PART 1:  Endpoint Virtualization Series

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase, I’d have a lot of nickels.  The point is that still an awful lot of people who are researching virtualization technology (because that’s what you do these days if you’re in IT) start with Citrix and VMware, perhaps go to Microsoft, then stop.  Certainly there are a ton of smaller companies being ignored that also have virtualization technologies.  But Symantec is a big company with virtualization technologies, and more people are learning about Symantec’s solutions every day.

Because Symantec holds such strong positions in security and storage, we are not normally the first company that comes to mind when thinking about virtualization.  However, there are some really good reasons that more and more companies, after looking at ALL of the options, are excited to select Symantec solutions.  In fact, the above phrase is usually followed by “This is great stuff!”

There are other reasons that people get confused about virtualization technologies, like not understanding the different types of virtualization, or which ones solve which problems, should they standardize on one technology, or is the best solution a mix of technologies.  Just understanding what technologies each company has to offer, and what they specialize in could help the investigative process a lot.  But there aren’t too many easy summaries or overviews to help with this.  I am going to try to do this for you.  You might think that this would be a biased account.  But interestingly, for the areas, where VMware and Citrix excel, Symantec doesn’t compete.  There is only a little bit of overlap, and we always encourage companies to do their own evaluations.  This allows us to work alongside these other companies quite happily, and I can honestly encourage a reasonable evaluation of the infrastructure alternatives.  And it will still benefit you to evaluate Symantec, regardless of your choices.

In case this sounds even more confusing, you are not alone.  Ask anyone and they will tell you the world of virtualization is a confusing place, and finding the right technologies to solve the right problems, without spending more money and adding more confusion to your environment, is an often unresolved challenge.  I’ll explain why that is and how to see the landscape more clearly, next time.

Next in the Series: I Know All About Virtualization, Don’t I?