Virtualisation

The adoption of server-based virtualisation is gaining pace as organisations face up to a new decade with ever tighter budgets. However, many of the potential benefits of desktop virtualisation are as yet untapped. The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) presents the opportunity to fundamentally transform the cost model of desktop computing ... read more..

Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) to set the standardTop technology leaders have come together to develop a Code of Conduct to help provide understanding and manage users expectations of cloud suppliers.A newly formed self-regulatory body called the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), a sub-group of FAST and Investors in Software (FAST IiS), ... read more..

Nikolaos Makris of 2X Software considers the growth of thin client computing (and the environmental implications), and where it is heading in the futureIts official the days of the local desktop OS are numbered! By 2014, Gartner predicts that there will be more than 66 million virtualised desktops globally. ... read more..

Building trust between IT and FinanceIn most organisations the economic decision maker for large scale IT purchases is the Finance Director/CFO or Board of Directors of which they are part. However, despite this, there is a lack of understanding between IT and the finance function (www.pwc.co.uk/pdf/best_of_enemies.pdf). The National Computing Centre ... read more..

tomorrow's technology todayGary Cornell and his views from across the pondI was recently talking to a friend who runs a small company. He told me he was thinking of ditching their use of Gmail for their corporate email because of the recent Gmail outages and return to them doing it ... read more..

The data centre continues to evolve with the need for storage capacity growing so quickly that many organisations struggle to keep up. Even before the global economy took a nosedive, organisations were starting to look for the best way to re-utilise their pre-existing storage capabilities. But now, with the increasing ... read more..

Hundreds, even thousands, of applications serve as the lifeblood of each of today's distributed global enterprises - at use in more places and in more ways than ever before. To deal with the growing complexity and cost of application deployment, maintenance and performance, organisations are looking for solutions to streamline, ... read more..

The purpose of this white paper is to give an overview of Microsoft licensing models for the server operating system and server applications under virtual environments. It can help you understand how to use Microsoft server products with virtualization technologies, such as Microsoft Hyper-VT technology, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, ... read more..

Virtualization technologies make it much easier and less expensive to keep key applications available through failures, outages and even regional disasters. By carefully balancing downtime costs and availability options, organizations can extend the benefits of high availability (HA) to even more applications, locations and users. The three levels of high ... read more..

Desktop virtualization should do more than just move desktop management to the datacenter its real goal is to put productive applications in the hands of end users. Citrix Desktop Delivery dynamically assembles high-performance desktops complete with personalized applications and settings for every logon of every user, from a compact, efficient, ... read more..

This issue covers two important IT trends which have garnered significant attention recently, namely virtualization and cloud computing. IT trends - Cost reduction through virtualization and cloud computing ... read more..

Interest in desktop virtualisation has seen a steady increase over the past 12 months; according to reports there are now over 500 million business desktops worldwide, and not only that but that desktop virtualisation now accounts for approximately 0.5-1% of the market. This growth was further demonstrated by VMware at ... read more..

Virtualisation offers fantastic opportunities to cut costs and create a far more flexible data centre. But in the head long rush to adopt this new model, organisations cannot ignore IT best practice; virtual technology needs to work effectively with physical systems to deliver seamless business services. Without real time monitoring and ... read more..

How are Cloud Computing, virtualisation and SaaS shaping the future of the desktop? Gone are the days where everything IT-related was confined to the 'computer room'. Over the last three decades, the boundaries of IT's reach have been removed with the advent of LANs, WANs and the Internet. The pervasive access ... read more..

When examining the IT technologies with the most potential, one stands out above all others: virtualisation. Put simply, virtualisation allows users to create a very large IT infrastructure for little additional cost in a very short time. Whereas in a 'traditional' IT setup one machine would ... read more..

Richard Park takes a look at both sides of the virtualisation coin . . . Virtualisation is a concept that has become highly visible in the last few years because of its perceived benefits in reducing costs, enabling rapid deployment, and improving system availability. According to a survey conducted by Symantec ... read more..

On August 12 1981, IBM executives held a press conference in New York to introduce a momentous new computer - the IBM Personal Computer running a Microsoft operating system. At that time we didn't realise that the desktop had been born, at least in technology terms anyway. There followed years of ... read more..

Virtualisation and consolidation are ideal technologies to deploy into the enterprise as the focus on cost reduction grows. Certain fundamental principles remain true in this constantly evolving space. 1. Start Small Build incrementally, start by looking at consolidating your test and development servers, then you'll be able to scale up to your ... read more..