360is Represented at Microsoft Virtualization Round-table

360is were delighted to be able to take part in this months virtualization round-table, held at Incisive Media's central London offices. We spoke alongside representatives from Microsoft and Computerlinks. The panel debated the mainstream adoption of virtualization occurring now the software is mostly free, virtual desktop infrastructure, and the skills gap that exists in many IT/MIS departments around this new wave of software and hardware infrastructure.

The panel concluded that virtualization and the abstraction of "nuts and bolts" was already fundamentally changing the nature of conversations between Vendors, VARs, and clients, and would likely change hiring practices as companies sought business technologists over traditional IT skills.

The full text of the article is available online.
A copy of the print magazine is available on our site.

Autumn Virtualization Seminar, London & Cambridge (NOW FULL)

We are holding an invitation-only seminar on mission critical & production systems virtualization in November. Some of you will have already received the invite directing you to register.

Choose the date/location below to book your place and receive the calendar appointment and PDF agenda via Email.

19th November: Royal Mint, Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4HJ.
26th November: Trinity Centre, Milton Rd Cambridge, CB4 0FN.

Registered attendees will receive further information on the event and a full agenda.

Agenda
09:30 Arrival & Tea/Coffee

10:00 Welcome & Introductions - 360is Ltd

10:05 Running Citrix Virtualized In Production - Citrix Systems Inc

• Netscaler VPX, XenDesktop, XenApp.
  
• Best practice advice for reliable virtualization of Citrix software.
  
• Citrix end-to-end virtualization strategy for agile infrastructure.

11:00 Break

11:10 Virtualization Hardware - The Virtual Machine Company Ltd

• How customer requirements shaped virtualization hardware.
  
• How to achieve ultimate VM density and lowest TCO.
  
• A post-server approach to virtualization.

11:40 Case Study, “Virtualising A Billion Dollar Database” - 360is Ltd

• Maximising VM density without compromising performance & availability
  
• The virtualization experience, one year on.

12:00 Finish and Q&A.

12:15 Tour (Royal Mint only) followed by light lunch.

Cancellations & Additional Invitations
Places are limited, if you are subsequently unable to attend then please let us know so that we can move someone else up from the waiting list. If you did not get an invite and would like to attend, or wish to recommend a colleague, please contact rob.gilson@360is.com.

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Update 16-11-09: The seminar is now full and there is a waiting list for those unable to get in this time around. Please notify Rob Gilson (above) if you have registered but are now unable to attend.

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Update 20-11-09: Thanks to all who attended the Seminar. For those who were unable to make it, or who want copies of the presentations, please see the following links:

• 360is Intro & VMCO Hardware (7MB), Rob Gilson - 360is
  
• Citrix Update (11MB), Damian Saunders - Citrix Inc
  
• Virtualizaing Difficult Workloads (2MB), 360is
  
• VMCO Case Study (6MB), 360is
  

Citrix XenServer Case Studies

Over the last 3 years, our consultants have delivered about 50 virtualization projects for clients as far away as India. We have worked with all the major hardware and software vendors to solve real business problems. A few of these experiences were captured as case studies and can now be made available to you.

What makes these documents a little more interesting than an average case study is that they have been written up-to a year after completion of the project, and include an update on how the new infrastructure is performing, and how accurately the technology delivered on promises. First out of the trap are several Citrix XenServer success stories, watch out for VMware and Hyper-V later.

Multimedia Distribution & Switching, virtualizing difficult workloads.
Financial Data Warehouse, how to virtualize a billion dollar database.
Multilingual Call Center, navigating the vendor jungle.

Can you see your current situation reflected in these stories?
Are the benefits gained by these clients interesting to you?
Have you thought about the ways we can help you this year?

360is Welcomes Datacenter Services Ltd

We are pleased to welcome the clients and staff of Datacenter Services Ltd to the group. DSL is a specialist in Server Virtualization and was established by some of the people behind Citrix XenSource biggest UK reseller. DSL provides products and services to allow clients to take full advantage of virtualization in mission critical environments, and counts some of the UK largest users of Virtualization technology as customers, including BT and Credit Suisse. Robert Gilson, Managing Director of DSL commented:

"Having worked together with 360is on many projects, we are delighted to be able to formally offer a combined set of security and datacentre professional services to our clients".