Leeds NHS Trust is using virtualisation to save time and money for an enhanced disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity structure.

Under the scheme, server numbers have been cut from 32 to nine and the architecture now supports an improved remote DR system.

As a result of the virtualisation, three of the Trust’s newer SQL servers have been recycled and are now used as the backbone of its disaster recovery facility. A separate system carries out scheduled data replication via a wide area network (WAN) link in addition to normal tape back-up procedures.

“Virtualisation has challenged the way we think about how our services are delivered to the business,” said the Trust’s server desktop and applications manager Russell Hornshaw.

“It has enabled us to be more agile in our approach moving to ITIL principles of service delivery focusing on business functionality tied to service and operational level needs,” said Hornshaw.

“The system allows us to deploy, manage and utilise our IT staff more efficiently rather than wasting their time on legacy tasks like manual tape backup across our large historical server estate,” he said.

The new infrastructure, implemented by supplier CSA Waverley, also prompted savings for the Trust by eliminating the need to spend on hardware to keep up with storage growth and demand.

Virtualisation also sped up the deployment of new software.

“We can now deploy new applications in minutes instead of weeks in a virtual rather than physical environment and staff can easily create test builds before launching new services,” said Hornshaw.

“This time is now being better used to develop, manage and test our DR site as well as focus on our core role of managing and maintaining the system to help users deliver a better service to the public.”