Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual copy of a physical computer. The benefits that virtualization can provide to companies are many. This technology allows businesses to reduce hardware cost, while raising the speed and productivity of operations. Nowadays, about 9 out of 10 firms implement virtualization in their IT operations.

The following will introduce the basics of virtualization for businesses. You may find a way to take advantage of this solution to help your company. An MSP (managed services provider) can provide the expertise you will need for implementation.

Basics

Virtualization is a process that can replicate a physical computer into a digital file, which can function identically on another computer. How can this be useful? Well, there can be cost savings.

Let’s imagine that your startup’s team has been outfitted with affordable consumer-grade Windows laptops. What if two members want to sometimes use Apple’s iOS because they are more familiar using certain software on that operating system? You want your employees to be as productive as possible, but there are no funds available for buying two new expensive MacBooks. Fortunately, you can create a virtual version of a Mac on both their laptops, saving thousands of dollars.

Your two team members have also become more agile and independent thanks to virtualization. Now that they have a Mac virtual machine on their laptops, they can quickly switch between two different operating systems. For example, they will be able to tell how an app or website is working on either Windows 11 or iOS 15.4.1.

Hypervisor

Making fast switches between two operating systems like Windows and iOS will require a hypervisor. It is a software layer that lets a physical computer run various operating systems simultaneously.

Working like a traffic guard, a hypervisor assigns each operational system its position in a computer’s storage system and allocates each a certain amount of power.

Part 2 will cover how businesses can move forward by implementing virtualization.

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