HP adds new service level for virtual data centers

From InfoWorld: Hewlett-Packard has introduced a new level of service for customers running critical business applications on virtualized, x86-based hardware, the company announced Tuesday.

Called Critical Advantage, the offering provides customers a dedicated team of engineers to help design and manage their x86-based virtual environments, said Flynn Maloy, HP worldwide director of technology services marketing.

Customers are gaining confidence in virtualization and starting to use it for important applications that they once trusted only on Unix systems, he said. But while virtualization can lower costs, it also increases complexity by creating more dependencies among servers, networks and storage systems.
Server Virtualization Deep Dive

Critical Advantage is designed to help deal with that complexity. Customers are assigned a team of engineers, including a named account manager, working from one of HP's Global Mission Critical Solution Centers.

The GMCSC is where HP's so-called Level 2 and Level 3 engineers work. These are supposed to be its smartest services staff, trained to deal with large, complex systems. They'll advise customers who sign up for Critical Advantage how to optimize their virtual environments and perform annual services such as a capacity analysis or a security review.

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