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Virtualisation Index

The Citrix Virtualisation Index

January 2010

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Foreword
Virtualisation is one of the fastest moving technologies in corporate IT. It offers tremendous opportunities for improved computing performance, and end-user experience, while simultaneously cutting costs and centralising control and management. Virtualisation will revolutionise the way we work. Again. And in many different ways. At a base level, for example, there is virtualisation within the datacentre (server virtualisation) and at the desktop (desktop virtualisation, which includes laptops and mobile devices). Although virtualisation can be applied to both, the aim, approach, technology and benets differ considerably between the two. In both areas, virtualisation is still regarded as a new technology. Virtualisation within the datacentre is more established, yet according to Gartner, Inc virtual machines for x86 architecture servers were rst introduced in 2001, and, today, are used for less than 20% of all x86 architecture workloads.1 Desktop virtualisation is newer still. There is still a lot of confusion around the term, with some still seeing it as synonymous with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in which Windows client operating systems are run as virtual machines in the datacentre, but in fact it encompasses a broad range of use cases, from native execution of streamed desktops, application virtualisation, local virtualisation of desktops, bare metal hypervisors on devices and user-prole management. This report aims to give a snapshot of how large enterprises view virtualisation; an end-user perspective on the adoption of virtualisation to date and future intentions. It is those within large enterprises that will lead the virtualisation revolution as they seek to deliver their company the best competitive advantage possible through the shrewd use of technology. The ndings of the report are based on a survey of 700 chief information ofcers across four countries, working for organisations with more than 500 employees. It gives a statistically valid view of virtualisation within large organisations in each country. This report focuses on ndings at an international level, but highlights any particular variance between countries. I hope you nd the report of use, and I encourage your feedback. Yours sincerely,

Mark Templeton, CEO, Citrix

Denitions for this survey Server virtualisation: Partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers such that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own virtual dedicated machine. Desktop virtualisation: Virtualisation technologies that affect the end-user computing environment, across any device, including VDI, streaming desktop, application virtualisation (through hosting or streaming), local virtualisation of desktops and user-prole management. Sample size

Gartner Inc, Hype Cycle for Real-Time Infrastructure, 2009 (29 July 2009)

The primary research ndings are based on 700 chief information ofcers across four territories. 400 were polled in North America, with a further 100 surveyed in each of the other three countries: Germany, Japan and the UK. The research was conducted independently by Vanson Bourne in November 2009.

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Virtualisation Index

Current usage of virtualisation and plans

Server virtualisation has been adopted at some level by around two-third of organisations with over 500 employees, with North America and the UK surging ahead with about 70 per cent deploying the technology.

FIGURE 1a (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

Desktop virtualisation has also been adopted in some form by around twothirds of the organisations surveyed worldwide, but the contrast between countries is starker. In our sample, North America and Germany are leading deployments, while just under half of Japanese companies have taken a look at desktop virtualisation and the UK is a little further ahead at 52 per cent. For those yet to implement the technology, there is clearly a greater intention to deploy server virtualisation (47 per cent during 2010) while 29 per cent are either not sure when they are implementing the technology or have no plans or intention to rollout desktop virtualisation, reecting the greater maturity of server virtualisation.

FIGURE 1b (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

However it is the extent of usage that is perhaps more enlightening, as gure 2 shows.

FIGURE 2 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

Perhaps the rst thing to note is that the adoption of virtualisation, while certainly underway, is still very much a work in progress. Less than a quarter of companies across the four countries surveyed have put server virtualisation to use across the organisation, and less than a fth in the desktop space. For both sides of virtualisation, half of companies are yet to get further than trials or pilot projects. The second key takeaway, and an encouraging one, is that the vast majority of those who have got far enough to implement a limited rollout have already, or intend within the next 12 months, to make greater use of virtualisation. Only around 10 per cent of those surveyed have a limited implementation of virtualisation and have no plans to extend its usage within the next 12 months. Given the pressure on IT budgets as a result of the economic climate, this seems a remarkably low gure. Finally, to give an impression of the difference in adoption between individual countries, gures 3a and 3b combine evaluating and trialling to represent early adoption and limited rollout, extending in 2010 and across the organisation to indicate mature adoption (limited rollout and not using have been left out).

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Virtualisation Index

Based on this extrapolation it is clear that, within this sample size, the UK is the furthest progressed in server use of virtualisation while North America, Japan and Germany are earlier in the cycle.

Extensibility

FIGURE 3a (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

All countries are in an earlier phase of adoption for desktop virtualisation than for server. North America appears to be marginally further along the adoption curve but there is no major difference between any of the countries.

FIGURE 3b (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

The drivers and inhibitors of virtualisation

Given the level of adoption, and that few of those who introduce virtualisation abandon it, clearly the benets of virtualisation outweighs the challenges. However, there is a marked distinction between the benets of server and desktop virtualisation. Firstly, as gure 4 shows, the advantages of virtualisation within the datacentre are straight forward.

FIGURE 4 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

The perennial concern of security hangs over server virtualisation (see gure 5), although it is difcult to understand why if the servers being virtualised remain on premises. That is not to say virtualised servers in a third party datacentre via the cloud or otherwise are insecure (far from it), but security worries are normally eased if the company retains indirect control, rather than allowing a third party to fully control and manage their data.

FIGURE 5 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

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Licensing concerns are completely understandable, although virtualisation licences are generally better structured and understood than ever before. Complexity is a genuine pain point for many companies. This is indicated by the nding that, according to Gartner Inc only a minority (about 15% to 20%) of the overall x86 installed server base has been virtualised, but this gure is expected to increase signicantly in next two to three years2. Concerns over the initial cost of server virtualisation are often over-blown too. There are now many return-on-investment studies available that can help win budgetary approval, and within the public sector the associated environmental benets can also help sway decision-making. Introducing virtualisation in tandem with the server refresh cycle can prove a zero-cost option for many organisations while open source hypervisors are another very low cost option, along with free software from commercial vendors. For many rms under capital-spending pressure, turning to a managed services provider is another alternative. Moving onto desktop virtualisation, gure 6 shows that organisations believe there is a wider range of benets than on the server side, some of which will be more applicable to certain types of organisations than others. The top three benets appear to be roughly of equal importance.

FIGURE 6 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

That the ability to give staff access from any device or location is listed as a top three benet is surprising given the economic environment, although this may reect cost saving intentions as more staff are given the facilities to work at home or on the move. Alternatively it could be in recognition that the war for young talent, as the global economy warms up in 2010, is expected to revolve around attracting and retaining high quality staff by providing exible working environments. Faster deployment, ease of migration and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) all point to a ripe frustration within organisations to improve the PC refresh cycles, operating system upgrades and patch management.

Gartner Inc, Hype Cycle for Real-Time Infrastructure, 2009 (29 July 2009)

Opinion around the security of desktop virtualisation is divided. It ranks as one of the main benets, yet is also listed as the number one concern (see gure 7). The polarisation most likely reects the level of understanding around desktop virtualisation. Given the range of technologies available under the desktop virtualisation umbrella, and the number of different types of workers (from desk-based data entry to highly mobile senior executives), the confusion is easy to see. However a comprehensive desktop virtualisation strategy, especially with hypervisors embedded into laptop chips coming to the market in 2010, ensures there are appropriately secure ways to virtualise any device. Clearly there is an opportunity for virtualisation vendors to better articulate the security benets of desktop virtualisation.

FIGURE 7 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

As for server virtualisation, licensing raises concerns but again, it is far less of an issue than it used to be. Indeed, given that desktop virtualisation is the newer technology it benets signicantly from the licensing models already developed for virtualisation of the datacentre. Complexity is an understandable irritation. On the one hand desktop virtualisation is still often mistaken as a synonym for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and therefore seems ill-equipped for enterprise-wide use. At the other extreme, there are denitions of desktop virtualisation that list over 20 subtechnologies. The denition in this report (see page 2) is how Citrix views the term, and is broadly adopted. As vendors are able to offer a complete suite of technologies to cover all types of desktops (including laptops and mobile devices) and all types of worker roles, which is very close to where Citrix believes it is, the whole area should become better dened. Vendor lock-in concerns are genuine in most areas of technology, but good quality virtualisation software exists in the open source community (for example Amazon and Google have both made good use of the open source Xen hypervisor) and most major vendors guarantee open standards.

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That user experience doesnt come higher up on the list of concerns is perhaps a surprise, and is possibly a complaint that will increase as some solutions prove unsuitable for more knowledge-based workers and senior staff, especially those that need to remain mobile. Alongside security (which is naturally well addressed by virtualisation) user experience is the most important factor in the successful use of desktop virtualisation. An extremely high quality enduser experience across the entire enterprise should be expected, but this does require a wide-ranging and exible portfolio of complementary technologies.

Planned investment and estimated returns

To account accurately for an investment in virtualisation the calculation needs to cover a broad range of spending including virtualisation software, additional licensing for applications run across virtualised environments, services, device refresh and infrastructure. Likewise savings have to be recognised across a number of areas including improved deployment of new applications, centralised management of updates and other maintenance, reduced helpdesk requirements and innovations such as bring your own computer schemes (employees purchasing their own computer using a grant from the company). As a result, both the investment and return gures represent a large proportion of an organisations IT budget. Virtualisation investment plans will rise from around 15 per cent of the IT revenue in 2010 to 20 per cent in 2014. Over that same time period, savings derived from virtualisation will rise from 25 per cent of the overall IT budget to 36 per cent in 2014. In short, done properly, the more a company invests in virtualisation, the more returns it will enjoy.

FIGURE 8 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

Virtualisation and the cloud

Cloud computing is perhaps the only area of technology that is suffering from a similar level of hype as virtualisation. Having been around a little longer, and with more proof points already established, virtualisation is probably drawing less cynicism and yet the two are closely combined. Virtualisation is the enabling technology of cloud computing, both for end-user organisations and cloud providers. While around two-thirds of companies are utilising some level of server or desktop virtualisation, only a third cited having deployed virtualisation as part of a broader cloud computing initiative. There are signicantly different adoption levels between countries. In North America for example, 45 per cent of organisations are using virtualisation to aid cloud computing while in Germany and the UK that gure is 17 and 18 per cent respectively. As might be expected, organisations use of cloud (and virtualisation to support it) is in its infancy as gure 9 demonstrates. Although results dont vary much between countries in this study, it appears that North America and Japan have the most deployments while the UK lags behind.

FIGURE 9 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

Of those not already utilising virtualisation to aid cloud computing, close to half intend to implement it during 2010 (again the UK is a notable laggard). Perhaps the most telling statistic is that seven per cent have no plans to use virtualisation to support cloud computing initiatives.

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FIGURE 10 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

With interest in cloud computing evidently high within organisations, it is natural to ask what the drivers behind cloud are from an end-user perspective. The overwhelming response is that it provides greater exibility, for example, to support new projects or running test environments. The elasticity that cloud offers is also highlighted, to support peaks in demand, while the more sober benets of improved cost efciency and stronger disaster recovery also features heavily.

FIGURE 11 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

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Likewise, as cloud computing is still at an early stage in corporate IT environments, it is interesting to assess the perceived challenges it presents. Security is the main concern, by quite some margin.

FIGURE 12 (Source: Citrix Virtualisation Index)

Closing thoughts
Without a doubt, virtualisation is a major force for change in corporate IT. Server virtualisation alone has already delivered considerable efciency gains within corporate IT as well as largely enabling the birth of cloud computing. Yet even this area of virtualisation is still young; barely adolescent in human terms. Less than a quarter of companies feel they have deployed virtualisation across the organisation (and this only reects reach, not depth; deployment will be far from complete even in these companies). At the end of 2009, half of companies had not gone beyond evaluation and trials, although it is clear that 2010 will see an enthusiastic implementation of server virtualisation. Close to half of the 700 companies surveyed state they will extend or begin server virtualisation implementation in 2010. The benets of server virtualisation are clear; consolidation reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved disaster recovery while security and licensing are the primary corporate IT concerns. However, if the corporate deployment of server virtualisation is adolescent, the utilisation of desktop virtualisation is in its infancy. While, like server virtualisation, two-third of companies have adopted desktop virtualisation in some way it is generally at a much lower level, with Japan and the UK particularly reticent to embrace it. There is also less intention to deploy desktop virtualisation than server virtualisation in 2010. Given the launch of Microsoft Windows 7 and the fact that many organisations remain on Microsoft Windows XP, serious interest in desktop virtualisation is likely to increase in 2010 as companies seek ways to ease deployment, and

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utilise their PC refresh cycle budget to bring in desktop virtualisation at zero additional cost. Companies in North America and Germany seem to be particularly aware of the possibilities that desktop virtualisation offers. The primary benets of desktop virtualisation are seen as: faster desktop deployment, the ability for staff to access from any location on any device and data security/access control. Reduced TCO is also a major incentive. Ironically, and reective of the general level of understanding around desktop virtualisation, principal concerns revolve around security, licensing and initial cost all of which are actually very well addressed. Given the range of technologies available under the desktop virtualisation umbrella, and the number of different types of workers (from desk-based data entry to highly mobile senior executives), the confusion is easy to understand. The signicant time and resources dominated by traditional desktop management - combined with pressure to improve efciencies, the consumerisation of IT, and Intels vPro chip will encourage corporate IT to thoroughly investigate desktop virtualisation and take some fundamental decisions on how to provision and support desktop in the future. As a whole, virtualisation represents a signicant proportion of corporate ITs spending and efciencies. Virtualisation investment plans will rise from around 15 per cent of the IT revenue in 2010 to 20 per cent in 2014. Over that same time period, savings derived from virtualisation will rise from 25 per cent of the overall IT budget to 36 per cent in 2014. While only a third of companies are deploying virtualisation directly in relation to a broader cloud computing initiative, greater use of virtualisation inside organisations (for example, the creation of an internal cloud) will encourage use of external cloud computing. North American companies are notably ahead in terms of embracing cloud computing, while companies in Germany and the UK are far less enthusiastic. Of those utilising cloud, over half are still evaluating or trialling. The current primary driver for cloud is that it provides greater exibility, such as supporting new projects or running test environments. The ability to support peaks in demand, improved cost efciency and stronger disaster recovery are also much appreciated.

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Final thoughts from Mark Templeton

I hope that the Citrix Virtualisation Index has given an insight into the use and adoption of virtualisation, as judged by those at the sharp end the people who make the best use of technology to help their company succeed. Server virtualisation is still in its early days and corporate IT has far more to reap from this area of technology. As for desktop virtualisation, were barely seeing the tip of a much bigger phenomenon. The vast majority of those who have got far enough to implement a limited rollout have already, or intend within the next 12 months, to make greater use of virtualisation. Though only a third of companies are currently deploying virtualisation in direct relation to a broader cloud computing initiative, just seven per cent have no plans to use virtualisation to support cloud computing initiatives. Intentions are clear.

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Mark Templeton, CEO, Citrix

www.citrix.com

About Citrix Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) is the leading provider of virtualisation, networking and software as a service technologies for more than 230,000 organisations worldwide. Its Citrix Delivery Center, Citrix Cloud Center (C3) and Citrix Online Services product families radically simplify computing for millions of users, delivering applications as an on-demand service to any user, in any location on any device. Citrix customers include the worlds largest Internet companies, 99 percent of Fortune Global 500 enterprises, and hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers worldwide. Citrix partners with over 10,000 companies worldwide in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1989, annual revenue in 2008 was $1.6 billion. 2010 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix, Citrix Delivery Center, XenApp, XenServer, NetScaler, XenDesktop, Access Gateway, Branch Repeater, HDX and Citrix Receiver are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Ofce and in other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.