Historically, IT departments have organized and governed technology and human resources in silo-like structures that dedicate resources to particular applications or business functions, such as ERP, CRM, or Web-based services. The capacity of each silo is fixed. Resources are over-provisioned to meet peak demand.

The result? Inflexible systems are chronically underutilized. One recent study found that some corporate data centers use just 10 to 35 percent of their available processing power. Virtualization makes these past approaches just that - a thing of the past.

Virtualization allows you to dynamically allocate and manage resources in a utility-like way. It helps you break down the rigid IT structures that inhibit business agility. Virtualization also helps you increase utilization of valuable computing resources.