Server Virtualization and the SMB (part 5)
March 9th, 2009 by
philip | 
Conclusion
While server virtualization is not a cure-all, and a properly implemented server virtualization solution may require new hardware, many small and medium size businesses can simplifiy day-to-day operations and increase efficiency by using server virtualization in their infrastructure. In addition, server virtualization makes it easier to manage changes like unexpected server failure and migration to new hardware.
Background Reading
The following articles are good background reading on the subject of server virtualization in the small and medium business.
“Companies with IT teams of one to four people or firms with 60 or fewer employees often don’t have the level of sophistication required to make virtualization pay,” said Chip Nickolett, president of Comprehensive Consulting Solutions that has helped several small businesses take their first steps into the virtual world. “In these environments, the benefit of virtualization would be marginal at best.”These are not hard-and-fast numbers, of course. Tiny firms in financial services, law and other sectors sometimes have both significant IT requirements, the budget and the staff required to make virtualization pay big dividends.
The use of virtualization technology is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, especially among the SMBs. Virtualization vendors, who have primarily been targeting the larger businesses thus far, have now started paying more attention to SMBs. Similarly, SMB channel partners are also developing the required skills to offer virtualization-related services. Thus, many SMBs will start using some form of virtualization in the near future and the use of its technology will be fairly common in the next three or four years.
When it comes to disaster recovery with virtualization, you get what you pay for. If your IT budget is too tight to accommodate the most expensive VMware or Citrix packages, don’t expect continuous availability during a disaster.Using virtualization for disaster recovery makes perfect sense. Virtual machines (VMs) can be packaged with your operating system, applications and configurations and sent off to a secondary location and take over immediately during a disaster at the primary data center site.
