A survey conducted on behalf of Computer Associates has found that, although there are undeniable benefits of virtualization, many organizations are failing to make the most of the technology; mainly because they are not taking a holistic approach to deployment. Heterogeneous virtualized environments are the norm.

According to the study, which questioned 800 organizations around the world, 44 percent of respondents who said they had deployed server virtualization technology were unable to declare their deployment a success. Inability to quantify ROI was a key factor in their reticence to definitively claim positive results.

The study also revealed that 71 percent of organizations that have moved ahead with virtualization have deployed, or plan to deploy, multiple server virtualization technologies—including operating system and hardware virtualization, operating system partitioning, para-virtualization, and/or clustering. In fact, 60 percent of organizations consider clustering a type of server virtualization, adding to the heterogeneity of virtualized environments.

For organizations claiming success with virtualization, the most important factor was being able to measure performance of the virtualized environment. Other key success factors cited in the study include diligent inventorying of server assets and load distribution, and thorough investigation of available technology solutions.

According to the study, organizations are primarily deploying virtualization to improve server/system utilization rates, increase server reliability and uptime, and enhance business continuity.

Highlights of the survey include:

* Server virtualization is now a mainstream technology, having been adopted by at least 39 percent of worldwide organizations with more than 500 employees. It is also a technology that is experiencing tremendous growth. The installed base of organizations that have deployed a server virtualization solution or technology will grow by 20 percent, globally, over the next 18 months.

* The pattern of organizational server virtualization deployment has led to the creation of multiple, heterogeneous server virtualization environments within single organizations. This is the norm shown by the survey, not the exception.
And with heterogeneity comes management issues and constraints. Issues and constraints that are having a negative impact on organizational satisfaction with server virtualization. Issues and constraints such as server sprawl; increased configuration and administration requirements and workloads; difficulty with reporting, visibility and metrics for obtaining one consistent view on server efficiency, performance and utilization; and increased requirements to maintain more than one skill-set.

* 28 percent of the organizations that have deployed server virtualization have either failed to realize a ROI or are unsure whether they have realized ROI, and 40 percent have either failed to realize documented cost savings or are unsure of the cost savings they have achieved. In fact, 44 percent of the organizations that have deployed server virtualization are unable to say whether or not the deployment has been successful - pointing to problems with measurement negatively influencing server virtualization satisfaction levels, e.g. measuring server and network infrastructure performance.

A summary of the report is available at http://www3.ca.com/Files/SupportingPieces/consolidatedreport52607v1.pdf

•Date: 30th March 2007 • Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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