Latest Forrester study on virtualization.

According to a recent Forrester study, server virtualization has quickly surpassed other forms of infrastructure virtualization, including techniques for virtualizing storage and networks.

Globally, 75% of 1,221 enterprises surveyed by Forrester say they are aware of server virtualization technologies, 26% have implemented it, and 8% more will pilot it by the summer of 2006.

The rapid adoption of server virtualization can be attributed to its near- and long-term advantages, which allow firms to reduce costs while making their infrastructures more flexible over time. Unlike compute grid technologies, which require architectural changes, server virtualization allows firms to easily encapsulate existing applications into containers that can be moved between physical servers. Forrester believes that this basic capability will prime firms’ data centers for more advanced Organic IT technologies, including automated configuration and distributed workload management.

This Forrester report provides some interesting figures:

* Worldwide Enterprise Awareness Of Server Virtualization Hits 75%
* North American Firms Lead In Adoption Of Server Virtualization
* More Than Half Of The Largest NA Firms Use Or Will Pilot Server Virtualization
* Europe Lags In Awareness But Is Second Overall In Adoption
* In Asia Pacific, Awareness Of Server Virtualization Ranks Second Overall
* VMware Dominates In North America But Microsoft Leads In Europe
* Microsoft Gets More Consideration From Large Enterprises Than Other Enterprises

You can read the full executive summary or order this study at the Forrester source.