Virtualization Drawbacks And How To Manage Them By Richard Muirhead, Tideway Systems

Today's virtualized data center environment is like an F15 airplane, wonderfully flexible but at the same time dangerously unstable if not managed properly. The F15 is widely recognized as one of the most maneuverable fighter jets ever built. But flexibility comes at a price and the only way you can control it is by having very good computer systems supporting the pilot flying the plane.

Similarly, the challenge of complexity is ever present in today's IT environments and the drive towards virtualization is only increasing that challenge. But rather than being cowed by complexity, an enlightened IT organization takes control of it, using the latest tools and techniques – and that includes application dependency mapping.

Server virtualization is great for the data center in so many ways that it's easy to see why it's so popular. It reduces hardware costs, makes server provisioning far more flexible and ensures IT can be more responsive to business needs. But without a proper understanding of the dependencies between business applications and the underlying infrastructure, virtualization can itself be hazardous.

For more than ten years, Richard Muirhead, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Tideway, has commercialized software products which automate complex computing environments, insisting they be effective, efficient and As Simple as Search™ to use. Founded in 2002, Tideway is now the leader in collaborative data centre automation. Richard was a finalist in the UK Technology Innovation & Growth Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2006.