Virtualization on RISC: Hot Now, but Short Lived, According to In-Depth Interviews with Fortune 1000 Server Pros Conducted by TheInfoPro (TIP).

NEW YORK -- TheInfoPro (TIP), www.TheInfoPro.net, has released Wave 2 of its Server Study. According to over 133 in-depth interviews with leading-edge Server pros conducted by TheInfoPro (TIP), Server Virtualization continues to gain acceptance in Enterprise Computing, with over 86% of users reporting that Virtualization is either critical or valuable to their longer-term business objectives. What is less clear is the value users see in virtualizing on RISC-based systems over the long term.

Wave 1 of the Server Study was conducted in Spring of 2005, and released in July. Wave 2 was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2005, and is being released in the first week of February.

Virtualization is hot, but on what platform? While users were evenly split between "Scaling Out" (adding processing power through the addition of small units such as blades) and "Scaling Up" (adding processing power through virtualizing larger systems), users with Virtualization plans showed a strong preference for x86 over RISC in the long term.

--RISC servers continue to show spending growth in TIP's 2006 projections, but users report greater interest in x86's increasing power and standardized instruction set, allowing them to run many of the same applications on the same operating systems as RISC, at far lower costs.

--On the software side of the equation, Virtual Machine Software such as EMC's VMware is ranked at the top of TIP's patented Server Software Technology Heat Index(TM), with benefits such as cost reduction and server consolidation most often cited.

--While RISC systems such as IBM's POWER5-based systems and Sun's systems are enjoying strong sales now, RISC servers are fairly low on TIP's Server Hardware Technology Heat Index(TM), due in part to their market maturity and saturation.

TIP's patented Technology Heat Index(TM) factors in the current and planned usage of over 30 different Server hardware and software technologies, including Server Virtualization, Blade Servers, and Storage hardware, prioritizing them based on the immediacy of planned implementation and near-term spending. Particular weight is given to those technologies with high interest, but low deployment, which signals significant growth opportunity.

The Server Study asked many detailed psychographic questions on the "motivators and inhibitors" of Virtualization, as well as technology choices and timeframe for deployments:

--Over 50% of users are already virtualizing applications or workloads they deem "mission critical".

--Of those mission critical applications virtualized, over 40% are classified as "business applications".

--36% believe that virtualized x86 boxes will be the dominant platform being deployed in 2010, while only 3% believed virtualized RISC boxes would be dominant.

--Over 25% believe "cost savings" is the primary driver of Virtualization, while another 25% feel "server consolidation" is a primary driver.

For more details on these findings, please review a multimedia presentation at: http://www.brainshark.com/theinfopro/VirtW2

"While virtualization is fast becoming a way of life for Server professionals, and many are implementing Virtualization on RISC, users believe they can wring more costs out of the data center virtualizing on x86 in the long run," notes Bob Gill, TIP's Chief Research Officer. "Many see Virtualization as a means of cutting costs, while providing flexibility such as dynamic provisioning of server images. As standard offerings from Intel and AMD move to include multi-core, 64-bit processors, x86 system performance in comparison to RISC ceases to be an issue."

Wave 2 of TIP's Server Study captured details on a broad range of user experiences and plans for Grid Computing, Virtualization, Blade Servers, Server Networking, Server and Systems Management, Storage options, and Processor types. Vendors discussed and rated by users include: IBM, HP, Dell, Sun, AMD, Intel, Egenera, Fabric7, Brocade, McDATA, QLogic, Network Appliance, Broadcomm, EMC VMware, Microsoft, Red Hat, SUSE/Novell, Altiris, Opsware, HP/RLX and Emulex.

"TIP captures vendor performance ratings, detailed commentary, spending plans, and the technology roadmaps from over 130 of the most sophisticated users of Server technology," notes TIP CEO and Founder Ken Male. "Our Server Study complements the investigation we do of the Storage, Networking, and Information Security markets, providing an unmatched view as to what is happening inside the enterprise, all delivered transparently without any analyst spin or bias."

Over 800 IT decision makers are members of the TIPNetwork, including Citigroup, FedEx, Cingular Wireless, MasterCard, Pfizer, Vodafone, and PepsiCo. To learn more about TIP's independent, objective research process visit www.TheInfoPro.net.

To learn more about the studies contact [e-mail] or Deborah Cavaliere at 212-672-0014.

This press release is online at: http://www.theinfopro.net/news.html