25% of Small Businesses Have Virtualized Servers

A new report finds that a quarter of small businesses have virtualized their servers, and that most have already realized significant savings as a result.  "It’s no surprise then that three quarters of small businesses not currently using virtualization are investigating it or planning to virtualize," a spokesperson for CDW tells SmallBusinessNewz. 

"To help IT professionals still exploring the technology, the CDW Small Business Server Virtualization Roadmap provides a snapshot of the current state of virtualization in small businesses," she says.  "The Roadmap goes beyond a traditional report – in addition to new data, it offers advice and comments from small business IT professionals across the United States regarding commonly shared issues, including  Knowing when virtualization is right for a small business, Understanding the IT staff knowledge/skills needed to implement and manage a virtual IT environment and securing management’s support for a virtualization initiative."

The study found that 25%of small businesses have virtualized at least some of their servers, attracted by efficiency, cost savings and flexibility to meet changing business demands, and that the average percentage of servers virtualized at those businesses grew steadily from 28% to 33% between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011.  

Among small businesses that have not implemented server virtualization, 73% say they are investigating or planning to deploy the technology, with investments averaging 17% of their IT budgets over the next two years, the study finds. 

“Based on our day-to-day conversations with small businesses across the United States, we know that most look for IT to deliver business advantages that level the playing field with their larger competitors.  In our survey, two-thirds of small businesses that have virtualized their server environments say doing so has significantly increased the ROI of their IT – but virtualization also requires new skills and knowledge to manage effectively,” said Jill Billhorn, CDW VP of small business sales.  “The CDW Small Business Virtualization Roadmap is a resource to help small business IT managers start their journey to a more virtual environment.”

The roadmap can be found here.