Quantum Corp., a proven global expert in data protection and big data management, today announced findings focused on server virtualization from its 2012 IT Manager Survey. According to the survey, nearly 90 percent of IT decision makers struggle with backing up data in virtualized environments. This represents a 5 percent increase in reported difficulty compared to Quantum survey findings just a year and a half ago.

In addition, the survey revealed that data growth continues to be a challenge for IT managers who have implemented server virtualization. Despite the benefits of virtualization, 41 percent of respondents reported that it resulted in increased data growth, and 24 percent said they were forced to re-engineer existing storage environments for interoperability after adopting virtualization.

Compared to Quantum's 2010 survey, the latest survey results suggest that while fewer IT managers experience higher energy demands (21 percent versus 31 percent in 2010) and data bottlenecks (22 percent versus 30 percent in 2010) as a result of server virtualization, they are paying more in software costs to address these issues (25 percent versus 22 percent in 2010). Finally, one in four IT managers continue to experience backup problems at remote branches as a result of server virtualization.

"The benefits of virtualization are well established, and more businesses are looking to extend these benefits to their environments," said Robert Clark, senior vice president, Data Protection Group, Quantum. "However, this survey shows that while organizations are adopting virtualization as part of their data center, they often run into unforeseen challenges with data protection. We've spent the past year creating solutions that simplify backup in virtual environments so organizations can take full advantage of the benefits of virtualization."

In February 2012, Quantum contracted Toluna to conduct a survey of 500 IT decision makers at businesses with at least 100 employees. To be included in the survey, respondents were pre-screened to ensure they were involved with the data storage function at their organizations. For more details on the results, methodologies, and demographics of the survey, visit: http://www.slideshare.net/QuantumCorp/virtualization-results-quantum-2012-it-manager-survey .