In a first for the European market, SAVVIS Communications, a leading global IT utility, announced availability of their virtualized IT services delivery platform in the United Kingdom. Employing a utility model, in which companies only pay for the services they use, the new 100 percent outsourced technology platform allows UK businesses to eliminate hardware and associated IT infrastructure. This cuts their annual IT expenses by as much as 50 percent. The new SAVVIS platform integrates the virtualization technologies and deploys an array of managed utility services from its world-class data centre in Reading. Services include: managed hosting and network services for a variety of vertical markets such as financial services, media services (printing and publishing) and retail; application utilities, such as managed voice over IP; and managed MS Exchange services. "Virtualizing storage, computing and hosting infrastructure makes sense for a lot of companies," said James Eibisch, Research Director, EMEA IP and Hosting Services, IDC. "The potential to reduce in-house resource costs is one attraction, but switching from a capital to operating expenditure model can be a major financial benefit. Service providers that have the necessary technical and process skills can offer compelling services to organizations looking to make the most of the IT infrastructure they buy." Leveraging more than 10 years of custom development and a heritage of exceptional network performance, SAVVIS' virtualized platform runs on advanced, automated software management and provisioning systems. This provides customers with a simple, yet comprehensive end-to-end view of their IT infrastructure. This visibility across network, hosting, compute and storage platforms creates efficiencies enabling SAVVIS to be much more responsive to customers' needs and to reduce customer dependence on redundant hardware. SAVVIS' virtualized platform enables customers to dynamically allocate the resources of massive, carrier-grade super servers, utility storage, and firewalls. Load balancers and resources can be automatically and regularly optimized for each client. This allows customers to pay for only what they use. Additionally, these on-demand services require no up-front capital expense and can provide tailored service levels to match the unique needs of each application. As a result, the platform increases a company's flexibility and agility. It makes it possible to add new applications, increase server and storage, and expand the network in less time than conventional alternatives. SAVVIS' virtualized utility services are made possible in part through technology partnerships with Egenera, Inkra Networks, 3PAR, and Nortel Networks who contribute key virtualization technologies that power the end-to- end platform. See background attached for additional information. "SAVVIS' virtualized services delivery platform is now available on a global scale. It has already proven itself to provide superior network and infrastructure performance that reduces internal IT costs by as much as 50 percent," said Richard Warley, managing director, SAVVIS EMEA. "We remain dedicated to helping companies make better use of their internal IT resources and focus on building applications that grow the business, not maintaining IT infrastructure." In the US market, where SAVVIS unveiled their virtualized IT services delivery platform earlier in 2004, premiere companies such as Deluxe Entertainment and Innovest Systems have already deployed the platform.