Virtualization is being thrown at us from all directions. All the major vendors are moving into this arena: VMware (an EMC company) is not alone anymore.

Just in case you need a refresher, a virtual machine is simply a fully functioning computer where you can install an operating system of your choice, with network configuration and a full suite of software.

The catch is the operating system is virtual and resides an existing server/computer. These types of configurations allow you to save money, consolidate servers and maximize your utilization.

Since everyone I know who interested in virtualization is talking about these three benefits, let’s explore them in greater detail:

Saving Money

If you talk to any CTO in any company and tell him or her you can save them “X” number of dollars by complimenting their network infrastructure with virtualization, you will have an willing audience.

How you say? Here’s a good example: You just recently purchased five licenses of Windows 2003 for five servers about to implemented into your infrastructure. This would roughly cost you $10K-to-$15K in licensing fees.

What if I told you I could give you the same infrastructure for $2K-to-$5K? How? By simply buying one license of Windows Server 2003 R2, you get up to four virtual instances free-of-charge. Simply download any virtualization software you desire and install four more virtual operating systems for free.

Consolidating Servers

Hosting facilities and corporate server rooms are busting at the seams. It seems every vendor has some unique software that requires a stand-alone server. In the dot-com era this might have worked, but today we are faced with increasing energy costs to power these money-sucking machines.

Server rooms are the energy vampires of technology’s new millennium. How can we face this increasing cost head on? Virtualization.

You could have a software and server inventory done and see how many servers are simply just running one application-maybe even a legacy application. By taking advantage of virtualization, you could easily consolidate 20 servers down to five.

Maximize Utilization

Maximizing utilization of servers and consolidation of servers seem to go hand-in-hand. You cannot do one without the other. When you consolidate servers, you maximize utilization.

As a consultant working deep in the trenches, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a huge Quad processor server running a miniscule app and the utilization of the server is not even registering.

That same box, if utilized to its potential, could host three-to-five virtual instances. It is not uncommon these days to gather up all the legacy applications you are still running and place them on one server with several virtual instances.

By properly utilizing your servers with virtualization, you will reduce costs and consolidate servers in your environment.

So the next time your IT cronies are hanging out by the water cooler and they start talking about virtualization, what they are really discussing is reduced costs, consolidated servers, and maximized infrastructure.

It just sounds like one word.

More and more these days it is becoming totally necessary to be compliant with Industry and Government standards or face paying huge fines that many businesses do not survive financially. The security threats are real and more and more we are hearing about this in the media. Security crackers have caused billions in damages, we can only estimate how much is kept away from the public eye and government by private organization who pay hush money to keep customer satisfaction up. PCI compliance really covers a lot of areas in which its possible for Card holder information to be stolen.

The core of the PCI DSS is a group of principles and accompanying requirements, around which the specific elements of the DSS are organized:

Build and Maintain a Secure Network

Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data

Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data
Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

Requirement 5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software
Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an Information Security Policy

Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security

This type of web-based computing frees you from the tyranny of desktop computing and opens up new forms of group collaboration. But as attractive as all that sounds, cloud computing isn’t for everyone. Let’s take a look at how the average end user can benefit from cloud computing—and why some end users should avoid these web-based applications, at least for now.

Advantages of Cloud Computing

We’ll start with the many advantages offered by cloud computing. Here’s what you get when you move into the cloud:

• Lower computer costs. You don’t need a high-powered and high-priced computer to run cloud computing’s web-based applications. Since applications run in the cloud, not on the desktop PC, your desktop PC doesn’t need the processing power or hard disk space demanded by traditional desktop software. When you’re using web-based applications, your PC can be less expensive, with a smaller hard disk, less memory, more efficient processor, and the like. In fact, your PC in this scenario doesn’t even need a CD or DVD drive, as no software programs have to be loaded and no document files need to be saved.
• Improved performance. With fewer bloated programs hogging your computer’s memory, you’ll see better performance from your PC. Put simply, computers in a cloud computing system boot and run faster because they have fewer programs and processes loaded into memory.
• Reduced software costs. Instead of purchasing expensive software applications, you can get most of what you need for free. That’s right—most cloud computing applications today, such as the Google Docs suite, are totally free. That’s a lot better than paying $200+ for similar Microsoft Office software—which alone may be justification for switching to cloud applications.
• Instant software updates. Another software-related advantage to cloud computing is that you’re no longer faced with choosing between obsolete software and high upgrade costs. When the app is web-based, updates happen automatically and are available the next time you log into the cloud. When you access a web-based application, you get the latest version—without needing to pay for or download an upgrade.
• Improved document format compatibility. You don’t have to worry about the documents you create on your machine being compatible with other users’ applications or operating systems. In a world where Word 2007 documents can’t be opened on a computer running Word 2003, all documents created by web-based applications can be read by any other user accessing that application. There are no format incompatibilities when everyone is sharing docs and apps in the cloud.
• Unlimited storage capacity. Cloud computing offers virtually limitless storage. Your computer’s current 200 gigabyte hard drive is peanuts compared to the hundreds of petabytes (a million gigabytes) available in the cloud. Whatever you need to store, you can.
• Increased data reliability. Unlike desktop computing, in which a hard disk crash can destroy all your valuable data, a computer crashing in the cloud shouldn’t affect the storage of your data. That also means that if your personal computer crashes, all your data is still out there in the cloud, still accessible. In a world where few individual desktop PC users back up their data on a regular basis, cloud computing is the ultimate in data-safe computing.
• Universal document access. Ever get home from work and realize that you left an important document at the office? Or forget to take a file with you on the road? That’s not a problem with cloud computing, because you don’t take your documents with you. Instead, they stay in the cloud, and you can access them whenever you have a computer and an Internet connection. All your documents are instantly available from wherever you are; there’s simply no need to take your documents with you.
• Latest version availability. Another document-related advantage of cloud computing: When you edit a document at home, that edited version is what you see when you access the document at work. The cloud always hosts the latest version of your documents; as long as you’re connected, you’re never in danger of having an outdated version.
• Easier group collaboration. Sharing documents leads directly to collaborating on documents. To many users, this is one of the most important advantages of cloud computing—multiple users can collaborate easily on documents and projects. Because the documents are hosted in the cloud, not on individual computers, all you need is a computer with an Internet connection, and you’re collaborating.
• Device independence. Finally, here’s the ultimate cloud computing advantage: You’re no longer tethered to a single computer or network. Change computers, and your existing applications and documents follow you through the cloud. Move to a portable device, and your apps and docs are still available. There’s no need to buy a special version of a program for a particular device, or to save your document in a device-specific format. Your docs and their apps are the same no matter what computer or other device you’re using.