Verizon Business Helps Customers Unlock The Power Of Virtualization

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- With virtualization in high demand by enterprises looking to boost efficiency and flexibility while controlling costs, Verizon 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.

According to analysts at IDC, virtualization is one of the most sought-after IT technologies today, with services aimed at delivering virtualization projected to grow to nearly $16 billion by 2013, up from $8.7 billion in 2008.(1)

For enterprises embarking on a virtualization project, Verizon 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: A business should first
     complete a thorough assessment of its current IT environment and
     computing resources, including a full review of all servers.  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.  A common scenario is an environment with consolidated
     storage and a high number of mobile BlackBerry users, requiring large
     memory and storage needs.   Therefore, assessment, management and
     proper allocation of applications per virtual machine are key.