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Published on: 08/01/2009
Type of content: Analyst Report
Length: 25
Price: FREE

Overview
Virtualization has been a top priority project for IT organizations of all sizes, bringing companies real dollar savings. As this FOCUS research report shows, virtualization projects are still a top priority for 2009, despite the tough economic climate, largely because virtualization has been successfully reducing costs (the total cost of ownership, or TCO) and delivering a strong return on investment (ROI). As long as virtualization and related management, automation and optimization tools contribute to the bottom line, projects continue to be approved.

As organizations move to optimize and automate their virtual environments, they face a wide array of virtualization management challenges. The FOCUS Research Series: Managing the Virtual Environment, of which this report is part, uses a taxonomy of virtualization management which covers key management areas identified by FOCUS. These areas include Virtual Machine (VM) Life Cycle Management and Provisioning, Capacity Management, Performance Management, Fault Management and Root Cause Analysis, Storage Management and Data Protection, and Security Management. Each area brings a set of requirements that IT must consider in order to develop a well-managed virtual infrastructure. This research series shows where user priorities are across these management areas, as well as user ratings on required features within each area.

FOCUS has asserted for several years that while server virtualization for consolidation provides immediate capital and operational returns, the biggest value comes from leveraging advanced management capabilities and automation for long-term savings. This FOCUS report of key findings presents the highlights of an end-user survey conducted in April 2009, outlining the current state of virtualization adoption, pain points, barriers to expansion, and management requirements.

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