Virtualisation 'could save companies millions'

Virtualisation could save companies millions of pounds and be the dominant data centre technology within the next two to three years, according to analysts.

Virtualisation can reduce the energy consumption and cut operating costs for companies adopting the technology, according to Butler Group's Infrastructure Virtualisation report.

The report estimates a company currently operating 250 dual-core servers can save £2m over the next three years by adopting virtualisation technology.

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The Butler Group also estimates a power saving of the order of £78,000 for every 1,000 PCs per year can be made by businesses moving from a full desktop PC infrastructure to a server-hosted desktop virtualisation set-up.

And a further £4,000 per 1,000 helpdesk calls per month could also be saved by reducing the number of helpdesk calls and encouraging the use of self service application virtualisation technologies, the research reveals.

Many companies initially adopt virtualisation to save money through server consolidation, and then start to notice other benefits - so virtualisation becomes part of the overall IT plan, according to the analyst house.

Roy Illsley, senior research analyst with Butler Group, said companies need to understand what virtualisation can deliver - and how it is delivered - to successfully use the technology to manage an organisation's IT resources.

The virtualisation revolution seems to be slowly marching on, with analysts and industry experts naming the tech as a one of the most versatile tools in IT and analyst house Gartner stating virtualisation will be a key technology to help companies beef up security on corporate mobile devices.

Senior industry figures have also named virtualisation as the technology poised to play the most significant role in tackling the challenges many CIOs face, such as rising energy costs.