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IBM Managed Hosting – infrastructure solutions with server management, entry

Shrinking IT budgets and limited resources can present growing obstacles to midmarket companies looking to grow their Web business. These companies often want to make needed infrastructure improvements but lack the internal skills or are unable to justify the high cost. That’s where IBM’s entry-level managed infrastructure solutions come in.

“Entry” solutions provide a dedicated server environment and a shared, virtualized network infrastructure managed by IBM. The shared infrastructure enables the “entry” solutions to dramatically reduce the transition and monthly charges typically associated with managed infrastructure solutions. In fact, savings can be upwards of 20% over a comparable in-house solution. With committed Internet bandwidth starting at .25 Mbps (up to 1.5 Mbps), they provide an affordable option for midmarket businesses. With enterprise-class services like multilayer firewalls and load balancing, they enable midmarket businesses to benefit from the same capabilities and performance as their larger counterparts.

“Entry” solutions allow companies to retain control of their infrastructure, server and service choices, providing them with the flexibility to turn over as much or as little responsibility as they like. The solutions are preconfigured and integrated, enabling them to be deployed relatively quickly ― without a major capital investment. Solution components are bundled to simplify the number and complexity of choices midmarket companies have to make. Moreover, by including only essential services in the base solution, “entry” solutions help reduce their total cost of ownership and accelerate their return on investment (ROI).

Highlights

  • Offers clients the flexibility to choose their server configuration and ownership, operating system and managed services.
  • Provides small hosted environments with access to high-powered services, without high prices.
  • Helps simplify solution design and customization with a predefined set of included and optional services.
  • Helps accelerate deployment with a pre-built infrastructure and time-tested proven implementation processes.
  • Helps reduce the risks and rising costs of managing an in-house infrastructure.
  • Offers around-the-clock monitoring and reporting with online access and onsite support.

Description

The IBM infrastructure solutions with server management, entry offering is specifically designed for clients requiring a small number of servers who do not have the transaction volumes or application complexity to justify a completely dedicated network infrastructure, but need to support a growing number of IBM, Microsoft®- or Sun-based Web applications. Supported operating systems include Microsoft Windows NT®, Windows® 2000, IBM AIX®, and Sun Solaris. Each solution is built from a range of pretested hardware and software configurations, and optional management services. Clients choose the server and operating system platform, plus the level of server support based on current resource needs.

Standard services include:

  • Support for up to 12 dedicated servers, IBM-owned
  • Pre-built, shared network infrastructure consisting of redundant distribution switches and multiprovider Internet connectivity, plus several virtual components: switch capacity and shared High Availability Web layer firewall, and optionally, multilayer firewall solutions.
  • Redundant, burstable Internet bandwidth, with committed bandwidth capacity from .25 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps.
  • Installation and management of the server infrastructure, including server hardening and configuration of the operating system, security patches and any optional managed services chosen by clients.
  • IBM-provided server management, including day-to-day system administration, backup and restoration services, server monitoring (IP ping or URL monitoring Network monitoring and reporting.
  • 24x7 problem determination and resolution for the servers, operating system and infrastructure.
  • Steady-state technical and operations support.
  • Call center support via phone.
  • SLAs for internet availability.
  • Payment flexibility with financing options to lower startup expenses.
  • Contract terms as short as 12 months.


Optional services
Clients can select from a wide range of IBM service options to extend their capabilities, including security services, performance services and additional monitoring services from the IBM Managed Hosting portfolio.

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Summary

Infrastructure solutions with server management, entry provides an affordable entry-level managed infrastructure for midmarket business. It is designed to enable growing companies to achieve hosting performance and managed service capabilities comparable to those of large enterprise. The pre-built network infrastructure allows solutions to be deployed quickly, taking some of the guesswork out of hosting implementations and helping to reduce integration risks. IBM’s wide range of service options enable clients to customize their solution and satisfy unique business and functional requirements.

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Need help?

Contact the Express Advantage Concierge, a team of specialists dedicated to midsized business 1-877-IBM-ACCESS (426-2223).

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