Companies get just beyond a fifth of the way through a virtualization install before things suddenly slow radically. Fearful of in any way damaging their tier-1 applications, project managers slow the process to a crawl while contemplating the submission of their assets to a system which, on the whole, turns their data essentially invisible.
Of course, dealers offering virtualization products feel that lack of sight is not the problem, but rather, it comes down to an issue of recovery. If anything at all is lost, they are going to want it back pronto, and it had better not take longer than that.
This expectation has led to the creation of one button disaster-recovery applications, whose presence adds a much needed sense of relief to the process. Moving beyond the disaster concept, the following companies are quite capably delivering on virtualization’s promises:
- VMware is to virtualization as Microsoft has long been to operating systems: synonymous, and dominating. Innovation, intelligent partnering, and bomb-proof products are their forte. Enough said.
- Dell partners with other software providers to make sure the absolute best is provided for their customers- and also provides a lot of general virtualization information on their site for those who may not be familiar with its uses or benefits.
- Since Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, they’ve become a force to be considered outside of the enterprise database market, where they’ve got a stronghold. Whether they make a move to acquire VMware is anyone’s guess.
- If it involves computers, it involves Microsoft, and they haven’t left the virtualizations space alone. Their Hyper-V product gets high marks, perhaps because it’s a rare non-Linux based hypervisor.
- Hyper9’s ability to track the reality behind who is using how much computer power directly assists businesses to streamline operations. That’s on every businessperson’s mind, helping to explain Hyper9’s popularity.
- DynamicOps manages what few others do – it looks at physical as well as virtual world issues. Each business unit can now account for their own capacity utilization as never before. Accountability leads to efficiency!
- Embotics helps to limit the much feared sprawl, by automating the classification of groups to create an accessible structure. Operating in much the same way that physical networks do, it allows for the creation of life-cycle policies, rather than simply one-time deals.
- HyTrust utilizes standard protocols to create rules that integrate with the existing management structure. Created to form a single point of management for the entire virtual space, it also allows for near complete control, even providing a view into user access and allowing for the implementation of limits. That’s very handy when every person like to create their own virtualization space, which is essentially hidden from everyone else.
- Borrowing a page from Oracle’s playbook, Red Hat also entered the virtualization space via an acquisition, in this instance, of Qumranet. Its solution is, as you might expect, open source.
- Not to be outdone, Google too brings their virtual offering to the world. Google Apps might ring a bell with most people, and it’s the perfect example of a seamless, easy to use virtualization system located entirely within the cloud.
These nine are all important players and deserve a watchful eye as they either dominate the virtualization space, or are comprised of companies controlled by those who have past experience dominating a niche.
When it comes to successfully transitioning, these companies bring experience along.
