Virtualization has revolutionized the way businesses manage and optimize their IT infrastructure. By creating virtual machines (VMs) and servers, organizations can run multiple operating systems and applications on a single physical server, leading to significant cost savings, improved resource utilization, and enhanced flexibility. This technology enables businesses to quickly scale their operations, streamline management, and ensure high availability and disaster recovery.

In this article, we will explore the different types of virtualization, including server, desktop, and application virtualization, and delve into the top software solutions that are driving these innovations. Whether you are looking to reduce costs, enhance security, or improve operational efficiency, virtualization offers a robust solution to meet your needs.

Virtualization allows both small and large companies to use computer resources efficiently

Virtualization allows both small and large companies to use computer resources efficiently. Virtualization uses software to create a virtual computing environment that essentially divides one hardware system into many to simulate the hardware functions of multiple computers. Each virtual computer works as an independent entity, running its system software as a separate part of the underlying hardware. Virtual systems can duplicate the system software of the “real” hardware entity or run completely different system software.

In this article, you’ll learn about different types of virtualization and the most popular software in each category.

Why is virtualization used by companies and individuals?

Companies and individuals widely adopt virtualization for several compelling reasons:

• Cost savings – virtualization reduces the need for physical hardware, which in turn lowers capital expenditures. By running multiple virtual machines on a single physical server, businesses save on hardware costs, energy consumption, and maintenance. This consolidation means fewer servers are required, leading to significant savings on power and cooling in data centers. Additionally, the reduced need for physical space and the lower environmental impact contribute to long-term cost efficiency. Moreover, virtualization can extend the life of existing hardware by allowing legacy applications to run on newer, virtualized systems without the need for additional physical machines.
• Improved resource utilization – virtualization enables better utilization of existing resources, ensuring that hardware is used to its full potential. Typically, physical servers operate at a fraction of their capacity, resulting in wasted resources and increased operational costs. Virtualization allows multiple virtual machines to share the same physical hardware, dynamically allocating CPU, memory, and storage resources as needed. This leads to higher efficiency and performance. For example, during peak usage times, resources can be allocated to high-demand applications, and during off-peak times, resources can be scaled back. This dynamic allocation ensures that no resources remain idle, thereby maximizing productivity and optimizing the overall IT infrastructure. Additionally, virtualization simplifies the management of resources, allowing IT administrators to monitor and adjust resource allocation in real time, leading to better performance and reduced downtime.
• Scalability and flexibility – virtualization provides the flexibility to scale resources up or down based on demand, which is particularly beneficial for businesses with fluctuating workloads. This adaptability is crucial in today’s dynamic business environment, where resource needs can change rapidly and unpredictably. Virtualization enables organizations to quickly allocate or deallocate resources such as CPU, memory, and storage, ensuring that they can meet varying demands without significant downtime or additional capital investment.For example, during peak business periods, such as holiday seasons for retailers or major product launches for tech companies, virtualization allows IT administrators to easily increase computing power and storage capacity to handle the surge in traffic. This ensures that applications and services remain responsive and performant, providing a seamless user experience.Conversely, during off-peak times, resources can be scaled back to reduce costs and optimize energy consumption. This dynamic resource management not only improves operational efficiency but also significantly reduces the overhead associated with maintaining idle hardware.

  Moreover, virtualization supports a variety of deployment models, including public, private, and hybrid clouds, giving businesses the flexibility to choose the most suitable environment for their needs. Public clouds offer virtually unlimited scalability and are ideal for handling unpredictable workloads, while private clouds provide enhanced security and control for sensitive data and applications. Hybrid clouds combine the best of both worlds, allowing businesses to maintain critical workloads on-premises while leveraging the scalability of public clouds for less sensitive tasks.

  Additionally, virtualization enhances the ability to quickly deploy new applications and services. IT teams can create and configure new virtual machines in minutes, compared to the hours or days required to set up physical servers. This rapid provisioning accelerates time-to-market for new initiatives and enables businesses to respond swiftly to market opportunities and competitive pressures.

  In essence, the scalability and flexibility offered by virtualization empower businesses to be more agile and responsive, aligning IT resources closely with business needs and enabling a proactive approach to managing IT infrastructure. This capability is a significant competitive advantage in a landscape where speed, efficiency, and adaptability are key to success.

• Disaster recovery and high availability – virtual machines can be easily backed up and restored, enhancing disaster recovery strategies. Virtualization platforms often include features like live migration and failover, ensuring high availability and minimal downtime. Virtualization significantly enhances disaster recovery and high availability strategies, offering robust solutions to ensure business continuity and data protection. Virtual machines (VMs) can be easily backed up and restored, making it straightforward to recover from hardware failures, data corruption, or other catastrophic events. This ease of backup and restoration is a crucial advantage over traditional physical servers, where recovery processes can be time-consuming and complex.One of the key features of virtualization platforms is live migration. Live migration allows administrators to move running VMs from one physical host to another without any downtime. This capability is invaluable for maintenance tasks, such as applying updates or performing hardware upgrades, as it ensures that critical applications and services remain available during these operations. Live migration also facilitates load balancing across multiple hosts, optimizing resource utilization and improving overall system performance.

  Another important feature is failover, which ensures high availability by automatically transferring workloads to a standby VM in the event of a failure. If a physical server or a VM encounters an issue, the failover mechanism activates, seamlessly shifting the affected workloads to another VM or host. This process minimizes downtime and maintains the availability of essential services, thereby protecting against disruptions that could impact business operations.

  Virtualization platforms also support advanced snapshot and cloning capabilities. Snapshots allow administrators to capture the state of a VM at a specific point in time, including its memory, disk, and configuration. These snapshots can be used to quickly revert to a previous state in case of system errors or data loss, providing a rapid recovery option. Cloning, on the other hand, enables the creation of exact replicas of VMs, which can be used for testing, development, or as part of a disaster recovery plan.

  In addition, virtualization simplifies the creation of disaster recovery plans by enabling the replication of VMs to offsite locations. This geographic redundancy ensures that in the event of a site-wide disaster, such as a fire, flood, or power outage, the replicated VMs can be quickly activated in a different location. This replication can be done continuously or at scheduled intervals, depending on the business’s recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO).

  Furthermore, many virtualization platforms offer integrated disaster recovery solutions that automate the failover and failback processes. These solutions streamline the coordination of recovery activities, reducing manual intervention and accelerating recovery times. Automated disaster recovery solutions also include regular testing and validation features, ensuring that the disaster recovery plan remains effective and up-to-date.

  Overall, the disaster recovery and high availability features provided by virtualization create a resilient IT infrastructure that can withstand and quickly recover from disruptions. This resilience not only protects against data loss and downtime but also instills confidence in stakeholders, customers, and partners, reinforcing the business’s reputation for reliability and stability.

• Simplified management – centralized management of virtual environments simplifies administrative tasks. IT administrators can manage multiple virtual machines from a single console, streamline updates, and automate routine processes. Virtualization greatly simplifies the management of IT environments by centralizing administrative tasks and providing powerful tools for overseeing multiple virtual machines (VMs) from a single console. This centralized management approach enhances operational efficiency and reduces the complexity associated with maintaining a diverse and distributed IT infrastructure.One of the primary benefits of virtualization is the ability to manage numerous VMs from a unified interface. IT administrators can oversee the entire virtual environment, including servers, storage, and network resources, from a single management console. This holistic view allows for easier monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization of resources, ensuring that the infrastructure runs smoothly and efficiently.

  Streamlined updates are another significant advantage of virtualization. Traditional physical environments require manual updates and patches to be applied individually to each server, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. Virtualization platforms automate this process, allowing administrators to apply updates and patches to multiple VMs simultaneously. This not only saves time but also ensures that all systems are consistently maintained and secure.

  Automation of routine processes is a key feature of virtualization that further simplifies management. Tasks such as provisioning new VMs, allocating resources, and performing backups can be automated through scripts and policies. For example, when a new employee joins the company, a pre-configured VM with all necessary software and settings can be automatically created and deployed, reducing the time and effort required for onboarding. Similarly, automated backup schedules ensure that data is regularly and reliably backed up without manual intervention.

  Virtualization also enhances scalability and resource allocation through simplified management. Administrators can quickly adjust the resources allocated to VMs based on current demands, ensuring optimal performance without the need for physical hardware changes. This dynamic resource allocation helps maintain service levels during peak usage times and optimizes resource utilization during off-peak periods.

• Testing and development – virtualization provides isolated environments for testing and development without impacting production systems. Developers can create, test, and deploy applications in virtual environments, ensuring compatibility and stability before going live.Virtualization provides a robust and flexible solution for testing and development by creating isolated environments that do not impact production systems. This separation ensures that developers can work on new applications, features, and updates without risking the stability and performance of the live environment.One of the primary benefits of using virtualization for testing and development is the ability to quickly and easily create isolated environments. Developers can spin up virtual machines (VMs) that mimic the production environment, complete with the same operating systems, software, and configurations. These VMs can be used to test new code, experiment with different configurations, and troubleshoot issues without affecting the production systems. This isolation is crucial for maintaining the integrity and reliability of live applications while allowing developers the freedom to innovate and experiment.

  Virtual environments also facilitate the creation of consistent and repeatable testing setups. Since VMs can be cloned and snapshots can be taken at any point, developers can easily reproduce specific states of the environment. This capability is invaluable for debugging, as it allows developers to recreate the exact conditions under which a bug occurred. Additionally, it ensures that testing is conducted under consistent conditions, leading to more reliable and accurate results.

  Another significant advantage of virtualization in testing and development is the ability to simulate different environments and configurations. Developers can test applications across various operating systems, browser versions, and hardware configurations by simply creating and configuring the appropriate VMs. This level of flexibility ensures that the application will perform reliably across different user environments, enhancing compatibility and user satisfaction.

  Virtualization also streamlines the deployment process. Once an application has been thoroughly tested and is ready for production, it can be deployed directly from the virtual environment. This reduces the time and complexity associated with moving applications from development to production, as the environment in which the application was developed and tested closely mirrors the production environment. This approach minimizes the risk of deployment issues and ensures a smoother transition from development to live operation.

  In addition to facilitating testing and development, virtualization supports continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices. Virtual environments can be integrated with CI/CD pipelines, allowing automated testing and deployment processes. Each code change can trigger the creation of a new VM, where automated tests are run to validate the change. If the tests pass, the code is then deployed to a staging environment or directly to production. This automation accelerates the development cycle, reduces errors, and ensures that high-quality code is delivered consistently.

  Furthermore, virtualization enhances collaboration among development teams. Multiple developers can work on different aspects of a project simultaneously in separate virtual environments, without interference or conflicts. Teams can also share VMs that contain specific configurations or setups, ensuring that everyone is working in a consistent environment. This collaborative approach improves efficiency and fosters innovation, as developers can quickly build, test, and refine their work.

  Lastly, the cost-efficiency of virtualization is particularly beneficial for testing and development. Instead of investing in many physical servers for various testing scenarios, organizations can use virtual machines to replicate these environments at a fraction of the cost. This not only reduces hardware expenses but also lowers energy consumption and physical space requirements.

  In summary, virtualization significantly enhances testing and development processes by providing isolated, flexible, and easily replicable environments. This capability ensures that applications are thoroughly tested and stable before going live, reduces deployment risks, supports CI/CD practices, and fosters collaboration among development teams. By leveraging virtualization, organizations can accelerate innovation, improve software quality, and deliver better products to their users.

How virtualization affects our daily lives

Virtualization impacts our daily lives in various ways, often behind the scenes:

• Enhanced online services – many of the online services we use daily, such as email, cloud storage, and streaming platforms, rely on virtualization to deliver scalable and reliable performance. Virtualized data centers power these services, ensuring they are always available and responsive.
• Improved work-from-home experiences – virtual desktops and applications enable remote work by providing secure access to corporate resources from anywhere. Employees can access their work environments and applications virtually, maintaining productivity outside the office.
• Mobile and IoT device management – virtualization plays a key role in managing mobile devices and Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. It helps in deploying updates, securing data, and ensuring the smooth operation of a vast array of connected devices.
• Educational platforms – educational institutions use virtualization to offer virtual labs and remote learning environments. Students can access software and resources needed for their courses without the need for physical computer labs, making education more accessible.
• Gaming and virtual reality – virtualization technology enhances gaming experiences by enabling cloud gaming platforms. Gamers can play high-end games on low-end devices, as the processing is done on virtual servers. Additionally, virtual reality environments are often powered by virtualized resources.

Server virtualization

Although most servers are large and powerful machines, most use only 15% of their resources. Dividing a server into multiple virtual servers that work independently using the “real” server’s resources is a better use of an expensive server’s (and by extension, the company’s) resources. For example, a single server can serve as a company’s mail server and database server simultaneously.

Advantages of server virtualization

Server virtualization offers numerous benefits for businesses of all sizes. By consolidating multiple virtual servers onto a single physical server, organizations can significantly reduce hardware costs and lower energy consumption. This technology ensures efficient utilization of server resources, allowing dynamic allocation based on demand. It also enhances scalability and flexibility, enabling quick adjustments to meet changing workload requirements.

Centralized management simplifies administrative tasks, while automated operations reduce the IT burden. Server virtualization improves disaster recovery and high availability through features like snapshots, live migration, and failover support. Enhanced security is achieved by isolating virtual machines and streamlining patch management.

Additionally, virtualization creates isolated testing and development environments, accelerates provisioning, and reduces physical space requirements. Overall, server virtualization not only cuts costs but also boosts efficiency, security, and environmental sustainability.

• Cost savings – virtualization reduces the need for physical hardware, lowering capital expenditures.
  • Reduced hardware costs – by consolidating multiple virtual servers on a single physical server, organizations can significantly reduce the number of physical servers required, leading to lower hardware procurement costs.
  • Lower energy costs – fewer physical servers translate to reduced power and cooling requirements, leading to substantial savings on energy bills.
  • Decreased maintenance expenses – with fewer physical machines to maintain, organizations can cut down on maintenance costs, including repairs and spare parts.
• Improved resource utilization – virtualization ensures efficient use of server hardware.
  • Maximized server utilization – virtualization allows multiple virtual servers to run on a single physical server, optimizing the utilization of CPU, memory, and storage resources that might otherwise remain underused.
  • Dynamic resource allocation – resources can be dynamically allocated to virtual machines (VMs) based on current demand, ensuring efficient use of available resources.
• Enhanced scalability and flexibility – virtualization allows for easy scaling and resource management.
  • Easy scalability – organizations can quickly scale their server infrastructure by adding new virtual servers without the need for additional physical hardware.
  • Flexible resource management – virtual machines can be easily resized and reconfigured to meet changing workload demands, providing greater flexibility in resource management.
• Simplified management – centralized control streamlines administrative tasks.
  • Centralized management – administrators can manage all virtual servers from a single management console, streamlining administrative tasks and improving overall efficiency.
  • Automated operations – many server virtualization platforms offer automation tools for routine tasks such as provisioning, backups, and updates, reducing the administrative burden.
• Improved disaster recovery and high availability – virtualization enhances recovery strategies and uptime.
  • Snapshot and cloning capabilities – virtual machines can be easily backed up and restored using snapshots, ensuring quick recovery in case of failure.
  • Live migration – virtualization platforms support live migration, allowing virtual machines to be moved from one physical server to another with minimal downtime.
  • Failover support – in the event of a hardware failure, virtual machines can automatically failover to another server, maintaining high availability and business continuity.
• Enhanced security – virtualization improves overall system security.
  • Isolation of virtual machines – each virtual machine operates in an isolated environment, preventing issues in one VM from affecting others and enhancing overall system security.
  • Improved patch management – virtualization allows for easier and faster deployment of security patches and updates across all virtual servers.
• Better testing and development environments – virtualization facilitates development and testing on servers.
  • Isolated testing – developers can create isolated virtual environments on servers for testing and development without impacting production systems.
  • Rapid provisioning – virtual machines can be quickly created and deployed on servers for testing new applications or configurations, speeding up development cycles.
• Reduced physical space requirements – less server hardware means less space needed.
  • Space efficiency – with fewer physical servers needed, organizations can reduce the physical space required for their data centers, leading to lower real estate and facility costs.
• Environmental benefits – server virtualization supports greener IT practices.
  • Lower carbon footprint – reduced energy consumption and fewer physical servers contribute to a smaller carbon footprint, making server virtualization an environmentally friendly choice.

Let’s look at the top three software packages to virtualize a server.

1. VMware vSphere – VMware vSphere is one of the leading server virtualization platforms, offering robust features for managing virtualized environments. It provides high availability, fault tolerance, and advanced resource management capabilities, making it a preferred choice for enterprises.
2. Microsoft Hyper-V – Microsoft Hyper-V is a popular virtualization solution that integrates seamlessly with Windows environments. It supports a wide range of operating systems and offers features like live migration and dynamic memory, enabling efficient resource allocation and management.
3. Citrix Hypervisor – Citrix Hypervisor, formerly known as XenServer, is an open-source virtualization platform known for its high performance and scalability. It supports live migration, virtual machine snapshots, and comprehensive security features, making it suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.

Desktop virtualization

Desktop virtualization differs from server virtualization. Rather than operating on a server, desktop virtualization provides individual employees of companies with their virtual desktop environment. Users can connect to a company’s secure virtual desktop from anywhere on any device, including a desktop, laptop, or tablet. It’s often compared with a VPN (virtual private network) connection. A VPN client connects to a company’s central server and lets users access shared folders, drives, and virtual machines. VPN completely depends on the employee system. So, employees need to have newer-model PCs to run organization apps. In contrast, virtual desktops bring a complete operating system to the user’s device.

Advantages of desktop virtualization

Desktop virtualization greatly reduces the chances of data theft and other types of hacking because there’s a centralized server. The centralized server has complex organizational security parameters, making it difficult to hack. Through this centralized computer server, each instance of the virtual operating system is only on a single user’s device. Desktop virtualization can work in Windows, macOS, and Linux environments.

Desktop virtualization also offers significant advantages in terms of flexibility and mobility. Employees can access their virtual desktops from any location with an internet connection, allowing for remote work and increased productivity. This capability is particularly beneficial in today’s work environment, where remote work and flexible schedules are increasingly common.

Another advantage is the ease of management and maintenance. IT administrators can manage and update all virtual desktops from a central location, ensuring that all users have the latest software and security updates. This centralized management reduces the time and effort required for IT support and enhances the overall security of the company’s IT infrastructure.

Desktop virtualization also contributes to cost savings. Companies can extend the life of older hardware by using it as thin clients to access virtual desktops, reducing the need for frequent hardware upgrades. Additionally, it minimizes the costs associated with managing and maintaining a large fleet of physical desktops.

Desktop virtualization in the workplace

Desktop virtualization helps companies cut costs on expensive employee computers or laptops. When in the office, employees can connect through thin clients or remotely through their laptops. Thin clients are low-cost computing devices that serve as access points to the virtual desktop, relying on the centralized server for processing power and storage. This setup reduces hardware costs and simplifies IT management.

However, desktop virtualization also relies heavily on the company’s network infrastructure. A fast and efficient network is essential to ensure smooth and responsive virtual desktop experiences. High latency or bandwidth limitations can negatively impact performance, so companies must invest in robust network solutions to support their virtual desktop environments effectively.

In summary, desktop virtualization offers numerous benefits, including enhanced security, flexibility, ease of management, cost savings, and support for remote work. By leveraging leading solutions like Amazon Workspaces, Citrix Workspace, and VMware Horizon Cloud, businesses can create a scalable and efficient virtual desktop infrastructure that meets the needs of their employees and organizational goals.

Leading desktop virtualization solutions

1. Amazon Workspaces – Amazon Workspaces is a cloud-based desktop virtualization service that can be accessed from a variety of devices on most operating systems. It offers a fully managed, secure desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) solution, allowing businesses to quickly scale up or down based on their needs. Users can access a familiar Windows or Linux desktop environment, ensuring a seamless transition from traditional desktops.
2. Citrix Workspace – Citrix provides a hybrid model for desktop virtualization, which can be cloud-based or on-premises. It is secure, easy to implement, and works on all major operating systems, including macOS. Citrix Workspace offers comprehensive features such as advanced security controls, high-performance remote access, and integration with various cloud services, making it a versatile solution for businesses of all sizes.
3. VMware Horizon Cloud – VMware Horizon Cloud offers both cloud and on-premises services for secure desktop virtualization, supporting Linux and Windows operating systems but not macOS. VMware Horizon Cloud provides robust features such as simplified management, automated provisioning, and seamless integration with existing VMware environments. It ensures high availability and reliability, making it suitable for mission-critical applications.

Network virtualization

Network virtualization allows you to create virtual networks from physical networks, combining a company’s various physical networks into one manageable virtual network. In a virtual environment, you can move virtual machines from one network to another without reconfiguring the machines, enhancing flexibility and efficiency.

Benefits of network virtualization

Network virtualization helps companies become more cost-effective and efficient. By automating networking and security protocols, businesses can apply new protocols with the push of a button, reducing reliance on costly networking hardware devices. The software layer provided by network virtualization simplifies maintenance and management, leading to better overall network performance and security.

In summary, network virtualization streamlines network management enhances flexibility, and reduces costs, making it an invaluable tool for modern enterprises.

Network virtualization provides a more efficient way to manage hardware-based networks using software. Here are a few network virtualization software packages to consider:

• VMware NSX – VMware NSX creates secure virtual networks that work closely with virtual machines. Since most enterprises operate numerous virtual machines, VMware NSX simplifies their management. Previously, managing hardware-based networks was challenging, but virtualization software like NSX makes networking much easier.
• Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) – Cisco Enterprise NFV builds on Cisco’s expertise in network hardware devices to offer virtual networks managed through software. It can be deployed not only on Cisco networks but also on any other network, providing flexibility and leveraging Cisco’s advanced networking capabilities.
• oVirt – oVirt is a free and open-source network virtualization tool maintained by open-source developers. It offers extensive documentation and strong community support. oVirt features a web-based interface for network management, making it accessible and user-friendly.

Application virtualization

Application virtualization allows applications, such as Microsoft Office or Photoshop, to be stored on a central server, making them accessible to any end-user without the need for local installation. This method reduces the risk of users installing pirated versions of costly applications, thereby mitigating associated security risks for enterprises.

Benefits of application virtualization

Application virtualization offers significant benefits for companies, particularly in reducing IT overhead. The IT department can manage and update all applications from a central location, eliminating the need for individual installations and updates on each user’s machine. This centralized management also leads to fewer application-related issues and enables quick resolution of problems from a single point of control.

Overall, application virtualization enhances security, simplifies management, and improves efficiency, making it a valuable strategy for modern enterprises.

Leading software packages for application virtualization

• Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops – Citrix offers both virtual apps and virtual desktops. Its virtual apps feature a unique mechanism to detect and prevent keyloggers, making them more secure than locally installed apps. Keyloggers are malicious programs that log a user’s keystrokes and send the data to hackers. Citrix’s prevention mechanism scrambles keystrokes so that even if a keylogger is present, it cannot transmit the correct sequence of keystrokes, thus protecting sensitive information such as passwords.
• Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) – Parallels RAS provides both desktop and application virtualization. System administrators can manage applications hosted in various locations from a centralized dashboard. For example, they can control Microsoft Office installed on a server in London and Photoshop on a server in New York from a single interface. Enhanced features allow administrators to restrict user access from any location, providing robust control over application usage.
• Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) – launched in 2006, App-V is one of the pioneering pieces of virtualization software. It enables the virtualization of any application and allows administrators to create virtual versions of different iterations of the same application, such as Microsoft Office 97 and Office 2000. This capability to maintain and manage multiple versions of the same application is unique to App-V.

Storage virtualization

Storage virtualization simplifies the management of diverse physical storage devices from different vendors by grouping them into a logical unit, which appears to users as a single storage entity. This abstraction allows administrators to manage and optimize storage resources more efficiently, regardless of the underlying hardware differences.

Benefits of storage virtualization

Storage virtualization offers significant advantages for companies by increasing efficiency and optimizing resource utilization. For example, managing three separate terabytes of data across three different computers can lead to inefficient use of storage. With storage virtualization, these resources are pooled into a single 3TB storage unit, allowing for more effective management and allocation of storage space.

By abstracting and consolidating storage resources, storage virtualization enhances flexibility, simplifies management, and reduces costs. It enables organizations to maximize their existing storage investments and adapt quickly to changing storage demands, ultimately improving operational efficiency and scalability.

Leading storage virtualization solutions

• Flexify.io – Flexify.io is an innovative storage solution that combines both physical storage units and cloud storage from various providers into a single cohesive system. For example, administrators can integrate storage from major cloud providers like Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft (Azure) with local storage devices and even smaller cloud providers like Digital Ocean. This unified view simplifies storage management and enhances flexibility by providing a comprehensive storage solution that leverages the strengths of multiple sources.
• Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS) – Nutanix AOS creates logical storage units from various physical servers, seamlessly integrating data from different technologies. For instance, it can combine 1,000GB of storage from a Microsoft server with another 1,000GB from a VMware server, presenting a unified 2,000GB storage pool. This capability enables organizations to efficiently utilize disparate storage resources without concern for the underlying technology differences.
• StarWind Virtual SAN – StarWind Virtual SAN operates similarly to Nutanix AOS by building logical storage (SAN) from physical storage resources. Known for its high reliability and uptime, StarWind Virtual SAN ensures continuous availability and robust performance, making it a preferred choice for enterprises that require dependable and scalable storage solutions.

Data virtualization

Data virtualization is a technique that creates a single view of data from various sources. As an enterprise grows, it accumulates diverse types of data from databases, big data platforms, plain text files, and more. Obtaining a comprehensive overview of this data often requires costly extract, transform, and load (ETL) tools. Data virtualization tools can replace ETL tools, especially when historical data from millions of records is not needed. ETL tools are designed to handle extensive records, which can be cost-prohibitive. Data virtualization, on the other hand, is designed to handle smaller data sets and is more cost-effective.

Benefits of data virtualization

Data virtualization is beneficial for companies that need a quick overview of smaller data sets. It is more cost-effective than ETL tools and provides faster data insights. By creating a unified view of data from various sources, data virtualization tools enhance decision-making and improve operational efficiency. They are particularly useful for real-time data integration and analysis, enabling businesses to respond quickly to changing data landscapes.

In summary, data virtualization simplifies data management, reduces costs, and accelerates access to actionable insights, making it a valuable strategy for modern enterprises.

Leading data virtualization tools

• Actifio – Actifio provides a robust data pipeline that allows data teams to retrieve data from all platforms, including databases, Excel sheets, and plain text files. It can also pull data from previous data analyses, making it a versatile tool for integrating various data sources.
• AtScale – AtScale offers tools that connect business intelligence (BI) tools to any data form within an enterprise. One of its standout features is time-based data, allowing users to view the state of the data at any previous point in time. AtScale enables seamless integration of all enterprise data, facilitating comprehensive data analysis.
• CData – CData provides access to data stored on-premises, whether in databases or applications. Even if each application stores data in different formats, CData can retrieve and convert this data into a uniform format for analysis. This capability simplifies the process of data integration and analysis.