Virtualisation for in-house applications: getting the platform right

Running each application on its own physical server was once normal. Virtualisation lets several isolated servers share hardware, and it changes how in-house applications are deployed and recovered.

Why it helps applications

• **Isolation:** each application runs in its own virtual machine, so one cannot break another.
• **Snapshots:** take a snapshot before an upgrade and roll back in minutes if it fails.
• **Recovery:** with two or more hosts and shared storage, a virtual machine can restart on another host if hardware fails.
• **Right-sizing:** give each application the CPU and memory it needs and adjust later.

Separate environments

Run development, testing and production on separate virtual machines or networks. Test upgrades and data migrations on a copy before touching production.

Containers on top

For modern applications, containers on virtual machines give consistent deployments. Keep it as simple as the team can operate — a few well-run virtual machines beat a complex platform nobody understands.

Back up at the right level

Back up virtual machines and databases separately. A VM snapshot is not a backup; it lives on the same storage.

See how we host in-house systems built by our software team.