After several years of using server virtualization technologies, Ann Arbor-based Online Tech decided to go 'all in' by moving its entire IT infrastructure to the cloud.

Immediate benefits included supporting all the same company systems with a mere tenth of the physical servers used before the cloud. Ongoing benefits include zero-downtime during hardware and software maintenance, faster product development, and a more robust disaster recovery capability.

"We were thrilled by the resource savings when we reduced the number of servers required to support our entire IT infrastructure from 24 physical servers to just two," said Mike Klein, president of Online Tech. "The benefits to our bottom line were significant, and convinced us that private cloud computing could help other businesses the same way it helped us."

Online Tech needed to implement a cloud computing solution capable of passing a SAS 70 audit. Using VMWare's virtualization technologies, and Dell EqualLogic SANs, Online Tech standardized a private cloud computing architecture with dedicated servers, network infrastructure, and storage. The result was a secure private cloud, capable of meeting PCI, SOX, and HIPAA compliance requirements.

"Moving to the cloud puts our support team in a great position to maintain the company infrastructure without having to makes changes in the middle of the night or risk downtime for the company. It's an IT manager's dream," said Jason Yaeger, operations manager for Online Tech.

Aside from reducing downtime, the cloud has also sped the pace of product development.

"Being able to configure a new server environment within minutes and add resources on the fly has removed hardware obstacles from the development of our client portal, bandwidth monitoring, and invoicing systems. We can be super-agile in the cloud," says Farooq Ahmed, systems architect at Online Tech.

Online Tech's clients have been quick to realize the benefits, and are using Online Tech's OT Private Cloud to meet HIPAA and PCI compliance standards without sacrificing flexibility or security.

"We have realized fantastic flexibility, reduced our time-to-market, and improved our resiliency with cloud computing. When colleagues ask me if they should consider moving to the private cloud, my advice is: do it now," said Yan Ness, CEO of Online Tech.

Online Tech owns and manages Michigan data centers. Offering managed dedicated servers, private cloud hosting, IT disaster recovery, and Michigan colocation, Online Tech helps its clients reduce IT data center costs, operational risks and downtime.

More at www.onlinetech.com.