Research Report Abstract: The Evolution of Server Virtualization By Mark Bowker and Jon Oltsik With Bill Lundell, John McKnight, and Jenn Gahm November 2010 2010 Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction Research Objectives ESG Research: The Evolution of Server Virtualization While a significant volume of market research has been published on the general use and benefits of server virtualization, much less information is available about the specific effects of this technology on various supporting infrastructure components such as servers, storage, and networking or its impact on information security, business applications, and general IT processes. As a result, it is has often been difficult for IT users and vendors to fully anticipate its impact on these ancillary technologies, including the ongoing challenges and requirements that result from server virtualization implementations. In order to assess the current state of the server virtualization market, ESG recently surveyed 463 North Americabased senior IT professionals representing large midmarket (500 to 999 employees) and enterprise-class (1,000 employees or more) organizations. All respondents were personally responsible for managing or overseeing IT products, services, and strategies and their organizations had to be current users of server virtualization technology. Additionally, respondents were required to have in-depth knowledge of at least one virtualization adjacent technology area including server, storage, and networking infrastructure; information security; or business applications in the context of server virtualization technology. Specifically, ESG s survey asked: What is the current state of server virtualization deployments? For example, what percentage of servers has actually been virtualized to date? How many different applications are being run in virtual environments? Are most virtual machines run in production or test/development environments? How do users expect these metrics to change over the next 24 months? What specific applications and workloads have been virtualized to date? Are users satisfied with their progress with respect to deploying tier-1 applications on virtual servers? How satisfied are organizations with their server virtualization initiatives? What benefits have organization realized as a result of deploying server virtualization technology? What metrics do organizations use to gauge their success with server virtualization? What challenges do organizations still face when it comes to server virtualization? How has virtualization changed organizations IT infrastructure processes? How is virtualization technology impacting organizations infrastructure management processes and tools? What are the critical factors that respondents believe are preventing their organization from using virtualization technology more pervasively? What developments need to take place in order to enable more widespread server virtualization usage? How do the answers to these questions vary by IT functional group i.e., what are the key challenges and virtualization enablers in terms of server, storage, networking, security, and application perspectives? Are certain organizations further along in their server virtualization sophistication and success and, if so, why? What are the characteristics and best practices that separate these organizations from the rest of the market? What steps can organizations take to move further along the virtualization maturity curve? For more details, please see the Research Methodology and Respondent Demographics sections of this report.
Research Methodology To gather data for this report, ESG conducted a comprehensive online survey of IT professionals from private- and public-sector organizations in North America (United States and Canada) between July 14, 2010 and July 29, 2010. To qualify for this survey, respondents were required to have day-to-day knowledge of their organization s server virtualization environment and strategy including topics such as total number of virtual machines, applications running on virtual machines, hypervisor(s) deployed, and supporting infrastructure considerations. All respondents were provided an incentive to complete the survey in the form of cash awards and/or cash equivalents. After filtering out unqualified respondents, removing duplicate responses, and screening the remaining completed responses (on a number of criteria) for data integrity, ESG was left with a final total sample of 463 IT professionals. Please see the Respondent Demographics section of this report for more information on these respondents. Note: Totals in figures and tables throughout this report may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Respondent Demographics The quantitative information presented in this report is based on 463 qualified respondents. More details on these respondents and their organizations are below. Respondents by Number of Employees A view of survey respondents by their organization s total worldwide employees is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Survey Respondents, by Number of Employees How many total employees does your organization have worldwide? (Percent of respondents, N=463) 20,000 or more, 26% 500 to 999, 12% 1,000 to 2,499, 18% 10,000 to 19,999, 12% 5,000 to 9,999, 17% 2,500 to 4,999, 15% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2010. Respondents by Annual Revenue The annual revenue of respondents organizations is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue What is your organization s total annual revenue ($US)? (Percent of respondents, N=463) $20 billion or more, 16% Not applicable (e.g., public sector, nonprofit), 3% Less than $100 million, 7% $100 million to $499 million, 14% $10 billion to $19.999 billion, 9% $5 billion to $9.999 billion, 11% $1 billion to $4.999 billion, 22% $500 million to $999 million, 17% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2010.
Respondents by Industry ESG Research: The Evolution of Server Virtualization Respondents were asked to identify their organization s primary industry. In total, ESG received completed, qualified responses from individuals in 19 distinct vertical industries, plus an Other category. Respondents were then grouped into the broader categories shown in Figure 3. Figure 3. Survey Respondents, by Industry What is your organization s primary industry? (Percent of respondents, N=463) Retail/Wholesale, 6% Government (Federal, National, State, Province, Local), 6% Other, 16% Manufacturing, 25% Health Care, 7% Communications & Media, 8% Business Services (accounting, consulting, legal, etc.), 9% Financial (banking, securities, insurance), 24% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2010. Respondents by Total Number of Physical Servers The number of total physical servers (whether production or test/development) in respondents organizations is shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Survey Respondents, by Total Number of Physical Servers Approximately how many total physical servers are supported by your IT organization? (Percent of respondents, N=463) More than 5,000, 10% 2,501 to 5,000, 6% Less than 25, 4% 25 to 49, 9% 1,001 to 2,500, 9% 50 to 100, 18% 501 to 1,000, 13% 101 to 250, 15% 251 to 500, 15% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2010.
Contents List of Figures... 3 List of Tables... 4 Executive Summary... 5 Report Conclusions... 6 Introduction... 8 Research Objectives... 8 ESG Server Virtualization Maturity Model... 9 Research Findings... 12 Current Server Virtualization Usage Trends... 12 Where Do Server Virtualization Users Go Next?... 18 Barriers to Increased Virtualization Usage... 24 Viewing Server Virtualization through a Technology Segment-Specific Lens... 26 Research Implications... 33 Implications for End-Users... 33 Implications for Technology Vendors... 34 Appendix A... 37 Current Server Virtualization Environments... 37 Appendix B... 40 The Relationship between Server Virtualization and Supporting IT Infrastructure... 40 Research Methodology... 55 Respondent Demographics... 56 Respondents by Number of Employees... 56 Respondents by Annual Revenue... 56 Respondents by Industry... 57 Respondents by Total Number of Physical Servers... 57
List of Figures Figure 1. The Four Dimensions of ESG s Server Virtualization Maturity Model... 9 Figure 2. ESG Server Virtualization Maturity Model Segmentation... 10 Figure 3. Percent of Survey Respondents in Each Virtualization Maturity Model Segment... 10 Figure 4. Current Server Virtualization Technology Usage... 12 Figure 5. Percentage of x86 Servers That Have Been Virtualized... 13 Figure 6. Percentage of Virtual Machines Running in a Production Environment... 14 Figure 7. Total Number of Virtual Machines Deployed... 15 Figure 8. Number of Virtualized Applications/Workloads... 16 Figure 9. Number of Virtualized Applications/Workloads, by Length of Server Virtualization Deployment... 16 Figure 10. Average Number of Virtual Machines per x86 Server... 17 Figure 11. Average Number of Virtual Machines per x86 Server, by Length of Server Virtualization Deployment. 17 Figure 12. Satisfaction Level with Server Virtualization Initiatives... 18 Figure 13. Satisfaction Level with Server Virtualization Initiatives, by Length of Server Virtualization Deployment... 18 Figure 14. How Organizations are Using Server Virtualization... 19 Figure 15. How Organizations are Using Server Virtualization, by Length of Server Virtualization Deployment... 20 Figure 16. Extent of Application/IT Service Deployment on Production Virtual Machines... 21 Figure 17. Extent of Application/IT Service Deployment on Production Virtual Machines, by Virtualization Maturity... 22 Figure 18. Satisfaction with Virtualized Tier-1 Applications, by Virtualization Maturity... 23 Figure 19. Online Virtual Machine Migrations... 23 Figure 20. Factors Preventing Organizations From Using Online Virtual Machine Migration Capabilities... 24 Figure 21. Factors Preventing Organizations From Using Server Virtualization More Pervasively... 25 Figure 22. The Impact of Virtualization Technology on Management Processes and Tools... 32 Figure 23. Benefits of Server Virtualization, by Virtualization Maturity... 36 Figure 24. Length of Time Server Virtualization Has Been Deployed... 37 Figure 25. Percentage of x86 Servers Virtualized, by Length of Time Server Virtualization Has Been Deployed... 37 Figure 26. Percentage of Production Virtual Machines, by Length of Server Virtualization Deployment... 38 Figure 27. Percentage of Production Virtual Machines, by Total Number of Virtual Machines... 38 Figure 28. Server Infrastructure Challenges Related to Server Virtualization Usage... 40 Figure 29. Storage Infrastructure Challenges Related to Server Virtualization Usage... 41 Figure 30. Information Security Challenges Related to Server Virtualization Usage... 42 Figure 31. Networking Infrastructure Challenges Related to Server Virtualization Usage... 43 Figure 32. Business Applications Challenges Related to Server Virtualization Usage... 44 Figure 33. Server Virtualization s Impact on Server Infrastructure and/or Processes... 45 Figure 34. Server Virtualization s Impact on Storage Infrastructure and/or Processes... 46 Figure 35. Server Virtualization s Impact on Information Security Infrastructure and/or Processes... 47 Figure 36. Server Virtualization s Impact on Networking Infrastructure and/or Processes... 48 Figure 37. Server Virtualization s Impact on Business Application Environments... 49 Figure 38. Server Infrastructure Developments Required for More Widespread Server Virtualization Usage... 50 Figure 39. Storage Infrastructure Developments Required for More Widespread Server Virtualization Usage... 51 Figure 40. Information Security Developments Required for More Widespread Server Virtualization Usage... 52 Figure 41. Networking Infrastructure Developments Required for More Widespread Server Virtualization Usage53 Figure 42. Business Applications Developments Required for More Widespread Server Virtualization Usage... 54 Figure 43. Survey Respondents, by Number of Employees... 56 Figure 44. Survey Respondents, by Annual Revenue... 56 Figure 45. Survey Respondents, by Industry... 57 Figure 46. Survey Respondents, by Total Number of Physical Servers... 57
List of Tables Table 1. Number of Virtual Machines, by Number of Employees and Number of Physical Servers... 15 Table 2. Top Five Server Virtualization Challenges per Technology Segment... 27 Table 3. Top Five Effects of Server Virtualization on Each Technology Segment... 29 Table 4. Top Five Developments per Technology Segment Necessary to Enable More Widespread Server Virtualization Usage... 31 Table 5. Number of Applications/Workloads Virtualized to Date, by Number of Employees and Number of Virtual Machines... 39 Table 6. Average Number of Virtual Machines per Physical x86 Server, by Number of Employees and Number of Physical Servers... 39 All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change from time to time. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of the Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc., is in violation of U.S. Copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and, if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at (508) 482.0188.
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