Many businesses are adopting network virtualisation and reaping significant benefits. Virtualisation facilitates the management of application workloads independent of host hardware. As a business owner, virtualisation can be a vital stage in realising an agile network infrastructure.
It can also be the stepping-stone to establishing a fully automated software-defined data centre. You may be wondering what the significant considerations are when making the transition. Below are a few tips that will ensure a successful virtualisation process.
1. Determine your dependencies
The first step to embracing virtualisation is understanding why you need it for your business. A major part of this understanding is knowing what you need to do before you are ready for server virtualisation. A virtualised network is dependent on a physical network and an already-existing virtualisation protocol.
For your migration to slot in easily, you have to account for a number of aspects. These aspects include physical network review, application design, software rationalisation, and individual component testing. It is good practice to plan for the virtualisation process in your project timelines.
2. Engage all the stakeholders from the beginning
Before you embark on the virtualisation journey, you must engage all parties in your business with a stake in the outcome. Network virtualisation is not just about virtualisation. It encompasses other aspects of the business including networking and security.
Every stakeholder will be affected by the plans to transform your infrastructure. As such, it is vital to have conversations with each department up front. This will help each unit understand the business justification and how it will affect their work.
You can then invite them to help with defining and designing the reforms necessary to make a successful transition. Bottom line: make every stakeholder a partner from the start while embracing virtualisation. It makes for a smoother implementation path.
3. Work with the vendor for training purposes
Employee training is crucial whenever you need to engineer change. Ensure that your major stakeholders are engaged to learn throughout the network virtualisation transition. Most virtualisation service providers offer educational resources.
Take advantage of these resources in order to get everyone in your business ready for the transition to virtualised networking. You may consider a short-term agreement with the vendor consultation department. This can help you establish a “slow handoff” period, which can ease the shift to full virtualisation adoption. Remember to use what you learn to streamline your corporate processes.
Virtualisation training has one interesting benefit. Since virtualisation is innovative technology, an employee trained on it may be hired away. Having more employees trained can ensure continued implementation success, even when major stakeholders leave the project.
Network virtualisation can be a key element in your organisation’s overall IT strategy. Embracing virtualisation can help you develop a good Information Technology infrastructure.