According to Derek Hershaw, CEO of MWEB ISP, the new Virtual Data Centre (VDC) service provides on-demand computing, storage and application integration into the heart of a business' IT infrastructure.
"This type of service goes by various names including Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) or Public Cloud but at MWEB we simply call it cost-effective IT convenience. Any organisation that requires a data centre should seriously consider the undeniable benefits of a VDC solution - it's fully scalable," he says.
Importantly, MWEB VDC users have the same control of their servers and network as they would with a traditional on-site data centre, but without the associated costs of buying and maintaining expensive, enterprise-class hardware.
Effectively, businesses get MWEB's data centre with all its security features as their own virtual computing centre - combined with scalability and flexibility that would be all but impossible for most organisations in a stand-alone environment.
Businesses can build their server, switching and storage in exactly the same way as they would in the physical world: they can specify RAM, CPU and storage to create any configuration they want; add, upgrade, downgrade and remove servers, as often as they want, provided they don't downgrade their system to below their original contract threshold, all at the click of a mouse.
"They can even link directly to their own VPN allowing them to communicate with their servers in the virtual environment, securely and easily. They can also create networks within the VDC environment," Hershaw says.
"And because users know exactly how much their VDC will cost on a monthly basis, they will be in a position to better manage their IT budget and cash flow."
