By sharing the resources of a single server across multiple environments, virtualization essentially allows one server to do the job of multiple devices. Virtual servers can host multiple operating systems and applications locally and in remote locations, eliminating physical and geographical barriers.

By consolidating servers, an enterprise can increase the utilization of its existing hardware from 10-or-15 percent up to 80 percent. This is while reducing hardware requirements by a 10-to-1 ratio or better, according to research from VMware.

"There are a lot of upfront costs savings," confirms Joe Leung, worldwide program manager for HP's ProLiant Business Advantage. The technology also allows firms to save server room space over the long run.

In addition to reducing capital expenses and promoting energy savings due to more efficient use of hardware resources, virtualization helps facilitate high availability of resources, increased security and even improved disaster recovery processes.