13 Nov 2008

Microsoft official discusses the benefits of virtualisation

Greater efficiency and cost savings are the fundamental benefits virtualisation can give firms, a Microsoft official has said.

Brad Anderson, general manager at the organisation, told an audience at the Teched EMEA 2008 industry conference last week that there is an even greater pressure on firms to improve their infrastructure and budgets in the context of the global credit crunch.

He said virtualisation can help organisations by ensuring their efficiency levels are monitored through centralised, policy-based management.

Other benefits of the technology include cost savings through hardware consolidation, a reduction in electrical power consumption, desktop deployment and management costs.

Mr Anderson said: "We are working with our partners here and across the globe to give IT organisations one of the lowest costs of ownership in the industry as well as the ability to deliver new capabilities to their business."

His comments follow Microsoft's recent move to offer a cloud-based platform for start-ups, which provides them with free access to software and technical support for three years.