Guest Column: The Real End Game Of Virtualization Is Automated IT Operations

By Jerome M Wendt, Lead Analyst and President, DCIG Inc.

In conversations that I have with other analysts, end users and vendors, it seems to me that many are either missing the point or failing to grasp what the end game of virtualization is. Some seem to think that virtualization for the sake of virtualization is the proper business objective because of how it helps reduce server and storage footprints, utilize physical resources more effectively or ultimately lower costs. Certainly these are proper short term goals but the real end game of virtualization is not simply to create a virtualized data center environment. It is to create one that fully automates IT operations.