47% of IT Managers Experienced Data Growth After Implementing Server Virtualization

Quantum Corp. released the findings focused on server virtualization from its 2010 IT Manager Survey. The results showed that a large majority of enterprises (86 percent) are implementing server virtualization but that four out of five IT managers find it difficult to back up their virtualized environments.

The survey also found that 47 percent of IT managers experienced increased data growth after implementing server virtualization. Twenty-eight percent saw higher energy demands, and 22 percent had increased software costs resulting from server virtualization. Those using server virtualization also reported data bottlenecks (27 percent) and remote branch data issues (25 percent).

"Enterprises see the value in consolidating their physical infrastructure and moving to virtualized environments, yet this survey shows that IT managers are also seeing the impact on their data storage and backup processes," said Janae Lee, senior vice president, Disk and Software Products Group, Quantum. "It can be a challenge deciding the best way to back up a virtual environment. When implementing server virtualization, it is best to consider how new techniques and technologies can be leveraged to improve performance, availability and data protection. For example, while remote replication has typically been expensive, deduplication makes it more affordable due to the reduction of transferred data."

In August 2010, Quantum contracted with Toluna, a research service, to conduct a field survey of 300 North American IT professionals on topics related to data storage. All of the respondents had direct exposure to data storage practices within their organization and were not limited to Quantum customers. Thirty-two percent of those surveyed were employed at organizations with more than 1,000 employees, 51 percent at organizations with 100-999 employees and 17 percent at organizations with fewer than 100 employees. Forty-nine percent of respondents considered themselves to be ‘average’ buyers, 35 percent identified themselves as ‘leading-edge’ buyers and 16 percent described themselves as ‘conservative.’

For more details on the survey