More than 60 percent of IT leaders in North America and Europe believe capacity management is a major factor behind IT's ability to drive IT efficiency higher, particularly in organizations relying on cloud and virtualization, according to a May 2011 commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of TeamQuest, The Key To Cloud And Virtual Computing.

Most IT organizations using virtualization and cloud opportunities have discovered that finding the correct balance between resource capacity and usage is not easy, according to the Forrester Consulting study.

"Virtualization and cloud computing are catalysts for greater IT efficiency, but without a strong capacity management process they are much less effective," said Scott Adams, TeamQuest Director of Product Management. "Without the proper processes and tools, you won't understand when, where and why capacity is needed."

Proper planning prevents poor performance, according to Adams. He said to rely on cloud computing or virtualization without capacity management processes and tools is like buying furniture before you have a house. The buyer doesn't know how much to purchase or how it will fit.

"The efficiency of the enterprise relies on capacity management tools and processes," he said. "Capacity management can ensure IT and business performance are tied together. IT's actions are integrated with those of the business, helping the business achieve its goals."