Perth MSP saves $120,000 by switching its rig to Nutanix

Managed IT has become the first Western Australian managed service provider to take up Nutanix to replace old infrastructure.

The government-specialist company became the sixth MSP nationally to adopt the nascent hyper-converged appliances for its customers, according to a Nutanix spokesperson.

While the initial costs for hyper-converged can be higher, Managed IT managing director Michael Wates told CRN that in the long term the appliances save money due to the reduced labour required for infrastructure support.

"Having Nutanix saves us probably one full-time senior engineer – about $120,000 every year," said Wates. "You have to look at the big picture and in the longer term [hyper-converged infrastructure] allows our staff to spend more time with our customers."

The ease of setup also saved on labour costs, with Wates estimating the systems were up in half-a-day, compared to one or two weeks for a traditional storage area network.

For customer Foodbank of Western Australia, Wates said Nutanix was the ideal infrastructure for systems demanding high performance like Citrix remote desktop. Less demanding software remained on Microsoft Azure, which is the MSP's cloud of choice.

"It's not about taking on Azure, but complementing it," said Wates.

Managed IT is located in Osborne Park in Perth, and has offered hosting services since 2008.