Earmarking server virtualisation as one of the key technologies to adopt in 2007, analysis firm iReach estimates that a third of Irish organisations will go down this route this year.
“IT buyers are becoming more and more aware of the benefits a virtualised environment can bring and with this in mind will invest in such technologies,” said Neil Brennan, an analyst with iReach said.
Server consolidation and the lowering of administrative and utility costs are seen to be the main benefits virtualisation can bring, according to iReach’s study of 250 IT executives of small, medium and large firms across eight industry verticals in Ireland.
“Twenty-nine percent of IT buyers understand that server consolidation will result in cost savings in terms of power, cooling and storage for physical software, costs which have recently been rising in the Irish marketplace,” said Brennan.
“Furthermore the centralisation of business applications will result in remote management and therefore staff can save time and focus on value-added offerings.”
Brennan said that 21pc of those interviewed also recognised that virtualisation will result in easier business continuity/disaster recovery migration as well as flexibility.
“People are starting to realise that virtualisation can duplicate mission-critical servers and therefore a reduction in investment in physical duplicates of their hardware,” Brennan explained.
“In addition to this, there is the flexibility to deploy new products and services rapidly due to lower hardware requirements for testing new applications.”
As awareness of the benefits of virtualisation increase, investment in such technologies to facilitate this will follow, Brennan continued.
“2007 will see investment in virtualisation as companies get to grip with increased costs and aim to remain competitive in the marketplace. However, careful consideration must be taken in order to maximise the benefits that it can bring,” Brennan said.
By John Kennedy