Virtualization is a key enabler of IT and business efficiency, but is vastly misunderstood and underestimated within user enterprises. As a result, user executives fail to effectively manage it, and therefore fail to realize the full potential and benefits of IT virtualization. And IT vendors seldom realize the breadth and depth of opportunity that IT virtualization presents to them.

These are two key issues that Saugatuck Technology addresses in its new research report, titled "The Many Faces of Virtualization -- Understanding a New IT Reality." Published on December 28, 2007, the 20-page study provides previously unseen depth and explanation of the rapidly-evolving topology of IT virtualization in its many forms, from servers to mainframes, to applications to storage to networks.

"We're at a very critical point in the evolution and adoption of virtualization by both users and vendors. Almost everyone sees opportunity in virtualization, but very few really grasp its scope and complexity," stated Saugatuck vice president Charles Burns, the study's lead author. "That leads to a lot of missed opportunities -- and some very inflated costs of management.

"Our goal with this study is to provide a foundation for understanding key categories of virtualization, their benefits, and how to manage them effectively."

"This study is the first attempt that we've seen to use real-world expertise and practicality to classify and explain the types and effects of IT virtualization, in terms that both user and vendor executives can understand, and can profit from," added Saugatuck founder and CEO Bill McNee. "This is a solid foundation from which executives can educate themselves, and begin planning more effective management of virtualization."    

The study is available for purchase via Saugatuck's web site at www.saugatech.com/420order.htm. Study highlights, including planning positions for users and vendors, include the following:

Through 2010, all facets of IT Virtualization will see substantial enhancements in functionality and performance; however the most significant enhancements will be in microprocessor, hypervisor and operating system function for Server Virtualization.

Through 2010, Server Virtualization will have the single largest impact on budgets for IT hardware and support. The second largest impact will be network virtualization.

Through 2010, three vendors -- Cisco, VMware and XenSource (now Citrix) -- will dominate IT Virtualization, accounting for 60 percent of all new virtualization deployments.

This is the fourth of Saugatuck's major research studies to be released in 2007 -- in addition to the dozens of Strategic Perspectives, QuickTakes and Research Alerts that the firm published on topics such as SaaS, Open Source, Web 2.0, SOA and Utility Computing throughout the year. Previously published major research studies in 2007 include:

Three Waves of Change: SaaS Beyond the Tipping Point: Saugatuck's annual research study on the status and future of software-as-a-service, this report furthers previous Saugatuck thought leadership regarding SaaS usage, provider business models and SaaS marketplaces and ecosystems (SSR-342, 03May07).

C-Team Research: Growth and Innovation Driving the Global Business Agenda: While the pace of economic expansion has moderated in 2007, growth and innovation is clearly on the minds of the 443 senior business, finance and IT executives surveyed by Saugatuck Technology and BusinessWeek Research Services. This report examines the top business and IT goals of C-level executives, and assesses their impacts on IT markets and vendors (SSR-325, 28Feb07).

Open Source Software: The Next Disruptive IT Influence: The presence of open source is much larger than previously reported - and getting harder to audit and manage. Low cost and ability to manipulate source code means that open source software is (and will be) integrated into user environments, commercial software solutions, and software delivered as a service (SaaS). It is this mixed-source, "hidden" presence that will change the nature of business software, the software industry itself, and user IT management, within three to five years. (SSR-395, 22Oct07).