Virtualization isn't new for small businesses, some companies have been enjoying the benefits of server virtualization for many years. However, the concept is new to other growing organizations. Virtualization allows you to consolidate the number of servers you have in your company using one of several virtualization packages. Let's take a look at a few major reasons to consider server virtualization.
If you have a lower number of servers you have less hardware to worry about, which equals less maintenance, more physical space, and less electricity to power them all. Most of the time, your servers are only using a small portion of their capabilities. A single powerful server is more cost effective and can run multiple servers.
If you have multiple applications running on a single server, a change or upgrade to one application can impact another. Some applications may have specific requirements that cause conflicts in other applications. Separate virtual servers can be set up for each application to prevent this. This leads into the next big benefit.
If you have older applications that require older operating systems, but other applications require the latest OS, you can run both on the same hardware. Virtualization supports many different OS configurations.
A standard server configuration can be built and rolled out again and again whenever you need it. This makes server rollouts a much faster process (and of course, you don't need to worry about getting hardware).