VMware recently unveiled VMware vSphere 4, with new features and
product editions to deliver ‘Always on IT’ for SMBs and
remote and branch office (ROBO) IT environments. The company says
that the new version will deliver zero-downtime application
availability and enterprise-class data protection managed under a
single pane of glass, providing simplified and affordable disaster
recovery previously out of reach for most small IT
organizations.
“As a heavily distributed organization, we rely on
Exchange as our primary communication tool,” said Kirk
Patten, IT Director for RotaDyne, a manufacturer of rubber and
polyurethane rolls with approximately 500 employees worldwide.
“It’s crucial that our email be highly available, and
that’s one of the main reasons why we deployed it using
VMware. I don't really want to have to worry about clustering vs.
backup vs. site recovery. All I want is for my applications and
data to be safe. VMware makes it easy for me.”
The new version hopes to address the growing demands of SMB
customers, by providing zero-downtime application availability and
comprehensive data protection features that are ideal for smaller
IT environments.
VMware will introduce three new VMware vSphere 4 product
editions for SMBs, that the company claims will deliver
cost-effective server consolidation, high availability and data
protection to enable ‘Always on IT’. Small businesses
can deploy a server consolidation and management solution for only
$166 per processor with VMware vSphere 4 Essentials and get higher
application uptime with VMware vSphere 4 Essentials Plus (only $499
per processor)—features which VMware claims are out of reach
for most small companies.