• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Housing Technology Main Logo

Housing Technology

Housing | IT | Telecoms | Business | Ecology

  • Free Subscription
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Research
  • Magazine
  • Events
  • Awards
  • Recruitment
  • On Demand
Home / Magazine Articles / Charting a virtual course

Charting a virtual course

New Charter Housing Trust Group has transformed its technology infrastructure by moving from numerous physical servers to just a few virtual servers.

New Charter’s decision to virtualise its infrastructure was prompted by the need to upgrade its ageing servers, many of of which dated from 2000 following a stock transfer from Tameside Council in Manchester. Critical data was spread over many systems while data management and backup took up too much staff time, and disaster recovery was only available for specific business-critical systems.

John Westwood, IS infrastructure manager, New Charter, said, “We felt virtualisation promised dramatic consolidation of server hardware while providing a flexible response to varying workloads.”

After a tendering process, a partnership of Softcat and Hewlett Packard was chosen. New Charter’s IT infrastructure has now been transformed from 32 physical servers with limited business continuity capability to a manageable array of nine VMware servers which easily support up to 70 per cent of the server infrastructure.

The set-up consists of 22 virtual servers running on five physical VMware servers connected to the HP EVA 4000 system. An HP StorageWorks tape library is used for data backup. This is copied at a separate DR site using four physical VMware servers and an older HP system from New Charter’s existing hardware.

John Westwood said, “Virtualisation gave us a low-risk, incremental approach to migrating services. Installing the new hardware was done with no lost working time, and I’m sure most of our 780 employees and 25,000 customers had no idea that we had upgraded.”

See More On:

  • Vendor: HP
  • Housing Association: New Charter Housing Trust Group
  • Topic: Infrastructure
  • Publication Date: 002 - March 2008
  • Type: News

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent Articles

  • Artificial intelligence in housing
  • Mobysoft – Data problems affecting complaints’ handling
  • Data, AI and private-sector strategies
  • Smart repairs & smarter homes
  • From firewalls to fortresses
  • Achieving three quick wins in AI
  • Rebuilding Selwood Housing’s IT infrastructure
  • Are you ready for organisational AI?
  • PIMSS releases AI Document Reader for compliance
  • Calico Homes cuts arrears with RentSense
  • FourNet launches digital transformation index
  • New income recovery software from Voicescape
  • Asprey Assets at YMCA
  • I love spreadsheets…
  • All watched over by machines of loving grace – AI assistants and adult social care
  • The rent revolution – The case for AI-powered payments
  • Unlocking safer living through data
  • Aareon acquires MIS ActiveH
  • Vericon launches MouldSense
  • Back to the future at Housing Technology 2025
  • FireAngel wins Which? Award
  • Maximising income and preventing homelessness
  • Anchoring digital innovation with Plentific
  • Cynon Taf Community Housing gets Housing Insight’s Arrears Manager
  • Tenants, AI & your biggest compliance risk
  • EDITOR’S NOTES – Data, standards & straight-through processing
  • AI as a social housing expert
  • South Yorkshire Housing halves arrears with Mobysoft
  • Bromford Flagship wins Aico’s smart-home competition
  • Putting VIVID’s customers in control of their tenancies

Footer

Housing Technology Main Logo
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Contact
  • Free Subscription
  • Book an event
  • Research
  • Update Your Subscription
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome to the housing Technology – Trusted Information For Business Professionals in HOusing

Housing Technology is the leading technology information service for the UK housing sector and local governments. We have always believed in the fundamental importance of how the UK’s social housing providers use technology to improve their tenants’ lives.

Subscribe to Housing Technology to gain market-leading research, unsurpassed peer networking opportunities and a greater understanding of your role to transform your business.

Copyright © The Intelligent Business Company 2025 | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
Housing Technology is published by the The Intelligent Business Company. A company with limited liability. Registered in England No. 4958057 | Vat Registion No. 833 0069 55.

Registered Business Address: Hoppingwood Farm, Robin Hood Way, London, SW20 0AB | Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8336 2293