Over the past 5 years, virtualization software running on Intel processor-based servers has transformed the economics of server consolidation. IT organizations no longer have to balance the benefits of consolidation against the cost and risk of high-end RISC and UNIX implementations. Instead, they can achieve 10, 20 or even 30 to one consolidation ratios on Intel-based servers using mature, enterprise-proven solutions. This has eliminated the traditional barriers to consolidation, helping IT organizations achieve better ROI and faster payback, with less need for specialized skill sets.

Although most organizations find there is a learning curve in moving to a virtualized environment, the benefits can be substantial, including lower datacenter costs, faster provisioning, improved management, simplified development environments, flexible fail-over and affordable business continuity. Because of these advantages, tens of thousands of businesses are consolidating their server infrastructures to improve efficiency and free up resources for new projects and for ongoing security and compliance initiatives.
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Consolidation on virtual servers has gone from a niche market to a massive industry migration that is affecting businesses of all sizes and across all industries. For most companies, the question is not whether to virtualize their server infrastructure, but which solutions to use. This paper discusses today's leading options, and describes some of the trends and developments that will continue to transform datacenter operations in the years ahead.

Read it by downloading it, here.