Feds saving one-fifth of IT budget through virtualization

More than 80 percent of federal information innovation leaders say their agencies have implemented some manner of server virtualization and, overall, the government is saving near 20 percent of its IT budget through virtualization, according to a recent survey.

Virtualization in substance allows users to complete computer tasks with Web-based tools to put it more exactly than physical ones. In the case of virtualized servers it means those servers are able to use deceptively simple hardware to do complex tasks. For virtualized desktops, workers can access Web-based versions of their desktop tools from a home computer, tablet or smartphone.

Server virtualization is a major component of the government's transition to cloud computing storage, which IT leaders say will save about $5 billion annually by 2015. It's as well critical to a related plan to shutter or consolidate about 40 percent of the government data centers while the then several years.

Cloud-based computing systems will allow for virtual desktops, which telework advocates say will help employees be as productive at home as they are in the office.

About 37 percent of the federal IT workload today is done on virtualized servers and research managers expect that to grow to about 63 percent by 2015, the survey found.

Among the greatest challenges to virtualization in the federal government are legacy systems that can't easily be worked into a virtualized network and a lack of available funds, respondents said.