Virtualisation enables IT-as-a-Service

IT leaders gathered at a Computing Forum to discuss the benefits of virtualisation

The latest Computing IT Leaders Forum, held at the BMA last week, saw key decision-makers discusss the importance of virtualisation for creating a flexible estate.

Virtualisation has proven popular with organisations looking to expand their IT capabilities without spending excessively on physical infrastructure.

How virtualisation can transform the effective delivery of IT-as-a-Service for the enterprise was one of the main topics under discussion, and is a core area of interest for many CIOs.

Stuart Dommett, business development manager at Intel, argued that virtualisation can enable IT-as-a-Service, and that demand for this has been prompted by users wanting accessible and varied technologies and applications.

"I think most CIOs are concerned about centralisation. It is about taking control of your apps and your data, and then working out how to put them into a central pot to manage and deliver them to users," he said.

Dommett argued that owing to the consumerisation of IT - with apps and data now being delivered to manifold tablets and smartphones - managing at the end point is no longer an option.

"I don't think it is acceptable now to manage your PC estate with all your applications locally. You have to take central control. Virtualisation of the server allows you to do this, and then it is about having a clear client strategy," he explained.

Focus on services

Karl Deacon, CTO of outsourcing services for Capgemini UK, explained that the increasing need for CIOs to provide IT-as-a-Service has prompted the growth of virtualisation as a management technique.

"What has happened over the past seven years is that we have all become oriented around services. CIOs are looking at the services their business requires.

"Users don't think of apps on the app store as a technology. They think about them as a service," he added.

Deacon suggested that CIOs often stall progress in a business due to the way in which physical infrastructure has been managed in the past.

"A CIO is often the person who prevents the CEO, CFO and COO from making the changes they want in the business, because he or she cannot change the ERP system, cannot implement flexible working or has to buy new equipment.

"This is because they do not have a service-oriented mindset. But the demand for this mindset is the reason we ended up with virtualisation," added Deacon.

"Principally, the architectural way to engineer technology is through point-to-point connections, private standards and closed-around vendors. Virtualisation helps you to get away from the physical limitations of the technology and start from a strategic services perspective."

Mark Leonard, executive vice president of infrastructure services unit for Colt Technology Services Group, agreed, and said that virtualisation allows the IT department to become an agile technology shop for the business.

"Virtualisation allows you to deliver IT services in a different way, and I think one of the benefits often overlooked is agility," said Leonard.

"Yes, you can reduce the number of servers you use; yes, you can reduce the amount of power you consume; and yes, you can take up less space in a datacentre. However, the most important benefit to me as an IT leader was that when we virtualised our estate, the time it took me to deliver my infrastructure was reduced by 95 per cent," he added.

Measuring consumption

Virtualisation provides agility and an ability to measure consumption, meaning you have the basis for providing IT-as-a-Service.

"Virtualisation also allows you to measure and monitor consumption in a way you couldn't before. So, by bringing these two things together, you have created an effective service - an application is available almost immediately, and you can charge around it on a consumption basis," said Leonard.