Virtualisation is expected to transform corporate computing and the way in which business is done over the coming four years, claims a special report by Gartner.
Server and PC virtualisation is challenging traditional IT infrastructure and Gartner believes it is becoming increasingly popular, with the number of virtualised PCs expected to grow from less than five million in 2007 to 660 million by 2011.
Although it is not a new concept – storage and networking have already been virtualised – it is becoming a 'hot' IT topic as enterprises embrace its benefits.
Virtualisation allows multiple applications to be consolidated onto a single server, saving capital and energy costs.
Thomas Bittman, vice president at Gartner, commented: "The days of the monolithic, general-purpose operating system will soon be over."
However, as with any new area of technology, unforeseen problems may arise and the next issue facing enterprises will be upgrading the rest of the IT infrastructure technology to work well with server virtualisation, says IT expert Pete Manca.
IDC vice-president, John Humphreys, told Forbes that these technical and economic issues must be dealt with, "but given the industry's focus on virtualisation, these gaps have already started to close".
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