IT & Cloud
Odyssey private cloud
Your servers on hardware Odyssey owns and manages in UK data centres, from one virtual machine to a full environment, with backup built in as standard and a monthly charge you can predict.
Who it is for
Businesses in Teesside and the North East still running servers in an office cupboard, a comms room or under a desk: the accounts system, the file server, a line-of-business application that will not move to a vendor's cloud. Also those who tried public cloud and found the monthly bill unpredictable, or who need to say exactly where in the UK their data sits.
What you get
Your servers rebuilt as virtual machines on enterprise-grade servers, storage, network and firewalls that Odyssey owns and manages, in UK data centres, with backup built in as standard and a monthly charge set by the resources each server uses. Monitored and supported by our engineers, reachable from your offices over our own network, and if you ask which piece of hardware holds your data, we can show you.
The problem
Keeping servers in an office cupboard is a risk, and public cloud can be hard to predict on cost and on where your data actually sits.
The cupboard server works until it does not. It sits on an office power supply, behind an office door, with whatever cooling the room happens to have, and when it fails on a Friday the business waits for a part. Moving it to a vendor's public cloud fixes the hardware risk but brings two new questions: what the bill will be next month, which depends on usage you cannot easily see, and where the data actually is, which the contract may not say.
The Odyssey private cloud is the third option. The hardware is ours, bought and run by us on VMware, in UK data centres, so the charge is set by the resources your servers use rather than by metered consumption, and the answer to "where is our data" is a specific building and a specific rack. Backup is built in as standard. Our engineers manage the platform and support the servers on it, and because the traffic runs over a core network we own, the connection from your office to your servers is ours end to end.
It is not the answer to everything. Some systems belong in Azure, and we design and run those too; some applications belong with their vendor. We agree with you which servers go where before anything moves.
What Odyssey provides
- Virtual servers hosted on enterprise-grade hardware Odyssey owns and manages, built on VMware
- Resilient infrastructure across more than one UK data centre, with data held in the UK on hardware we can show you
- Backup built in as standard, with recovery objectives agreed per server
- Network and firewall protection around your environment, connected to your offices over our own core network
- Monitoring, updates and support of the platform and the servers on it by our engineers
- From one virtual machine to a full environment, resized as your needs change
What is included
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| Assessment | Which servers and applications suit the private cloud, which suit Azure, and which stay where they are, with a plan for the order they move |
| Hosting | Virtual machines sized to each server's needs on hardware Odyssey owns, built on VMware, in UK data centres in Manchester and London |
| Resilience | Infrastructure across more than one UK data centre, with failover arranged per environment |
| Backup | Included as standard, with how often each server is backed up and how fast it is restored agreed with you |
| Security | Network separation and firewall protection around your environment, kept up to date by our team |
| Connectivity | Your offices connected to your servers over our own core network, by broadband, a leased line or a private WAN |
| Management | The platform monitored, patched and supported by our engineers, with changes made by the service desk |
Not included, or sold separately
- Operating system and application management inside the server
- Patching and supporting Windows, SQL or your line-of-business application is cloud infrastructure support or managed IT, from your retainer
- Microsoft Azure
- Systems that belong in Azure are designed, migrated and supported through our Azure consultancy and Microsoft 365 and Azure services, with Azure consumption billed separately
- The connection to the data centre
- Broadband, a leased line or a private WAN from your offices is a separate service, sized for the traffic
- Application licences
- Your software vendors' licences move with the application and remain your contracts
- A standby disaster recovery environment
- Backup is included; standby servers that take over within minutes are designed and priced separately
How it is delivered
-
Assess what you run
Every server and application, what it does, who depends on it, and how it is backed up today. Which belong in the private cloud, which in Azure, and which stay where they are, agreed with you.
-
Design and size
Each server sized as a virtual machine, the network and firewall design agreed, the connection from your offices specified, and the monthly charge confirmed before anything is built.
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Build and test
The environment built on our platform and tested with your applications while the existing servers keep running. Backup jobs and recovery objectives set up and a restore tested before anyone moves.
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Migrate in stages
Servers moved one at a time or in groups, out of hours where the business needs it, with each stage tested before the next and the old server kept until the new one is proven. Thomas Armstrong's ageing on-site servers were retired this way across a year-long programme with no unplanned downtime.
-
Run and resize
The platform monitored, patched and supported by our engineers. When a server needs more memory or a new one is needed, the service desk resizes or adds it, and the monthly charge changes with it.
Why trust Odyssey with this
-
ISO
Certified to ISO 27001 for information security
- All hardware owned and managed by Odyssey
- Hosted across multiple UK data centres
- Built on VMware
Questions people ask
Where is our data held?
In UK data centres, on hardware Odyssey owns and manages. If you want to know which piece of hardware holds your data, we can show you, which is not an answer public cloud usually gives.
Can you host a single server?
Yes. We host anything from one virtual machine to a more complex environment, and it can grow from one to many as you need.
Is backup included?
Yes. Backup is built in as standard, with how often each server is backed up and how fast it comes back agreed with you and a restore tested before you move. If you also need on-site servers, laptops or Microsoft 365 protected, our backup and recovery service covers those.
Why choose a private cloud over public cloud?
The charge is set by the resources your servers use rather than metered consumption, and the data sits on specific hardware in a specific UK building. We also design and support Azure where that suits some of your systems better, and we will tell you which.
What is the private cloud built on?
VMware, running on enterprise-grade servers, storage, network and firewalls that Odyssey owns and manages, across multiple UK data centres.
How do our offices reach the servers?
Over our own business-only core network, by business broadband, a leased line or a private WAN sized for the traffic, so the connection from your desk to your server is run by one provider end to end.
Will the migration disrupt the business?
We move servers in stages, test each one with your applications before it goes live and keep the old server until the new one is proven, scheduling the moves out of hours where you need us to.
Who looks after the servers once they are there?
Odyssey engineers, never subcontracted. The platform is monitored and patched as part of the service; the operating systems and applications inside your servers are supported under cloud infrastructure support or your managed IT retainer.
Challenges this helps with
Related services
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