Cost Cutting with Virtualization

With virtualization in high demand by enterprises looking to boost efficiency and flexibility while controlling costs, Web2CIO Business is offering a series of tips for effectively planning and organizing the often-complex of task of implementing virtualization technology.

Virtualization uses technology to remove the physical barriers associated with servers and applications, enabling the consolidation or replacement of servers, storage, network and other physical devices. As a result, companies can better use computing capacity and drive more value from IT resources as well as consolidate data centers and lower energy consumption.

For enterprises embarking on a virtualization project, Web2CIO Business offers these five tips, culled from the company’s years experience handling complex IT installations and expertise in implementing and managing virtual environments :

1. Make sure you’re looking at the big picture:  Once the enterprise has a better understanding of its infrastructure, it is easier to determine which computing resources, such as servers and devices, are candidates for consolidation.
2. Enlist vendor support: After compiling a list of applications that can be virtualized, it is important to confirm there will be very few, if any, issues with vendor support. Some vendors, especially smaller ones, do not support their software on virtualized platforms.
3. Evaluate licensing costs: When assessing applications for migration, evaluate the licensing costs associated with them. While consolidating multiple servers and devices into a single virtual machine will lower hardware and facility costs, this does not necessarily apply to software licensing costs. Many vendors still charge based on total available power and the number of physical applications. If that’s the case, consider working with vendors that embrace more flexible licensing models.
4. Avoid common bottlenecks: Carefully assess the memory and storage requirements for applications moving to the virtual environment. Memory and storage can severely limit how many virtual machines a host can support. Therefore, assessment, management and proper allocation of applications per virtual machine are key.
5. Security, security, security: Security should be a top priority; it should be built in from the ground up to ensure the new environment comes with the right safeguards. Enterprises also should pay close attention to relevant industry regulations.

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