This month's issue of our newsletter is all about virtualization. And for good reason.

Taking advantage of virtualization technologies can improve your operational efficiency, saving you money and freeing up resources that can be put to work on other important technology projects. Take a look at the Did-You-Know article from our March 2011 Newsletter for why your business should be considering it. I think you’ll find the numbers are compelling.

Yet, while the improvements virtualization offer are real, simply running out and virtualizing as much as you can as fast as you can will leave you wondering just where all your benefits went.

Look before you leap

Before you jump into virtualizing every server in your data center, you need to know that as good as this technology is, there are some applications that will do well in this environment and others that will not.

A good first step is to make sure your IT team truly understands all the nuances of the technology. Many virtualization projects end badly because something as simple as I/O capacity (the ability to move data) is not considered — even though virtualization depends on efficient data movement.

And don’t be fooled by vendors pitching some kind of virtualization starter kit. To really reap the benefits, you need to see the big picture of virtualization in your IT environment. It’s essential to have a plan that moves you from a starter phase to a management phase. As always with complex technology, we suggest talking with a trusted expert before signing on for a do-it-yourself project.