55% of CIOs in EMEA acknowledge that planning is a key challenge to successful implementation says Alfred Steinecker, director, enterprise server and storage software, HP EMEA

No one would recommend building a house without planning and designing it first. Nor should anyone avoid investing the time in planning new technology systems such as virtualization before implementing them. A recent survey  by HP suggests that, with forward planning, virtualization risks such as virtual server sprawl can be minimised and long term benefits such as increased availability and business continuity can be enjoyed. Although 77 percent of organisations surveyed have implemented or plan to implement virtualization, the top challenge with respect to putting such projects into action, mentioned by 55 percent of all companies, is infrastructure planning, followed closely (52 percent) by capacity planning.

Failure to plan effectively will inevitably sell virtualization short. A well planned and implemented virtualization strategy will deliver applications and business services more quickly; put unused data centre capacity to work on business priorities; and enhance availability, continuity, and security. Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust is one UK organisation that has recently reaped the rewards of a successful virtualization project. This was achieved after two pilot phases which required rigourous preparation enabling the virtualization project to run smoothly. Through rapidly reallocating resources as well as performing maintenance on virtual images in the event of a service disruption, virtualization can reduce the catastrophic effects on a business’ revenue, corporate reputation and brand image.

But how do you plan? Performing a formal assessment of your existing and planned resources and virtualization needs before acquiring a virtualization solution is essential. Ask yourself how many servers you have; which roles they serve for example application, database, web, and so on; how many servers you need; issues you are experiencing with current servers; what percentage of your resources are underutilized; which usage patterns you would prefer to see. Depending on the nature and complexity of your environment, you might need to hire a consultant who can advise you and oversee the planning, selection, and deployment process for you. Spending money in consulting fees during the planning stage can potentially save many hours and thousands of dollars correcting otherwise avoidable miscalculations and mistakes.

Only the CEO can ensure that virtualization becomes part of a business strategy. In order to get this backing the CIO needs to articulate a strong rationale to their CEO for implementing virtualization. Aligning more closely with your business’ goals is key to this and will enable virtualization to be seen as a business tool rather than just a technology. One way of doing this is articulating the benefits of virtualization outside the data centre. For example by virtualizing the infrastructure, businesses can save money and become greener by eliminating physical resources such as servers and storage hardware that require power and cooling. However, HP’s report indicates that there is a need to educate CIOs about the green benefits of virtualization as only 36 percent surveyed identified it as a decision driver compared with reduce operational expenditure (59 percent), which is understandably their biggest focus. Telecommunications company Easynet is a prime example of a company that with the help of virtualization supported by consolidation, has boosted its energy efficiency by up to 30 percent. This has enabled the company to both capitalise on its carbon neutral status and save money.

It is clear that virtualization is a key element of a growing number of companies’ technology infrastructures. However, although CIOs are recognising the value of virtualization, many are struggling to plan their virtualization projects enough to unlock its broader business benefits. Ultimately, virtualization that is well planned and executed will cut costs, support business performance and allow businesses to spend more on innovation and less on maintenance.