Top 8 Virtualization Management Challenges

For many companies, a big part of digital transformation involves choosing a virtualization solution. Virtualization reduces your server footprint and infrastructure costs, as you can house multiple virtual machines on a single physical server. However, there are drawbacks to this model. Here are eight virtualization management challenges CIOs need to address.

Top 8 Virtualization Management Challenges

Resource Estimate Misfires

If you underestimate the amount of RAM you need upfront, you could shortchange the number of virtual machines you attempt to run on your host hardware.

Read more: Top IaaS Providers for 2021

Unleashed Virtual Machines

Yes, you can create dozens, or hundreds, of virtual machines on a single host. But without capacity management, some could consume all resources while leaving none for the others.

Sprawl

Creating an an army of virtual machines can also throw workflows off-balance, given the complexities they can bring to provisioning and operational tasks.

Continuity

Unlike a PC environment, virtual machines can’t be backed up to an actual hard drive. That’s why 80% of IT pros say virtualization backup is a top tech challenge.

Read more: Top Business Continuity Software for 2021

Security

Six of 10 IT pros say data protection is a top virtualization management challenge. As virtual machines proliferate, a lack of tech and business alignment on practices and procedures elevates risk.

Backward Compatibility

This is especially challenging for enterprises which still depend upon a wealth of legacy systems.

Performance Monitoring

Unlike physical servers, you can’t monitor the performance of virtual servers with common hardware resources such as CPU, memory, and storage.

Read more on ServerWatch: Server Performance Monitoring: Best Practices for Server Monitoring

Licensing Restrictions

Because virtualization might change the way licensed app infrastructure software behaves, you could violate agreements with your vendor. That may expose your organization, liability-wise.

Dennis McCafferty
Dennis McCafferty
Dennis McCafferty is a contributor to CIO Insight. He covers topics such as IT leadership, IT strategy, collaboration, and IT for businesses.

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