IT departments are being asked to do more with less, and the best way to play that game is resource utilization. server virtualization can help reduce the amount of physical hardware, reduce energy consumption, reduce heat on server rooms, and free up valuable server rack space.
Some analysts estimate that average IT departments utilize only 5% to 25% of their servers capacity, by employing server virtualization to utilize underutilized servers can yield immediate cost savings, and potentially ongoing savings. the most obvious immediate savings that comes from server virtualization is the fewer amount of hardware used. less machines mean less energy consumption, both from servers and cooling systems. also, a server virtualization strategy can open up valuable rack space, giving a company room to grow.
fewer servers also reduce physical server maintenance for administrators.
server virtualization could definitely cut costs on IT infrastructures, and is a route most IT CIOs are taking. read more about server virtualization from these sources below.
Intro to virtualization, server consolidation-VMware
Costs and energy benefit driving virtualization- Znet
Application virtualization products a complete list-4Sysops
If you are interested in trying and testing server virtualization, check my ongoing series on how to setup a testing network using VMware server.
Holylooya! to Server Virtualization. Also there is software for Centralized VM Management that many are implementing to reduce tangling administration tasks on VMs.