The Future of Virtualization

Predicting the future is always difficult. A less difficult exercise, however, is to examine trends and see where they are going. From this perspective, we can follow the massive acceptance of virtualization technologies and the virtualization vendors’ race to get their share of the market. Virtualization is still a young technology, but it is growing at a very fast pace. In the next few years, we will continue to see growing acceptance of virtualization and new technologies, but, as with most things, as the technology matures and becomes more mainstream, the pace of change will slow and shift from functionality features to manageability and performance features.

Based on research, I will make the following predictions about the future of virtualization and virtualization technologies. One thing is certain: The technology will continue to evolve, driven by business needs and competition. The following sections contain a list of predictions for the future of virtualization, in no particular order or priority of importance.