Virtualisation benefits companies

By Staff Writer for HP
Johannesburg, 20 Nov 2008

Companies reap the rewards of virtualisation by planning ahead, according to a survey by Hewlett Packard (HP). The computing company says 77% of the organisations it questioned are implementing or have implemented a virtualisation strategy.

The companies it surveyed list their top challenges in virtualisation as being infrastructure planning and capacity planning. HP advises a well-planned virtualisation strategy to deliver applications and business services more quickly. It will also put unused data centre capacity to work on business priorities, and enhance availability, continuity, and security.

By relocating resources and maintaining virtual images, virtualisation can also reduce catastrophic effects on business revenue, corporate reputation and brand image, says HP EMEA director of enterprise server and storage software Alfred Steinecker.

The right way

Steinecker says the best way to plan a virtualisation strategy is for companies to assess their existing and planned resources and their virtualisation needs before acquiring the solution.

Companies should use consultants during the planning phase, as this will help save time and money, which could be wasted on correcting avoidable mistakes and miscalculations, HP says.

Businesses must get the backing of their CEOs to ensure virtualisation becomes part of their business strategy. This can be done through the CIO, who should articulate the benefits of a virtualisation strategy.

A well-planned virtualisation strategy will cut costs, support business performance and allow businesses to spend more on innovation and less on maintenance, Steinecker concludes.