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
  

360is Awarded Platinum Partner Status by The Virtual Machine Company

360is are delighted to be the first UK reseller awarded Platinum status in recognition of their achievements as the partner with the highest unit shipments in 1H 2009.

360is continue to see strong growth in the hardware virtual appliance market, fueled by tightening operating expenditure, increased hosting/colo costs, and growing adoption of virtualization in business critical infrastructure. Since their launch in early 2008, Virtual Machine Company appliances have provided superior VMs-per-watt and VMs-per-square-foot to enterprises, hosting providers, and compute-intensive industries, when compared to general purpose x86 servers.

In a recent press release, Steve Barnett, Virtual Machine's Managing Director said "The 360is team consistently over-deliver, their mixture of expertise, execution and customer service means we're proud to have them as a platinum partner".

About The Virtual Machine Company
The Virtual Machine Company manufacture the worlds most powerful & energy efficient virtualization appliances, offering the densest VM ratios of any comparable platform. Led by Steve Barnett, the former Managing Director of Check Point Software Technologies. Their appliances are designed from the ground up to provide ultimate performance and return on investment in a virtualized environment, and each is backed up by enterprise quality support and services. Each device benefits from performance monitoring, capacity management & planning tools that ensure the optimum configuration of your virtual estate, and access to free In-Cloud services that take estate management to a new level.

Winner of June TomTom Give Away

Back in June we gave away a new TomTom GO 530 SatNav system. We can now announce the lucky winner as Ms K.Pavitt, who registered an opportunity with us for a virtualization project beginning in August. Congratulations!

360is wins Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Contract at Wren Academy

Wren Academy is a new 1000-place secondary school in the London Borough of Barnet. The Academy, specialising in Design and the Built Environment, offers state-of-the-art ICT facilities. Over £1 million will be spent on hardware and infrastructure supporting the aspiration that every student will have plentiful access to Information Technology.

360is is rolling out a complete campus-wide VDI solution for students and staff. The Citrix XenDesktop solution is based upon a mixture of thin and thick clients, and virtualized server-side. 360is drew upon prior experience of implementing complex VDI projects in the public and private sector to win the contract.