increasingly being asked to do more with less," said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Verizon Business.  "Our unmatched expertise and capabilities enable businesses to approach virtualization with confidence, knowing that we'll both get them up and running and keep them there."

Removing the Complexity from Virtualized Environments

Industry experts estimate that roughly 80 percent of computing capacity is unused at any one time.  Verizon Business' Virtualization Consulting and Management Services help customers determine what virtualization solution will enable them to make the best use of their IT resources.

With a foundation of best practices from both professional and managed services and a global team that includes many VMware-certified engineers, Verizon Business can assist enterprises in the key design, build and manage phases.

First, Verizon Business engineers evaluate the utilization and capacity of customers' servers, recommend which servers and applications are strong candidates for virtualization, and provide a cost-benefit analysis.  In the build phase, VMware servers are installed and configured into the customer's infrastructure.  Professional services experts also migrate physical servers and applications into the new virtual environment.

Once the migration is complete, Verizon Business can monitor and manage the virtualization technology round-the-clock, 365 days a year.  Verizon Business can manage the virtual servers and infrastructure at the customer's data center, a third party center or a Verizon Data Center.

Earlier this year, Verizon Business deployed a shared VMware Virtual Center management infrastructure to configure and operate virtualized environments.  These new consulting services enable Verizon Business to assist hosted customers in a shared infrastructure with an easier transition and deployment.

Verizon Business' Virtualization Consulting and Management Services are just one part of the company's comprehensive portfolio of IT and hosting solutions that help businesses overcome their most pressing IT challenges.  From simple colocation to full IT applications management, Verizon Business can serve as a true extension of a customer's IT organization.  Services include Data Center Colocation, Remote Backup and Restore, Hosted Messaging and Instant Messaging, IT Service Desk, Akamai Services, IP Application Hosting and Remote IP Application Management.  More information is available by visiting http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/itsolutions. 

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), operates the world's most connected public IP network and uses its industry-leading global-network capabilities to offer large-business and government customers an unmatched combination of security, reliability and speed.  The company integrates advanced IP communications and information technology (IT) products and services to deliver leading enterprise solutions including managed services, security, mobility, collaboration and professional services.  These solutions power innovation and enable the company's customers to do business better. For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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