For IT pros, staying on top of virtualization trends is a great idea.

But why?

Virtualization is the future of data storage and cloud computing.

As the need for flexibility continues to increase and the world becomes more globalized and connected, virtualization becomes not only important but obligatory for organizations.

What's more?

The global virtualization software market is forecasted to grow to $163.13 billion by 2027:

 

Image via Research and Markets

Besides, the current and future adoption plans of various types of virtual technology by businesses are enough to convince any IT pro that they need to stay abreast of virtualization trends:

 

Image via Spiceworks

So, what are the virtualization trends to be aware of going forward?

In this article, we'll cover the top 5 virtualization trends IT teams and organizations should keep an eye on.

But before that:

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the technology used to create virtual representations of computer hardware, networks, servers, and other physical technology equipment.

For instance, virtualization enables IT teams to divide a single computer into multiple computers that can connect with others on a network as virtual machines.

Here is a depiction of the general virtual machine architecture:

 

Image via Kong

Virtualization offers many benefits to organizations such as:

• Efficient use of hardware resources
• Lower hardware costs
• Portability
• Improved data security
• Enhanced IT efficiency
• Enhanced availability and resiliency.

5 Virtualization Trends IT Teams Should be Aware Of

Here are the top virtualization trends IT teams and organizations should watch out for today and in the future:

1. Cloud Migration Will Speed Up

Cloud migration is one of the biggest virtualization trends currently as organizations are looking to achieve real-time and up-to-date performance and efficiency.

Case in point SaaS platforms like help desk ticketing tools are hosted on the cloud which provides a good user experience.

The main idea of virtualization is to move data and applications from on-premises to the cloud. This has driven other forms of virtualization like data virtualization.

According to Attrock, ZoomInfo, and its competitors provide accurate contact information using cloud technology and business intelligence tool migration.

What's the driving force behind cloud migration?

By moving their on-premises data and data processing to the cloud, organizations realize numerous benefits.

Here are just a few of them:

• Simplified and enhanced IT.
• Increased agility and flexibility.
• Reduced costs in resources and IT.
• Better management of increased customer expectations and needs.
• Enhanced performance.

2. Greater Focus on Security Rather Than Performance

For a long time, virtualization has been focused on enhancing performance. However, this is changing and IT teams are focusing on security over performance when adopting server virtualization.

The reason?

Cyber-attacks are increasing.

According to a CheckPoint Research report, global cyberattacks increased by 35% in 2022, compared to the previous year:

 

Image via CheckPoint

And with a large number of companies employing remote workers, this problem only aggravates further. That's because remote workers may access your files from unsecured networks, giving hackers the perfect opportunity to get access to your data.

Thus, one of the greatest virtualization trends is focusing on security rather than performance by implementing protocols like zero trust.

3. Network Virtualization

The migration of on-premises data and applications by organizations to the cloud has brought about another wave of server virtualization.

Today, many IT decision-makers and e-commerce business owners are taking their daily operations and applications from physical on-premise servers to virtual ones.

This is thanks to the cost-effectiveness, scalability, flexibility, and easy management capabilities virtual servers offer.

Network virtualization helps organizations develop responsive and flexible networks with cloud-ready security features

4. Data and Desktop Virtualization

Data is the foundation of enterprise development and facilitates business growth.

In fact, real-time data can help organizations make informed business decisions and drive value to customers faster, whether you outsource sales or have an in-house team of sales representatives who help your business growth.

Data also helps organizations understand and improve their processes to reduce wasted money and time.

However, this data is hugely dispersed. It's in the cloud, social media, as well as websites, and other places.

What's more?

Many organizations are yet to figure out how to leverage data more efficiently and concisely.

To reduce data silos and enhance access to all enterprise information, organizations are adopting an advanced data integration technique - data virtualization.

Essentially, data virtualization involves integrating data from multiple sources into a holistic, logical view virtually.

This involves accessing, retrieving, and analyzing data from original sources virtually.

Here is an image of the data virtualization architecture:

 

Image via AltexSoft

Desktop virtualization enables IT decision-makers to manage digital assets resourcefully and economically, protect confidential data, and easily enact regulation policy per user.

Network, data, and desktop all work to support server virtualization in helping an organization achieve the goals of cloud-native infrastructure.

Besides, desktop virtualization offers many benefits, such as:

• Enhanced security
• Desktop virtualization software streamlines remote work
• Improves resource management
• Enables cost-efficient operations
• Enables centralized management
• Increases employee productivity

5. Management is Getting Complex

Running virtual machines comes with a lot of complex management issues.

Of course, virtualization offers organizations more extensive data centers. But with extensive data centers come new and complex configurations.

Furthermore, managing all the moving parts of a virtual data center calls for new skills that could be missing in most IT staff who have been managing on-premises data centers.

Besides, managing large virtual data centers manually is almost impossible. In most cases, they require automation. This means that IT teams need to learn how to configure virtual data centers.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the virtualization trends IT decision-makers and organizations should be aware of in 2023 and beyond.

With the majority of organizations clearly moving toward virtualization, it's necessary for you to make the move too. And with these trends, you'll know exactly what needs to be done to get up to speed. So, go ahead and take the virtualization plunge to stand out in the competitive IT world.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Gaurav Sharma is the founder and CEO of Attrock, a results-driven digital marketing company. Grew an agency from 5-figure to 7-figure revenue in just two years | 10X leads | 2.8X conversions | 300K organic monthly traffic. He also contributes to top publications like HuffPost, Adweek, Business 2 Community, TechCrunch, and more.