The term 'virtualisation' is a broad one. It is sometimes used almost synonymously with cloud computing. However, it is also, more accurately, used to describe the process whereby physical elements of your IT infrastructure - such as your servers or storage resources - are replaced with virtual equivalents.
That process can mean purchasing virtualised solutions and implementing them within your own IT department, or hiring a provider to host and maintain a new virtual environment for you. But it can also mean disguising the complexity of an existing network by gathering all your network resources together and managing them through a single application. In all cases, the end result is the same: lower personnel, maintenance and energy costs and improved efficiency and scalability.
One proviso: although virtualisation solutions are becoming increasingly user-friendly as the technology spreads, you will need some technical nous to successfully implement a company-wide virtualisation solution by yourself.
If that sounds daunting, you can always hire a company offering virtualisation services to create and maintain a solution for you. In this case, you will still save money compared to the cost of purchasing and implementing expensive storage or network hardware.
Cost control
The need to control costs while the data volume steadily increases is the main motivation driving the rapid growth in virtualisation products, according to experts. Research firm IDC says that in the US alone, companies spent about USD560 million on virtualisation in 2005. That figure is expected to grow to USD2.7 billion in 2009.
Research from market analyst firm Gartner estimates that 5 million computers worldwide used virtualisation technology in 2007. But by 2011, Gartner predicts, virtualisation will be "the most important trend" in business computing, and the number of computers using virtualisation solutions will reach over 660 million.
And the big guns are getting in on the act: Sun Microsystems recently launched two new virtualisation offerings aimed at specifically at SMEs. Microsoft, EMC and Citrix also provide virtualisation solutions aimed at the SME market.
As IT budgets shrink, companies are turning more and more towards lower-cost products to maintain the competitiveness of their IT departments. Virtualisation solutions can help to reduce spending in several areas, including hardware, PC and server warranties and maintenance, electricity, spare parts, software purchases and software deployment.
Since virtualised solutions reduce the time spent on managing your network, they also reduce personnel costs and free up your key IT staff to work on other projects.
Virtualisation can be applied to almost every aspect of IT infrastructure, but the most popular types are:
1. Server virtualisation
Deploying a traditional server invariably involves building a system from scratch and requires days - if not weeks - of testing and configuration. And every time you change your IT system, you'll have to go through the entire process all over again.
Server virtualisation, on the other hand, allows you to design one system and redeploy it again and again on any hardware. And if you hand server virtualisation management over to a virtual server specialist, you'll save the time and resources associated with server creation and maintenance.
Server virtualisation also removes the need to manage all the complicated details of your server resources by bringing them all together in a single, easy-to-manage resource.
2. Storage virtualisation
Storage virtualisation gathers all your physical network storage devices into a single storage device, manageable from a central console. Most commonly used to replace storage area networks (SANs), storage virtualisation reduces your spend and makes your storage network easier to manage.
3. Virtual desktops
Imagine a desktop that can easily switch between Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems - without having to run the entire operating system on the same machine. Or being able to save space and spare resources on your company's desktop computers by running applications from a centralised point on your network.
Imagine being able to access all the features of an application without having to run the whole application on your desktop PC - saving computing power and resources in the process. Virtual desktops deliver these features, while simultaneously improving efficiency and reducing energy costs.
4. Network virtualisation
Network virtualisation combines your network resources by splitting up the available bandwidth so that it can be assigned intelligently to a particular network device, when needed.
With so many virtualisation solutions available from different vendors, it can be quite difficult to decide which provider or service to choose. It may be worthwhile to hire an independent IT consulting firm with virtualisation expertise to assess your requirements.
(For more on virtualisation, see Issue 207.)