HP announced new products, services and solutions designed to simplify the implementation and management of virtualisation so that the technology delivers greater business value.

Recent global research conducted on behalf of HP revealed that while 86 percent of technology decision makers have implemented virtualisation projects, the vast majority of respondents expect to have virtualised just 25 percent of their technology environments by 2010.(1)

While many of those surveyed anticipate eventually reaching 75 percent virtualisation of their total environments, only one-third of these technology implementers recognise virtualisation as a valuable business tool. Two-thirds of implementers relegate virtualisation to the role of technology enabler.

“Virtualisation is a powerful step in transforming IT,” said Ann Livermore, executive vice president, Technology Solutions Group, HP. “To do it right means successfully managing and automating mixed physical and virtual environments. HP delivers the industry’s broadest portfolio for virtualised environments, covering applications and operations management, infrastructure and client architectures.”

HP’s approach to virtualisation is focused on removing the technology inhibitors that reduce virtualisation’s impact on the business. It highlights how applications and business services can perform well regardless of where and how they are hosted, networked or managed. It dramatically simplifies management across a combined virtual and physical world, and it addresses the issue of pooling infrastructure resources across an organisation.

HP’s new offerings support business needs that span the desktop to the data center. They are focused on lowering operational cost, mitigating the risk of a heterogeneous environment and freeing resources to deliver new business services.

These offerings are designed around three specific areas: applications and operations management, overcoming infrastructure barriers, and maximising client architectures.