Virtualisation benefits are clear, but the march towards implementation has not been as fast as one might expect. The attractive benefits include the ability to consolidate to 20% of existing hardware, which of course leads to a reduced need for data centre space. Add to that reduce energy bills, lower administration requirements, and savings on licensing, and virtualization offers something for everyone.
However, recent research from Quocirca shows the rate of uptake increasing slowly. Initial research showed 25% of respondents with less than 10% of server hardware virtualised, and 30% with more than half of their hardware virtualised. Ten months later, the number of respondents indicating the 10% rate dropped to 13%, but those with more than half still stood at just 33%.
The slow rate of uptake is contrary to the apparent benefits, but many enterprises are slow on the draw because of concerns over moving enterprise applications such as SAP or Oracle to virtual environments. Other barriers to implementation include initial costs. Whilst virtualisation delivers savings on many fronts, the initial implementation comes in the form of integration costs, including a full audit.
Nonetheless, several key drivers will keep virtualisation implementations going in the right direction. These drivers may include the prevalence of virtual appliances and virtual desktops, as well as more widespread acceptance of cloud computing in general.