Virtualisation for efficiency in 2009

This year the focus is on efficiency in the IT sector, as businesses examine their balance sheets and look for areas of sunshine in streamlining. According to new research by communications provider Colt, one significant priority for improving efficiency is virtualisation.

Colt surveyed businesses within the financial services sector, including stock exchanges and investment banks, and found that 83% of respondents said that using server virtualisation software in the datacentre was at the top of their list. The ability to run multiple servers on one piece of hardware can save businesses millions; investment management company Standard Life has saved £1 million per annum by using server virtualisation software, as well as reducing energy costs by £300,000 per year.

Despite the cited advantages, more research from Earl Perkins has found that few organizations are using their investments in access, governance, risk, compliance and identity to competitive advantage. Whilst the financial sector is leading in these areas, they still have improvements to make in efficiency, which Gartner predicts that they will begin to do from 2012.

One of the barriers to efficiency, Gartner also claims, is because organisations are failing to govern properly their projects when it comes to identity and access management technologies.

The arguments for virtualisation become stronger when taken in the context of these pieces of research. Virtualisation streamlines operations and reduces time filing and accessing data, cutting down unnecessary expenditure. A business investing in virtualization will therefore consolidate technology across multiple offices, allowing it to compete effectively with its rivals. Virtualisation also introduces best practices across an organization, meaning that all employees have a better understanding of compliance. So, it is clear that businesses missing the virtualization boat will be at a disadvantage in the long run.

Virtualisation can even be managed remotely, which is why Inatech offers its iDBA iBIZ services to businesses looking to excel. These two products allow clients to access all of the advantages of virtualization, and, due to their modular nature, allow further savings as clients only pay for services they need rather than being tied into long-term contracts that outlive their usefulness.