Now this is quite interesting because up until now most of the news and information (dare I say Hype?) has been based around the benefits of flexibility and high availability (like VMotion, etc.) but we are now starting to see enough real world examples of Server and Desktop Virtualization that we can have broad benchmarks or rule-of-thumb guidelines that are indicative of the savings that can be gained even at the design stage when details of the intended environment are almost non-existent?
Although it has been around for some time, the Citrix ROI template (available at http://www.acecostanalyzer.com ) is still quite valid, even more so if your environment is still stuck in Client Server mode? Some of these best practice calculations can be applied to a VDI scenario but not all, so it will certainly be of some benefit when we start to see more of these details emerging.
I don't suppose that Citrix, VMware and Microsoft might get together under a Green banner and co-fund a similar ROI tool for VDI in general as part of climate change initiative? Perhaps the Bill Gates foundation should kick this off?
What do you think? Pass it on to Bill for comment?
Butler Group report predicts savings from virtualization as it reduces energy consumption and operating costs.
By Gemma Simpson
Special to CNET News.com
Virtualization could save companies millions of dollars and be the dominant data center technology within the next two to three years, according to analysts.
Virtualization can reduce energy consumption and cut operating costs for companies adopting the technology, according to a Butler Group report released this week on infrastructure virtualization.
The report estimates a company currently operating 250 dual-core servers can save $4 million over the next three years by adopting virtualization technology.
Butler also estimates that a power savings on the order of $157,500 for every 1,000 PCs per year can be achieved by businesses moving from a full desktop PC infrastructure to a server-hosted desktop virtualization setup.
And a further $8,000 per 1,000 help-desk calls per month could also be saved by reducing the number of such calls and encouraging the use of self-service application virtualization technologies, the research reveals.
Many companies initially adopt virtualization to save money through server consolidation, and then start to notice other benefits,
so that virtualization becomes part of the overall IT plan, according to the analyst house.
Roy Illsley, senior research analyst with Butler, said companies need to understand what virtualization can deliver--and how it is delivered--to successfully use the technology to manage an organization's IT resources.
The virtualization revolution seems to be slowly marching on, with analysts and industry experts naming the technology as one of the most versatile tools in IT, and analyst house Gartner stating that virtualization will be a key technology to help companies beef up security on corporate mobile devices.
Senior industry figures have also named virtualization as the technology poised to play the most significant role in tackling the challenges many chief information officers face, such as rising energy costs.
Gemma Simpson of Silicon.com reported from London.