Case Study - Server Virtualization

Featured Solutions:

  • Server virtualization
  • Desktop virtualization

Client: Westbridge Academy - Bloomfield, NJ

Challenge(s):

Westbridge Academy is a non-profit school that has been serving emotionally and behaviorally disabled students in N.J. for over 37 years.  As the school grew, they needed to be able to provide their teachers, specialists, support staff and administrators with the appropriate educational products to support their work, driving an increased need for server capacity.  “We were spending a lot of time and money - human capital time and cost as well as physical server costs - implementing and maintaining servers.  When we were busy, certain updates couldn’t get done and things started to go wrong,” reports Abraham Mathew, Supervisor for Special Projects. Because the school works on a limited budget, they also needed to be able to provision new desktops as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Approach:

Noting that their then current servers had a limited lifespan remaining and warranties were about to expire, Accounteks recommended virtualizing Westbridge Academy’s servers.  A virtual server is a physical server that is partitioned into what appears to be multiple servers that can each run independently, but are housed in one machine.  Fewer servers are needed in a virtualized solution, saving on physical storage space and power usage.  Virtualized servers also improve server management and simplify the process of deploying new software solutions, saving both time and money.  In the event of a disaster, data is easy to replicate, reducing downtime.

Accounteks also implemented a virtual desktop solution for Westbridge Academy.  Rolling out a virtual desktop can be done in minutes because data is actually stored in a central location, not on an individual’s desktop. This also makes it easier to store and back up data and to apply software patches and updates. 

 

 

Result:

Implementing virtualized servers reduced Westbridge Academy’s capital expenditure costs because they didn’t have to buy as many new servers.  Now, employees have the ability to work remotely from anywhere, after hours or on days when inclement weather makes travel difficult.  Accounteks also remotely monitors and maintains the servers, which enables the school’s employees to focus on the business of teaching, rather than administering updates and patches.   “Accounteks manages our servers and does our updates remotely, so I can focus on delivering school-based initiatives.  It doesn’t take away from our business hours and we can serve our public,” states Mr. Mathew.

 

Virtualized desktops provide Westbridge Academy with the ability to provision new users more quickly.  Less hardware is needed, which also requires less maintenance – two additional ways that Accounteks has been able to save Westbridge Academy money.