VAR ANS Group has scooped a contract to overhaul the server and storage infrastructure of Bolton’s NHS Primary Care Trust.

The Manchester-based VAR will be responsible for introducing a new virtual server at the trust using technology supplied by VMware and NetApp.

Chris Russ, assistant director for information management and technology at NHS Bolton, said the move to a virtualised storage network would help the trust save money in the long run.

He said: “The solution that ANS Group proposed had several key benefits, not least reducing the administrative burden of running the day-to-day system.

“By moving over to virtualised server and storage facilities, we are cutting down the ongoing management overheads and physically reducing the space needed for the server farms, meaning our power consumption is much less."

Russ added: “Virtualisation also lends itself well to a scalable and expandable solution that we can adapt as we continue to grow – we will no longer be restricted by physical equipment that quickly becomes outdated.”

Paul Sweeney, managing director of ANS Group, added: “The design we plan to implement for NHS Bolton, using VMware and NetApp technology, will provide a robust platform that will mean greater resilience in terms of data protection and recovery, and provide a solid foundation for rapid business expansion.”