| In a fiercely competitive auto industry, Mazda | | | | Continuity, Rapid Software Deployment, Improved |
| North America depends on IT to inject the same | | | | Legacy Application Management |
| “Zoom-Zoom” that characterizes their | | | | There are several additional benefits virtualization |
| cars into its business operations. As Mazda’s | | | | technology provides. For example, organizations |
| IT initiatives such as increasing field managers’ | | | | can help ensure high availability for critical |
| effectiveness grew, so did its server count – | | | | applications using virtualization solutions. These |
| from 150 to nearly 300. “With a | | | | solutions enable them to act as if their application |
| one-application-per-server approach and pressure | | | | is supported by multiple machines without the |
| to heighten system availability, all we could see | | | | cost, complexity and time required to support |
| was server sprawl. Complexity rose to the point | | | | physical machine clusters. |
| where our IT staff was spending most of its time | | | | Virtualization technology enables organizations to |
| just maintaining those servers,” says Jim | | | | implement a disaster recovery platform that |
| DiMarzo, CIO of North America Operations. In | | | | allows them to make all their company |
| addition, increasing energy costs were causing | | | | information available within hours in the event of |
| power and cooling expenses to overtake | | | | hardware loss without investing in costly |
| equipment costs. To help solve their problems, | | | | one-to-one mapping of production hardware to |
| Mazda turned to virtualization technology. | | | | disaster recovery hardware. |
| As virtualization technology becomes increasingly | | | | Virtualization solutions also enable organizations to |
| affordable and more consistently provides | | | | move or implement new applications within hours |
| measurable business value, more and more | | | | rather than days because virtualization technology |
| organizations are following in Mazda’s | | | | helps shield software from hardware variability. |
| footsteps. | | | | In addition, organizations can migrate legacy |
| Virtual Machines (VMs) - the heart of Virtualization | | | | operating systems and software applications to |
| Technology | | | | VMs running on upgraded hardware for enhanced |
| At the heart of virtualization solutions are virtual | | | | reliability and resource management. |
| machines (VMs), which allow multiple instances of | | | | Looking Forward – Virtualization Technology |
| operating systems to run on the same physical | | | | will Re-shape IT Infrastructure |
| server at the same time. The primary benefit of | | | | Virtualization is becoming an increasingly |
| VMs is increasing the number of software | | | | cost-effective way, even for midsize |
| applications you can run reliably on a single physical | | | | organizations, to obtain more value from IT. We |
| server. Historically, due to concerns over potential | | | | expect virtualization to be one of the most |
| conflicts, applications such as email or timekeeping | | | | significant factors shaping IT infrastructure and |
| software have each been installed on their own | | | | operations over the next several of years. As a |
| physical server. | | | | result, we have invested in becoming certified as |
| Server Consolidation – the Key to Cost | | | | a VMWare Partner. We anticipate incorporating |
| Reduction | | | | virtualization techniques in 2008 as part of a |
| Virtualization techniques help contain server sprawl. | | | | program to reduce hardware costs and provide |
| For example, virtualization technology allowed | | | | much more affordable disaster preparedness. |
| Mazda to consolidate 75 of their servers onto five | | | | About Xantrion |
| powerful, energy efficient servers. It also enabled | | | | Xantrion – offering gold-certified Microsoft |
| them to decrease the number of people required | | | | support – continues to revolutionize computer |
| to manage almost 300 virtual and physical | | | | network support by providing systems that work, |
| machines from eight to five. In addition, VMs have | | | | along with seasoned consultants at a fixed price. |
| allowed Mazda to reduce the amount of power as | | | | Xantrion allows growing businesses to do more |
| well as data center and office space they require. | | | | with fewer resources and focus on what they do |
| Additional Benefits – Cost-effective Business | | | | best. |