As both the quantity and value of information grow, organizations find it increasingly difficult to cost-effectively manage and protect growing volumes of distributed information. Consolidation across systems and among dispersed facilities is improving access and control, and virtualization is a critical part of that process. Many organizations are aware of the tremendous benefits around server virtualization and are implementing it in some way. However, far fewer are actively pursuing storage virtualization with the same vigor, even though the benefits of doing so can be even greater. In fact, doing one type of virtualization without the other can potentially offset the savings in one area with expenditures in another.

This is a complex area, in which there are no pre-packaged, end-to-end solutions. This paper addresses some of the critical issues of virtualization and some of the ways it can be effectively implemented to help organizations utilize resources more efficiently, reduce costs, manage data across the entire enterprise, and improve the availability of information.