In-Depth
By the Numbers: Server Virtualization's TCO
Yankee Group's survey offers hard evidence of cost and efficiency of virtualization efforts.
The benefits of server virtualization are well known: cost and efficiency. Cost savings can come from a number of different areas but the most salient are the use of fewer physical servers, reduced power consumption and reduced real estate in the data center.
To get a better handle on just how taking the plunge in server virtualization has impacted TCO in deployments to date, market researcher Yankee Group conducted a global survey of IT managers. The survey covered SMB, mid-market and large enterprise segments and involved 800 participants in 20 countries, including CIOs, CTOs, and sys admins.
More than half of the participants indicated they were either unsure
of the TCO benefits or had not calculated them. This isn't surprising in that making that calculation is a bit of an art form and a still-evolving methodology. But among those who indicated that they had taken this step -- a good 47 percent of the total -- the variations in the range of cost savings were significant, but in many cases substantial.
About the Author
Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.