NetApp Powers BT Virtual Data Center

Netapp, Inc. will provide the storage infrastructure to support British Telecommunications plc‘s new Virtual Data Center (VDC).

BT, provider of communications solutions and services, is offering a multi-tenanted service aimed at mid-sized and larger businesses that are looking to move all or part of their IT resources onto a pay for use platform. BT chose NetApp hardware for VDC due to the strong relationship the two companies have had for several years. BT has used NetApp equipment extensively in its existing data centers.

BT already hosts data and applications for a wide range of businesses. VDC aims to move customers from tailored hosting arrangements to a service where organizations can buy the exact capacity they require. BT has added the ability to configure an entire data center from a single console with the ability to provision servers, storage, and network resources with built-in resilience and business continuity. The partnership with NetApp allows BT to automate the day-to-day storage management resources needed as part of the package, which in turn allows BT’s engineers to focus their time and energy on revenue generating activities.

"NetApp’s involvement in the development of VDC further builds on our successful track record in working together," said Craig Parker, head of global IT services propositions at BT Global Services. "The scalability of NetApp hardware and its ease of use enables us to fulfill customer provisioning orders made via VDC’s self-service portal in a rapid and cost effective manner."

A blade service architecture, combined with NetApp storage systems and virtualization software allows BT customers to have their infrastructure and Windows-based applications up and running on the VDC in just five days. Once the system is up, existing VDC customers will be able to deploy a virtual server in as little as 15 minutes. Because the NetApp storage infrastructure takes care of so much of the basic storage management, from Snapshots and off-site replication to deduplication, the storage infrastructure is largely self managing, needing little in the way of day-to-day support.

"With NetApp, BT can provide a flexible, cost-effective alternative to in-house data centers," said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Solutions and Alliances at NetApp. "BT utilized the twin technologies of server and storage virtualization – already proven in their own data centers – to deliver IT as a Service. NetApp is excited to be a foundational element in their VDC architecture."