I have been using virtualization software from VMware for quite some time. Come Longhorn aka Windows Server 2008, this is set to become standard feature of the server OS. I think for just something like $39 Hyper-V (virtualization technology offered by Microsoft) can be added to the Windows Server 2008. With this kind of pricing, virtualization is set to explode. The benefits are immense- increased server utilization, portability, consolidation etc etc. A software development company like ours can benefit by creating different test environment within the same machine, thereby helping us save time and money.Currently less that 10% of the servers use virtualization, this number is set to go up to 60-70%, if the analysts are to be believed. I think capacity utilization is the biggest benefit virtualization gives us and would be the primary driver for adaptation by the enterprise customer. An increased utilization translates into lower TCO( Total Cost of Ownership), in terms of lower data center electricity bill, lower hardware cost, maintenance cost etc.

if virtualization has all benefits, why is it still not mainstream. I think some of the challenges need to be overcome- steep learning curve , it is almost like a paradigm shift. To help ease the transition, Microsoft has apparently bundled virtualization management tool. And as and when new tools around virtualization gets released by other software vendors, more and more people will see the value in it and hopefully this trend will catch on like fire.

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I have been using virtualization software from VMware for quite some time. Come Longhorn aka Windows Server 2008, this is set to become standard feature of the server OS. I think for just something like $39 Hyper-V (virtualization technology offered by Microsoft) can be added to the Windows Server 2008. With this kind of pricing, virtualization is set to explode. The benefits are immense- increased server utilization, portability, consolidation etc etc. A software development company like ours can benefit by creating different test environment within the same machine, thereby helping us save time and money.Currently less that 10% of the servers use virtualization, this number is set to go up to 60-70%, if the analysts are to be believed. I think capacity utilization is the biggest benefit virtualization gives us and would be the primary driver for adaptation by the enterprise customer. An increased utilization translates into lower TCO( Total Cost of Ownership), in terms of lower data center electricity bill, lower hardware cost, maintenance cost etc.

if virtualization has all benefits, why is it still not mainstream. I think some of the challenges need to be overcome- steep learning curve , it is almost like a paradigm shift. To help ease the transition, Microsoft has apparently bundled virtualization management tool. And as and when new tools around virtualization gets released by other software vendors, more and more people will see the value in it and hopefully this trend will catch on like fire.