IDC reports growth in virtual server market

A new report indicates that businesses are increasing their use of virtual private servers and related technology.

IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Virtualisation Tracker shows that 16.5 per cent of all new servers shipped in the second quarter of 2009 were virtualised, an increase from 14.5 per cent in the equivalent three-month period last year.

Paid virtualisation software now runs on 60.8 per cent of all new server hardware shipments virtualised in the second quarter, up from 57.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis, it is claimed.

Matt Eastwood, group vice-president of enterprise platforms at IDC, said the firm had observed a number of signs indicating that stability is beginning to take hold in the global market.

He said: "The worldwide server installed base has aged significantly and virtual machine densities on these systems have increased sharply over the past year."

As a result, the market is poised for the beginning of a significant infrastructure refresh cycle in the months ahead, Mr Eastwood added.

IT expert William M Bulkeley recently told the Wall Street Journal that virtualisation technology plays a "key" role in the use of cloud computing.

Written by Tim Dunton