case study
SIMNET chooses Virtuozzo
to upgrade its private cloud and enhance the end user experience
SIMNET is a leading provider of cloud computing services and solutions. Founded in 2008, SIMNET has a long history of helping Canadian businesses simplify and optimize their infrastructure and technology resources.
From its beginnings as a consulting practice, SIMNET has evolved into a full-service MSSP and cloud provider, offering a range of cloud, security and managed services to SMEs, MSPs, ISVs and large enterprises.
SIMNET built its private cloud long before public cloud became mainstream. The company works with customers across the spectrum of industry to transform their IT, by transitioning them from legacy on-premises technology to a more flexible, cost-effective private cloud. However, the time had come to re-evaluate the VMware virtualization platform it had been using.
“With the recent Broadcom acquisition of VMware, there are too many unknowns to reliably provide our clients with the best performance, securely, at the best price,” said Ted de Vos, Founder and CEO of SIMNET. “Diversifying our virtual offering ensures we can mitigate price fluctuations, risk, and the inevitable decline in VMware support.”
“Our aim is simplicity, and as part of that drive we’re always trying to make our services as transparent as possible for our clients – private cloud included. Self-service is a key part of that. We also need a future-proof platform that can expand the range of cloud services we offer, and in the current economic climate, to help our customers reduce cost too,” Ted added.
An upgraded private cloud experience
SIMNET’s private cloud service had been running on VMware, and while the team had tried a few different solutions to improve usability and self-service for its customers, there was still a feeling they could do much more. This kicked off the search that led SIMNET to discover Virtuozzo, and in turn, the Virtuozzo full-stack cloud solution.
With customers looking for infrastructure, IT management and cost structure optimization, different challenges emerge. Some are looking to move their legacy IT installations, often virtualized with VMware on-premises, to the public cloud. Others are more advanced, wanting a hybrid and multi-cloud solution.
IT administrators need to decrease risk when rebuilding applications, and doing installations from scratch; they want to take a hybrid approach, where they can use their existing, legacy IT along with the power of the public cloud. Many customers also want control of their IT infrastructure in the cloud but have security and compliance concerns, and they tend to opt for private cloud solutions.
In addition, the VMware – Broadcom news has caused a period of uncertainty, volatility and increasing costs for many service providers. When combined with the unknown economic impact from COVID, this has caused many to look for new cloud platform solutions that help them deal with market unpredictability and the need for a dramatic change in the cost, longevity and transparency of the hosted IT services they deliver.
A more service provider
and client-friendly platform
Business agility, resilience, security, and cost savings are priorities for CEOs and IT leaders. SIMNET aims to stay at the forefront to mitigate risk, increase agility, improve security, and lowering its clients’ costs by investing to deliver new digital capabilities to both existing and new markets. At the same time, SIMNET wanted to improve profitability and engage in new ways to acquire and retain customers.
That’s why SIMNET made the decision to migrate its multi-thousand core VMware private cloud to Virtuozzo Hybrid Infrastructure – the hyperconverged Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform designed specifically for service providers.
Virtuozzo provides.
Working with the Virtuozzo team, SIMNET developed a migration plan that would negate impact on its customers, while delivering the benefits that Virtuozzo provides.
“Virtuozzo is more service provider friendly, more client friendly and gives us much more depth,” Ted explains. “Now we have the potential not just for user-friendly Infrastructure-as-a-Service, but Platform-as-a-Service and anything as a service. Now our infrastructure is like digital clay – with Virtuozzo we can create cloud services that are malleable and adjustable to whatever a client needs. More self-serve, and more ability for our clients to transition from on-premises to private cloud.”
Cloud partnership for growth
One of the reasons for SIMNET’s success is its devotion to customers and customer service. Forming close partnerships with customers is something that SIMNET found it had in common with the Virtuozzo team.
“With other virtualization vendors, we’re at the mercy of their software and market trends,” says Ted.
“We’re not the biggest fish that they have as a client, so we have very little say in how they deliver their software, or how it’s going to impact our business. With Virtuozzo it’s totally different. They’re our partner. They listen to us and adopt our ideas – the ideas that mean we can deliver a better service to our customers.”
Good relationships are built on trust. Canadian businesses trust SIMNET with their IT, and in turn, SIMNET needed a partner it could trust in just the same way.
“Virtuozzo and SIMNET have a very similar approach. Virtuozzo doesn’t price gouge, they don’t try and bill more than they need to, and nor do we. Their approach is similar to ours, which is, here’s the service; we’ll find the best way to deliver it, and we’re not going to bill you for every little nuance that you want to use,“ Ted adds.
The SIMNET – Virtuozzo secret weapon
“Critical to SIMNET’s growth strategy are Virtuozzo’s Sales and Marketing Accelerator Services. The technology stack is solid. But that is not all: Virtuozzo’s ability to help with a comprehensive success framework, not only across technical enablement and delivery, but helping us grow and mature sales and marketing adds significant value to both SIMNET, and our customers,” he continues.
Virtuozzo worked with SIMNET to develop a custom plan of technical, sales, marketing,
and operational accelerator services, including.
Break it ‘til you make it
Virtuozzo powers cloud services for more than 600 service providers worldwide – but it was critical for the SIMNET team to prove that Virtuozzo had the performance and reliability their clients depend on.
“We put it through its paces, we tore it down, we made it break and they fixed it – and it was a very good experience,” Ted says. “There’s nothing a big-name player offers that Virtuozzo can’t already do for us. Armed with our new Virtuozzo cloud platform, and our experience and Canadian presence, we’re looking forward to the next phase of growth, for us and for our customers.”
For more information, visit Simnet.ca or learn more about Virtuozzo Hybrid Infrastructure.
Ready to see what the power of Virtuozzo can do for you? Request your demo today.
