Gartner Says 16 Percent of Workloads are Running in Virtual Machines Today

Analysts Examine the Growth in Server Virtualization during Gartner
Symposium/ITxpo, October 18-22, in Orlando
ORLANDO, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
Although server virtualization is not currently as widespread as many presume,
the market is growing rapidly, according to Gartner, Inc. Only 16 percent of
workloads are running in virtual machines today, but Gartner predicts that this
will rise to around 50 percent of x86 architecture server workloads by the end
of 2012, representing approximately 58 million deployed machines.

Gartner provided the latest outlook for the server virtualization market during
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, which is taking place here through October 22. Gartner
said server virtualization technology enables multiple operating system (OS)
instances to be deployed, operated and managed concurrently on a single physical
server.

Gartner said that the fastest growing market for virtual machines is the small
business sector.

"While large enterprises were quick to leverage virtual machines to reduce
server sprawl and power costs, as well as conserve data center space, small
business started late on virtualization," said Tom Bittman, vice president and
distinguished analyst at Gartner. "However, by year-end 2010, enterprises with
100-999 employees will have a higher penetration of virtual machines deployed
than the Global 500. For years the entry point was simply too high for small
enterprises, but increased competition by server vendors has enable smaller
firms to embrace virtualization."

Gartner advocates a `start small, think big` approach to virtualized server
deployments that begins with a specific project but builds towards a wider
strategic plan that includes management and process changes.

"Starting small both reduces risk and provides for a learning curve while
building the foundations for sustainable reductions in total cost of ownership
(TCO) and improvements in service quality," Mr. Bittman said. "The other aspect,
`thinking big`, means it`s important to proactively plan ahead for the major
process and management changes virtualization brings - not to mention how
virtualization is a path to cloud computing."

Looking into the future at how server virtualization will evolve, Mr. Bittman
said it was important to understand that virtualization is not cloud computing,
but it enables and forces the same changes required to effectively leverage
cloud computing and as such, virtualization leads inexorably to cloud computing.

"What many organizations fail to recognize about virtualization is that the most
important changes aren`t technological, they are cultural," said Mr. Bittman.
"Virtualization forces users to let go of the physical implementations of their
services, and deal with their provider in terms of service levels and results.
When a provider becomes a cloud-computing provider, users need to do a more
complete job of describing their requirements in service terms."

About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the industry's largest and most important annual
gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and
objective content with the authority and weight of the world's leading IT
research and advisory organization, and provides access to the latest solutions
from key technology providers. Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key
components of attendees' annual planning efforts. They rely on Gartner
Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to
address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.

Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:

October 18-22, Orlando, Florida: www.gartner.com/us/symposium

November 2-5, Cannes, France: www.gartner.com/eu/symposium

November 11-13, Tokyo, Japan: www.gartner.com/jp/symposium

November 17-19, Sydney Australia: www.gartner.com/au/symposium

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research
and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary
for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT
leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in
high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology
investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000
distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner
Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with
every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the
context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in
Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200
research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit
www.gartner.com.

Gartner
Christy Pettey, 408-468-8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009