Dell servers, switches, and storage help Hosted Solutions provide its local customer base with a breadth of services and rock-solid reliability.

Due to efficiencies of scale, many Internet hosting and data center service providers cast their nets wide to attract a national customer base. Hosted Solutions is different: it carves its competitive advantage by focusing on local customers and personal service. Founded in 2001, Hosted Solutions operates three data centers in North Carolina as well as a fourth recently acquired in Boston, Massachusetts. And, in contrast to the national players, most of its nearly 1,000 customers operate businesses within miles of its data centers. With high-touch service and highly available infrastructure, Hosted Solutions has attracted a wide range of customers, including North Carolina-based firms like a major bottler and a leading branded specialty retailer.

Hosted Solutions may build its reputation on relationships, but to keep that reputation-and its customers-it still must distinguish itself from the competition. "We live and work in the communities we serve," says Rich Lee, CEO of Hosted Solutions. "At the end of the day, the reputation we build in the community dictates our success. Most Web hosters are national players, but they don't have a local sales force that is out there creating relationships with their customers."

Hosted Solutions needs a dependable hardware provider

In the past, Hosted Solutions relied on systems and storage products from a number of vendors, but this arrangement created logistical, operational, and administrative challenges. "We were having problems with our distributors that affected our ability to roll out servers in a reasonable time frame for our customers," says Lee. "Equipment just was not available in real time as we needed it. And that threatened our reliability and our ability to react to customer needs."

To compete with large hosting companies, Hosted Solutions needed to speed its ability to roll out new servers by standardizing its infrastructure and maintaining an inventory of spare parts. "We needed an infrastructure that was adaptable and scalable, one that would inspire our customers to entrust us with their business-critical applications," says Lee. "I have 20 years experience in this business, and I know what Dell offers. With the goal of making us more scalable, I turned to Dell."

The breadth of Dell offerings-from servers to racks to management software-and the commitment that Dell makes to certifying its hardware to run a variety of operating systems and applications encouraged Lee to choose Dell. "Dell offers us cradle-to-grave service that allows us to buy its products, integrate them seamlessly into our facilities, and monitor and manage them in a very repeatable, scalable, and verifiable format," says Lee. "Ultimately, that is what enables us to guarantee that our customers' mission-critical applications are up and running."

Hosted Solutions standardizes on Dell

In order to create a scalable and manageable infrastructure, Hosted Solutions upgraded its server infrastructure to Dell PowerEdge servers. "As a service organization, we run what our customers ask us to run, so we have a mix of Windows, Linux, and other operating system and application environments," says Lee. "Given the relationship that Dell has with Microsoft and Red Hat, we know that Dell servers are certified to run those operating systems. And the presence of Dell industry-wide means that its servers run a variety of applications seamlessly."

Most recently, Hosted Solution deployed next-generation Dell PowerEdge 1950 and PowerEdge 2950 servers to support its customer applications. "We've found that the 64-bit dual-core Intel^® Xeon^® processors are faster than older processors-especially in meeting rigorous database requirements for our customers," says Lee. "Plus, the PowerEdge 1950 and PowerEdge 2950 servers are easy to rack and work with within our data center. The standardized cable arrangement has simplified deployment, and the always visible LCD makes diagnosing problems easier since it gives our technicians an instant readout of what is going on with the server."

Hosted Solutions's Dell PowerEdge servers support the various database needs of its customers. "One reason Dell servers appeal to us from a database standpoint is we think Dell is ahead of IBM and Hewlett-Packard as far as certifying on new Microsoft and Oracle Database 10g releases," says Lee. "Certification allows us to quickly and confidently roll out new Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005 and Oracle 10g databases on Dell servers, and that standardization helps with the managing of our disaster recovery strategy as well."

To ensure uptime with such a large and varied environment, Hosted Solutions needed to automate monitoring of its infrastructure. "We use Dell OpenManage to monitor our systems environment," Lee explains. "Dell OpenManage allows our technicians to monitor the data center for issues with fans, power supplies, or hard drives so that potential problems can be fixed before they cause downtime. Dell OpenManage changed us from a reactive organization to a proactive one."

Virtualization on Dell maximizes the data center

In order to consolidate its server environment, as well as reduce customer costs by reducing infrastructure requirements, Hosted Solutions turned to VMware^® ESX Server virtualization software to host multiple virtual machines on fewer physical servers. "We have quite a few servers already running VMware and are looking at migrating more of our infrastructure over to virtualized platforms," says Lee. "Obviously, virtualization can reduce our footprint and save on power, cooling, and server costs, but more importantly, implementing virtualization demonstrates our commitment to maximizing our customers' hardware investments."

Dell PowerConnect switches add performance

To integrate and connect all these different systems, Hosted Solutions uses Dell PowerConnect^TM 3000 and 6000 series switches at the rack layer to connect all its servers, clients, and storage infrastructure into the core data center network. "We use Cisco switches in our core network," says Lee. "On the edge of our network, however, we chose to deploy Dell PowerConnect switches. The PowerConnect switches offer us exceptional reliability as well as low total cost of ownership."

Storage architecture ensures data availability

To secure and protect customer data, Hosted Solutions has implemented a flexible storage strategy, and Dell offers a range of storage products that help Hosted Solutions tailor its storage offerings to its customers' diverse needs. Hosted Solutions provides a shared storage area network (SAN) through multiple shared Dell/EMC CX500 arrays for customers that do not require dedicated storage, and dedicated Dell/EMC CX300 arrays are available to customers with more advanced storage needs. To manage its storage environment, Hosted Solutions uses EMC^® PowerPath^® storage routing software, and it performs database mirroring and replication with EMC SnapView^TM. "We sell to a variety of different customers at a variety of different data centers," says Lee. "We need to be able to accommodate our customers' needs for application performance and data availability. It really simplifies the process when we can get our entire storage infrastructure through Dell."

Dell training ensures expert technicians

Another problem with Hosted Solutions' previous heterogeneous infrastructure was the burden it placed on its administrators. So, when the company made the switch to Dell, it engaged Dell Training Services to help streamline administrative efforts. "To react to customer needs quickly, our technicians needed to know our systems like the backs of their hands," Lee says. "With Dell training, our technicians can work on Dell equipment in the dark. They can deploy new equipment and services in rapid fashion, and whenever we have problems, spare parts are readily available and can be installed in a snap."

Dell helps Hosted Solutions ensure broad appeal on a local level

Hosted Solutions's approach to customer service reads like a laundry list of effective business tenets: Provide personal attention and service. Guarantee service, but back it up with effective business continuity planning. Get a third-party to certify compliance. "We are a SAS 70 Type II certified provider," says Lee. "Our reputation is not based on smoke and mirrors; certified auditors come in and check that we are compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), SAS 70, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Our Dell environment and the ease with which we implement and manage our systems give us confidence that we will pass the compliance tests with flying colors."

Ultimately, the Dell name helps Hosted Solutions offer a product that appeals to customers and helps the company compete in a crowded industry. "Dell has such a strong brand recognition that it gives us a competitive advantage when customers can come into our data center-and they do, since many of them are local-and see all the racks of Dell servers, Dell storage, and Dell switches. Then, when we show them Dell OpenManage and what we can do to help manage the environment, customers get really comfortable with what we can offer," says Lee. "Our customers rest easy knowing that Dell is backing us."