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Five Challenges at Virtualization Data Storage
(Guest post from Dawn Altnam Follow her on Twitter! @DawnAltnam )
Some analysts would argue that virtualization is either having or getting ready to have its big moment in the data storage world. Companies in large numbers are starting to see the clear advantages of implementing sophisticated and basic virtualization technology into their data storage solutions.
Even with all the tools that virtualization provides – IT simplification, boosted computing power, and increased server management efficiency – there are some key challenges that will keep virtualization from advancing into the next phase of technological advancement. In this post, we’ll uncover five of the biggest challenges facing virtualization for businesses in the years ahead.
The Top Five Challenges Facing Data Virtualization
1. Meeting the Demand for Virtualization Technology –
The hard reality of virtualized server management is that the environment itself is highly dynamic. This is a complicated technology, which will require an advanced IT team to be able to understand and manage the virtualization system. Since technology is always evolving, individuals maintaining the systems must stay informed on developments and breakthroughs in the industry.
2. The Hard Reality of Server Management –
According to a recent white paper published by Morgan Stanley, contrary to popular belief, virtual server management isn’t any more timesaving than a physical server. In most cases, a company is dealing with several virtual servers at once, which can put a heavy burden on the IT staff.
3. Infrastructure Issues –
There are several selling points that make a virtual server environment attractive. Developing a virtual server is fairly easy, and deploying applications within this environment is even easier. The problem is that most organizations don’t have the proper infrastructure in place to keep up with the demands of the constantly evolving virtualized environment that runs their servers.
4. Economics –
It’s hard to argue with the fact that virtualization has significantly lowered IT costs associated with server management in recent years. The problem is that as much money as virtualization saves companies, there’s the reality that hypervisor and virtualization costs take up a large chunk of the IT budget on the data center level.
5. Virtualization Procrastination –
Finally, there are many companies that continue to drag their feet when it comes to virtualization adoption. A large chunk of these virtualization procrastinators are perpetually stuck in the test and development stage, and they never really make that next step to implement.
These companies are often afraid to make the switch because they feel that virtualization hasn’t “arrived” on the security and stability front. What they don’t realize is that virtualization adoption is more sophisticated and stable than ever.
While these are significant hurdles for many companies to get over, these are not debilitating for the virtualization industry as a whole. Companies can upgrade their infrastructure in a way that scales to meet the demand of their dynamic virtualized server solutions.
They can also overcome economic barriers by rearranging their IT budget in a way that balances out costs. More importantly, they can leap right out of the test and dev phase, and fully adopt virtualization as their server management solution of choice.
About the author: Dawn Altnam lives and works in the Midwest, and she enjoys following the business tech world. After furthering her education, she has spent some time researching her interests and blogging her discoveries often. Follow her on Twitter! @DawnAltnam
