Virtualisation 'reduces hardware costs and power consumption'

The number of server systems shipped with a virtualisation platform on top reached 358,000 units in Western Europe last year, a 26.5 per cent increase from 2007, new research has revealed.

Such virtualisation technology is significantly impacting the server market, the report from IDC noted.

Virtualisation is "quick and straightforward", Giorgio Nebuloni, research analyst with IDC European Systems and Infrastructure Solutions, stated.

These include saving physical space, reducing hardware costs, reducing power consumption and cooling needs and the ability to efficiently deploy a new system without the requirement for additional hardware.

"In 2008, approximately 18.3 per cent of all servers shipped in Western Europe were virtualised, against 14.6 per cent in 2007, and we expect the percentage to grow to almost 21 per cent in 2010," he said.

The current economic climate is also contributing to the adoption of virtualisation because of the reduction in IT expenditure that such virtual private servers provide, programme director at IDC's European Enterprise Servers Nathaniel Martinez said.

Written by Dipika Patel