VMWare ESX Server continues to lead according to Centrify survey with 60% of the market. VMWare ESXi has 31%, Microsoft Hyper-V comes in at 26% and Citrix Xen Server at 18%. This is in line with what we have seen. There is definitely a continued trend to move toward virtualization and more often than in the past companies are considering Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix Xen Server.
So what is delaying some companies from implementing a virtual production environment? There is an old adage that pioneers get arrows in their back but the pioneer days of virtualization were 3 -5 years ago and ended 2 years ago when we here at Nortec virtualized our entire infrastructure. The delay has been around cost of the software and the new hardware needed to implement the solution. Microsoft’s pressure on VMWare by bundling Hyper-V with Windows 2008 is solving the cost issue. As more and more businesses reach the point of needing a hardware refresh the hardware cost issue is being resolved as well. There are still of course a few old school hold outs but by in large this shift is happening and happening fast.
If you have not already virtualized your entire server infrastructure then now is time to put your plan together. It is a great time! There are several options and all are viable and make sense. Your design and choice of hypervisor will depend on your environment and what you are trying to accomplish.
Source: Centrify
http://www.centrify.com/news/release.asp?id=2009090101