The Evolution of Virtualization

By Kirk L. Kroeker

Virtualization is moving out of the data center and making inroads with mobile computing, security, and software delivery.

It’s no secret that virtualization, a technology long associated with mainframe computers, has been transforming data centers due to its ability to consolidate hardware resources and reduce energy costs. But in addition to its impact on data centers, virtualization is emerging as a viable technology for smartphones and virtual private networks, as well as being used to reconceive agile and cloud computing.

(This article appeared in CACM, vol. 52, no. 3, March 2009, pp. 18-20.)

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