Virtualisation ahead of predictions, but failing to reach potential

Its study, conducted with 501 CIOs and IT directors in large companies across the industrial and commercial sectors, shows that on average throghout Europe 48% have already invested in virtualisation across they types, while 70% are planning projects now. The figures for the UK are 56% and 21% respectively. Alfred Steinecker, director of Enterprise Server and Storage Software at HP, agrees: “That’s a high number and we didn’t expect it.” However, he adds that follow-up conversations with users and potential users indicate that most expect 50% virtualisation as a reasonable goal – well down on the hype paraded over the last few months. Interestingly, P’s research also shows that more than 80% of CIOs see virtualisation very much as a strategic investment, not just a technology fix, citing its links into ROI around the 20 months mark and the likelihood of competitive advantage through improved ability to respond to market opportunities as justifications for the distinction. However, looking at short-term business drivers, HP’s survey suggests that generally across Europe, number one is reduced server operating costs, followed by increased availability of the infrastructure – although, bizarrely, UK respondents don’t seem to see that. That said, UK users did agree that reduced costs of provisioning servers and storage through virtualisation is a useful driver. Anecdotal evidence beyond the survey also points to improved quality of service and faster delivery of applications to users in a hosted environment as other benefits. “there isn’t a consistent picture here across Europe,” comments Steinecker. As for the challenges, the survey indicates the top three as: planning, including capacity planning, staff training and also administration of the multiplicity of physical and virtualised servers and storage. “Many customers have different tools for managing their infrastructure, including open source tools. They tell us they need one management view of the data centre, so that it becomes easier to manage and control physical and virtual resources,” comments Steinecker. As for virtualisation preferences, HP’s survey shows that most CIOs have been focusing on running virtual machines, with the UK ahead of the rest at 76% adoption – although Steinecker insists that virtualised storage is also becoming “more and more interesting”. His view: the combination of server, storage and I/O virtualisation would give CIOs much more flexibility. “Particularly, a predefined and confirmed virtual I/O resources pool for SAN [storage area network] addresses and LAN addresses would save significant time. Also, virtualisation the client space is very important for the future, because it will improve manageability and security of thin clients.” Steinecker believes that manufacturers should be reconsidering virtualisation projects. “They shouldn’t be looking only at servers, but considering, for example, network and storage architectures to get the full benefits of virtualisation. Customers need to take a more holistic approach to virtualisation, away from thinking only about the data centre, to considering how to support their complex environments better and keep the business running better and more flexibly.” HP’s new Insight Dynamics management tool, will, he says, address some of the inhibitors, especially capacity planning and management, since it is designed to administer both physical and virtual resources. “For example, our approach allows customers to move virtual resource very quickly and activate logical servers, while allowing them to find the best combination, based on smart solver technology – using parameters like bandwidth , power consumption, memory bandwidth and looks at the physical blades.”