Virtualisation Will Help Derive Max Benefit From Existing Infrastructure

In an in-depth interview with Biztech2.0, Naveen Mishra, senior analyst – server market, Gartner, gives his perspective on the trend of server virtualisation.

Could you highlight some emerging technologies and trends in the server market?

There are numerous technologies emerging in the server space. Blade server is one such technology that’s penetrating the market at a commendable speed, especially in the data centre environment. On the software side, we see virtualisation software creating headway in the market. Virtualisation will help organisations make the most of their existing hardware and infrastructure investments, so it is going to be big in the months to come. Beyond this, green IT is steadily gaining traction.

What is your take on server virtualisation?

Server virtualisation is a buzzword these days in the industry. From an end-user perspective, server virtualisation is going to cut across the technology spectrum, spanning everything from hardware to network to telecom. Server virtualisation allows end-users to de-couple their infrastructure, optimise it and have a better view of it, while enhancing its efficiency. All this in turn leads to reduced costs, increased productivity and better management of infrastructure.

Which segments in India do you think are aggressively adopting virtualisation?

Big telecom companies and financial, retail and entertainment companies have been aggressive adopters of virtualisation in India. As the technology becomes more popular, I predict that more traditional companies such as manufacturing and service firms would also start implementing virtualisation.

What are the benefits of server virtualisation?

The main benefits of virtualisation include reduction in hardware and manpower costs, and better access to IT infrastructure. With server virtualisation, an organisation can keep its infrastructure planning flexible, based on the kind of need, the workload, the peak-time and low-time a company has etc.

What are the findings of the latest research by Gartner on server virtualisation?

We’ve been doing a lot of research and talking to end-users, customers and channel partners to find out their perspective on virtualisation in India. During one of our surveys, we found that only about 45 percent of channel partners were engaged in selling some kind of virtualisation software. When we further investigated these partners, we discovered that less than 10 percent of servers were actually virtualised. So there is some traction, but it is yet in the infancy stage. The adoption rate would probably be a single digit when compared to the overall server sales achieved.

What are the market expectations?

Market expectations are definitely optimistic for virtualisation as a technology because of the benefits it promises for the end user. We expect that in the next 2-4 years, especially in markets like India, the adoption of virtualisation will reach a new maturity level. The Indian market is gong to be driven by education and vendor participation.

What does 2008 hold for CIOs with respect to server virtualisation?

CIOs need to be cautious about vendors wanting to impose products on them. We’ll see a lot more players coming into this space; and CIOs would therefore need to be extra careful while finalising a vendor contract. They should pick the vendor most appropriate for the organisation’s infrastructure. We’ll also see open source virtualisation coming into the picture during this period (2008-2009).