New virtual servers have emerged and are expected to develop rapidly, requiring less than 5 to 10 years compared to other technology fields. Global research firm IDC predicts that this market will reach a revenue of $15 billion by 2009.
IDC estimates that currently, more than three-quarters of companies with over 500 employees are equipped with virtual servers, and an additional 45% are expected to adopt virtualization next year. This process is primarily taking place within S390, OS400, and Unix systems but is also robustly occurring on Windows and Linux servers.
The research firm indicates that this technology will quickly bring about significant changes as customers begin to implement virtualization. The trend towards segmenting x86 systems, utilizing virtualization software specifically developed for volume servers—systems capable of handling large workloads, minimizing costs, and efficiently leveraging available IT resources—is gaining momentum.
“Important and high-risk projects that were once typically handled on mid-range or high-end servers are now being processed using more cost-effective options,” said Matt Eastwood, Vice President of IDC. “Technology experts are applying virtualization processes across all segments of the server market, but it will thrive the most in volume servers. This new approach offers higher operational efficiency, including dual-core, multi-core processing, and 64-bit computing for Windows and Linux.”
According to IDC, while users are mainly awaiting superior management capabilities in truly mature virtualization platforms, existing products clearly demonstrate the growth of this technology. The ability to run multiple applications on each server, and the capability to create a “box-in-a-box” structure, are driving the adoption of server virtualization among enterprises and will continue to impact hardware deployment in the future.
IBM has always been regarded as the leader in server virtualization. However, major providers like HP and Dell are also establishing their positions and capturing significant market shares in this domain.
