Posted by Renee Schmidt

Virtualization is a new buzz word.  But what EXACTLY is it?  Here is your Virtualization 101:  virtualizing is a technique for creating a virtual (rather than physical), version of an operating system, a desktop, a server, a storage device or network resources. This technology reduces physical space requirements for equipment, reducing operational and capital costs, centralizing administrative tasks, improving uptime, increasing the speed of deployment of new servers and applications and enhancing disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. A recent example of the great power in virtualization in its application in creating Desktops in the Cloud.

Around the world, companies of every size are benefiting from virtualization. For example, thousands of organizations—including all of the Fortune 100—use virtualization solutions from VMware to save over 50% on overall IT costs!  Not only will virtualization reduce IT costs, it will also increase efficiency, systems utilization, and flexibility.

Top 5 Reasons to Virtualize

  1. Reduce datacenter costs by reducing physical infrastructure and improving the server-to-admin ratio: Fewer servers and related IT hardware, means reduced real estate, power and cooling requirements
  2. Get more out of your existing resources: Pool common infrastructure resources and break the legacy “one application to one server” model with server consolidation
  3. Increase availability of hardware and applications for improved business continuity: Securely backup and migrate entire virtual environments with no interruption in service. Eliminate planned downtime and recover immediately from unplanned issues
  4. Gain operational flexibility: Respond to market changes with dynamic resource management, faster server provisioning and improved desktop and application deployment
  5. Improve desktop manageability and security: Deploy, manage and monitor secure desktop environments that users can access locally or remotely, with or without a network connection, on almost any standard desktop, laptop or tablet PC

SheBytes is a BIG supporter of VMware!

Users that have adopted VMware’s solutions have reported cost savings; the ability to provision new applications in minutes instead of days or weeks; and an 85% improvement in recovery time from unplanned downtime.

See VMware in action in the video in my “Run Windows 7 on an iPad” post; where I literally walk you through the process.

Virtualization is the underlying technology that makes Cloud Computing; the sharing of a pooled set of resources, possible. If you’d like to learn more about Cloud Technology, check out this 6-part series of bytes on the technology that’s paving the way for the future!