Deploying IT services is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, even in virtualized environments. First, solution architects need to determine what infrastructure is needed – how many servers, how much storage and more. Next, someone shepherds the service through a management approval process.

Finally, the nitty-gritty work begins: A team of server, storage and network specialists put the service into place. But the work continues after the service goes live because IT must remain vigilant about underused resources hoarded by "server huggers" or unused resources abandoned after test projects are completed.

In today’s economic climate, every hour, dollar and watt you put into your infrastructure must be well spent. And most companies are looking to spend only on projects that will reduce ongoing costs. Fortunately, there is a way to cut deployment times, improve utilization rates and use fewer staff hours in the process.

Using HP Insight Dynamics–VSE with Insight Orchestration, you can simplify the entire lifecycle of a service, from request through creation and decommissioning.

Starting with service design, your IT architects can build service templates by selecting pieces from a visual Web-based service catalog. Simply drag and drop service elements into the design editor. You can even create variations of the same service to meet different budgets, from a single server to large multitier configurations. All of the catalogued configurations are preapproved, streamlining new service requests and getting them online faster.

The completed catalog can be made available to approved users via a self-service portal that lets them select a configuration to fit both needs and budget. The design work happens once, reducing the possibility of error.

Next in the process is service provisioning. Normally it can take days to get all of the connections between servers, storage and networking resources in place and approved by their respective administrators. But it’s now possible for users to select a service from the catalog and provision it with the click of a mouse. Behind the scenes, the service is assigned pre-provisioned storage and network resources. When the user no longer needs the resources, for example in test environments, they return to the pool. This arrangement can dramatically increase utilization, so IT doesn’t waste existing resources or needlessly invest in new ones.

By changing the way services are created and provisioned, the HP Insight Dynamics – VSE software suite has the power to change the way businesses operate. Business units are free to act quickly on new strategic initiatives because IT services can be provisioned nearly instantly. Solution architects have the flexibility to focus on innovation rather than recreating services they’ve already built in the past. Authorized users can flex capacity on the fly without invoking another long process or chain of command.

Micros Fidelio, a company that produces software for the hospitality industry, moved into the hosting business a few years ago. To make the move a success, Micros Fidelio set three goals: Optimize hardware utilization, deliver consistent performance levels and decrease scheduled downtime. The first step was to virtualize the infrastructure on HP BladeSystem. Second, the company deployed HP Insight software tools. HP Insight Dynamics – VSE helped accomplish all three of the company’s objectives by creating a shared resource pool of physical and virtual servers that can be allocated on demand.

“You can look at Insight Dynamics – VSE as being virtualization on steroids because you have this flexibility to move your workloads around our two data centers, from physical to virtual, or from virtual to physical,” says Peter Simpson, vice president of business technology for Micros Fidelio EAME.

The net result is a more agile company that can respond to business and customer needs quickly.

“Hosting is a very competitive business,” Simpson says. “Using Insight Dynamics – VSE, we are able to deliver a substantially higher level of service than our competitors.”

This year, a major goal of IT spending will be to reduce ongoing IT or operational costs.1 That goal requires some serious increases in efficiency.

The hours, watts and dollars you’ve invested in your infrastructure have already created a foundation for that kind of efficiency. Insight Dynamics – VSE with Orchestration builds on that foundation by making the process of service creation and management faster, smarter and easier. It helps you get more from every hour, watt and dollar you put into your infrastructure by speeding service design and automating infrastructure provisioning, creating consistency and improving utilization.

Your infrastructure holds the power to make all of these goals a reality. It need only be unlocked.

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