Starship sees 2010 virtualisation boost

HERMAN VAN HEERDEN

DEMAND for virtualisation technologies should grow steadily in 2010, says Herman van Heerden, MD of Starship Systems. "Gartner predicted back in 2007 that virtualisation will be the single most important technology for IT departments by 2010. Then in 2009, virtualisation was placed at the pinnacle of Gartner's list of top 10 strategic technologies. And although South Africa lags slightly behind developed markets, we are certainly seeing a markedly-growing number of local businesses adopting virtualisation technologies. So, it's happening," says van Heerden.

He says the virtualisation trend in South Africa is largely driven by the need to curb hardware and software acquisition costs in the face of the economic downturn, and the growing consciousness of the importance of adopting "green" business practices and the need to conserve electricity.