Howard Hudson - Week 9 - Virtual Machines

Businesses evolve and venture into new types of services and products. As well, some businesses will expand and move to a different building or location. Another potential issue, Microsoft announced that Windows 7 will reach the end of its life after January 14, 2020. That means that Microsoft will no longer develop and update Windows 7. Those three issues could require a business to purchase additional computer systems and use new versions of an operating system that could make important applications unusable. One way to resolve those three issues is to use a virtual machine.

Essentially, a primary system will use a program such as VMWare that enables multiple instances of an operating system. The clients will only need a bare boned device and software such as MWare’s ThinApp. Even better is the ability to supply multiple versions of operating systems. If you use an application that does not work with Windows 10, you can run an instance of Windows 7 (among others) from the virtual machine. That means you will be able to use your current programs and applications that are not compatible with other operating systems. A virtual machine functions on a network, which means it can be accessed through the internal network as well as external connections.

Bottom line up front, you will need to purchase the software and ensure the primary device has the hardware to support multiple connections, but doing so will reduce the need for additional computer systems and will provide a centralize storage plan. As well, online (cloud) solutions such as Google’s cloud are available if that option would work better. Ether way, ensure you research the various options that are available.


Resources

Google Cloud. (n.d.). High-performing virtual machines: Move your infrastructure to the cloud with VMs you can spin up in seconds. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://cloud.google.com/solutions/smb/virtual-machine/ 

Microsoft. (n.d.). Support for Windows 7 is ending. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsforbusiness/end-of-windows-7-support 

Rivera, A. (2018, July 08). How and Why to Set Up a Virtual Machine for Your Business. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10948-set-up-virtual-machine.html 

Sides, D. (2018, March 7). The Pros and Cons of Small Businesses Using Virtual Machines. Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.ignitingbusiness.com/blog/technology/the-pros-and-cons-of-small-businesses-using-virtual-machines 

Sides, D. (2018, February 21). FAQ: When Would a Small Business Want to Use a Virtual Machine? Retrieved February 9, 2019, from https://www.ignitingbusiness.com/blog/technology/faq-when-would-a-small-business-want-to-use-a-virtual-machine

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