Virtualisation Security Is Prime Concern For IT
A survey of UK IT managers has shown that virtualisation and data security are their key concerns for the next year
UK IT managers see virtualisation as the way to go but still have qualms about securing their data, according to an IP Expo survey.
The survey showed that 88 percent of the sample rated data security as a key objective and spending priority for 2011. This was closely followed by virtualisation which was identified as a priority among 85.8 percent of respondents.
Better Security In The Future
The survey was carried out by conference organiser Imago Techmedia among 257 pre-registered delegates for IP Expo 2010, a European IT infrastructure event planned for October 20 and 21.
The result demonstrates the strength of the IT managers’ drive to adopt virtualisation but concerns about its security and the ability to protect sensitive data also reared its head. Just over half of them believed that the roll-out of cloud technologies like virtualisation will need to wait until security guarantees can be demonstrated.
Eight out of 10 respondents said that the technology will require a revision of enterprise security tools and procedures. That said, about the same number saw that it would improve the overall security of business data ultimately.
Despite these worries, it was not all bad news for virtualisation vendors. Only three percent of respondents believed that security issues would stop their business from adopting any measure of virtualisation.
Virtualisation and security
Adam Malik, content director for Imago Techmedia commented, “The data security issues surrounding virtualisation are something the entire IT industry is coming together to address. The priority is to make sure that this ground breaking technology can meet the needs of companies of all sizes as well as some of the UK’s highest risk legal and financial companies.”
Some IT managers are already seeing the benefits of virtualisation. Lionel Wilson, IS Director of the Woodland Trust, has almost completed an updating of his IT infrastructure. A reduction of the environmental impact of the Trust’s systems was a key driver but improved hardware utilisation and cost savings also came into play.
Wilson said, “We’re using Microsoft Windows 2008 R2, Hyper-V and Dell’s Blade architecture. Energy use on these new systems fell by over 90 percent. Additionally the implementation of Remote Desktop Services over Sunray has allowed us to considerably reduce power use on our clients by over 95 percent whilst also improving user availability and experience.”
IP Expo 2010 takes place at Earls Court 2, London, on 20-21 October
