Virtualization technology is used by enterprises to push cloud computing to the ground

The findings suggest that large and small businesses are looking at and revamping IT infrastructure and customer systems, using new approaches to provide flexibility, efficiency and performance, says Frank E. Gillett, the Forrester President and key analyst.

Forrester's "2008 to 2009 emerging large enterprise hardware Trends" and "2008 to 2009 emerging SME hardware Trends" in the two new reports provide the main points of the survey. Key elements of the survey include:

x86 server virtualization applications. 54% of large enterprises have adopted x86 server virtualization or will use x86 server virtualization over the next 12 months. 53% of small and medium-sized enterprises have adopted x86 server virtualization or will be x86 server virtualization within the next 12 months.

Operating system virtualization. 31% of large enterprises have adopted operating system virtualization. About 36% of SMEs have adopted operating system virtualization. Big business respondents said they expected to virtualize 54% of all operating system instances within two years. SME respondents said they expected to virtualize 61% of all operating system instances within two years.

Cloud。 Companies surveyed show an increasing interest in using a paid virtual server. This is one of many types of cloud computing in the marketplace. 5% of large enterprises have adopted virtual servers that are paid for using. Another 3% of large companies are using a Pay-as-you-go virtual server within December. 2% of small and medium-sized Enterprises have adopted a virtual server that is paid for using. Another 2% of SMEs plan to use a Pay-as-you-go virtual Server within 12 months.

Power and cooling. 81% of large enterprises have expressed some interest in increasing the power efficiency of data centers, although only 18% of large companies say they are interested.

Alternative products for traditional PC technology. Companies are suffering from the cost of maintaining the PC. 70% of large enterprises and 74% of small and medium-sized enterprises say they want to use alternative technologies such as desktop virtualization or client virtualization to reduce PC costs.

Information sources and impact on procurement. Although there is a lot of hype about Web 2.0, it buyers really want to know what they think about the people closest to them.

Hardware decision-makers in large and small businesses say their colleagues in other departments are the most valuable source of information when making procurement decisions.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)