Managing a business' IT infrastructure is a complex task

Managing the IT infrastructure of your business in-house, especially a growing one with developing needs, is a complex task that can swallow up serious time and money.

Perhaps it’s time to consider outsourcing the management of your infrastructure to free up your internal resources. You’ll gain the value of our very talented IT specialists and state-of-the-art resources.

At OGL we’ll evaluate your requirements to design and provide a flexible, more cost-effective network solution that is a perfect fit with your organisational needs. 

What is an IT infrastructure?

IT infrastructure consists of all components that somehow play a part in the overall IT operation of a business. It is a business’s entire collection of IT elements:

• Hardware
• Software
• Data management
• Networking
• Technology services

An IT infrastructure allows an organisation to deliver IT services to its employees that are necessary to operate the business. A reliable and stable infrastructure is absolutely essential for good productivity and customer service.

An IT partner you can trust

Vast experience with companies just like yours

Outsourcing the design, implementation and management of your infrastructure involves you placing a significant amount of trust in your chosen IT partner. After all, your IT infrastructure is what allows your business to operate.

At OGL we have many very talented individuals, making up multi-skilled, vastly experienced technical teams who really understand what it takes to build and implement secure, reliable, resilient infrastructures, tailored to your needs.

Our current customer base speaks for itself – 1,200 UK companies use our services to manage their IT and we have been supplying those services successfully (albeit typewriters in the early days!) for over 40 years.

Infrastructure types

IT excellency tailored to your business and employees

Client / server computing

A client / server infrastructure is a network which consists of one centralised, powerful computer (the server) with many less powerful, personal computers (the clients) connected to it. The clients run programs, applications and access data that are stored on the server. In some cases there may be several servers, for example: file servers, print servers, application servers, database servers, mail servers and web servers.

The biggest advantage to using this setup is that it allows centralised management of the server(s) which makes the work of maintaining the server(s) more manageable. It also means all your hardware is on your premises, rather than in the cloud, if this is your preference.

Virtualisation

Server virtualisation is the creation of virtual versions of your servers which are then run on just one single physical server. This act of consolidation can reduce hardware costs dramatically and means servers can be accessed by users in ways that are unrestricted by physical configuration or geographic location.

Many companies are choosing a virtualised environment for their IT infrastructure to bring down the cost of hardware and because they are environmentally-aware. Power consumption by servers is huge so consolidating to just one server can radically reduce your carbon footprint and the level of power consumption at your site.

This option allows those responsible for managing your server to manage your entire server farm from one single central console, improving efficiency and productivity.

Cloud computing

This involves the use of a third-party platform (called a data centre), whereby the infrastructure is provided to you via an internet connection, on demand. The cloud (aka data centre) negates the need for your own expensive servers, as you’d be using the data centre’s very powerful resources instead. There are various delivery models for cloud services: public, private and hybrid.

Public, private and hybrid cloud options explained

Public Cloud

Using our public cloud means your data would be stored at our state-of-the-art, maximum security data centre on hardware that is also tenanted by other companies. Your data is separated and protected from others’ data by the tightest of security measures. This is the standard model for providing cloud services in the UK and comes with the utmost of managed security in place. This option appeals to many companies because it is cost effective and the responsibility of managing and maintaining the data centre rests solely with us, allowing you to concentrate on running your business. You also have no expensive hardware to purchase and maintain. It’s a pay-per-usage model and the only costs incurred are based on the capacity that is used.

Private Cloud

A private cloud means the infrastructure is not located in a multi-tenanted environment, like the public cloud. Instead it is a cloud dedicated to a single organisation with most of the hardware within the cloud owned by you. Internal policies, compliance, strict regulation or personal preference can all point towards a private cloud being the better option, typically for large organisations. The key point about a private cloud infrastructure is that all management, maintenance and updating is your responsibility. This gives you the benefits of the cloud, without giving up control of the maintenance. In simple terms, you would own the hardware and be renting space within our data centre in which to house your hardware. This of course brings upfront expense with it as you would need to invest in top grade hardware and be prepared to replace it over time. What you gain is increased security and control over your own cloud infrastructure.

Hybrid Cloud

Choosing a hybrid approach means you can have the best of both worlds. For instance, you could use a private cloud for most of your computing but in peak periods of activity when demand is increased you could move portions of your applications to a public cloud. Or you could use a public cloud for non-sensitive, public-facing operations and the private cloud for locating business-critical, sensitive data. A highly flexible and highly agile solution.