Banks across the United Kingdom and United States are realising the benefits of virtualisation banking techniques in their business operations
Banks in the United States and the United Kingdom are enjoying the benefits of virtualisation technologies in all areas of business operations, according to a new study released by Microsoft Corp. “Banks realise the impact virtualisation can have on operations, from the data centre to the desktop, and how it should be embraced as part of an enterprisewide infrastructure strategy,” said Rich Feldmann, managing director of the U.S. Financial Services Group at Microsoft.
The “Virtualisation in Banking Survey 2008,” which was conducted by independent, Washington, DC-based research firm KRC Research, found that 58% of large, tier-one banks are implementing virtualisation technologies across multiple aspects of their IT infrastructures. More than half of those surveyed said that virtualisation not only produces cost savings, but makes it easier to centralise deployment, manage applications and respond to issues such as failures of applications or systems. Other driving factors for the utilisation of virtualisation technologies included space saving, according to 46% of those surveyed, the ability to easily provide security, 46%, and the energy savings, 34%.
Bank employees also benefit from desktop and presentation virtualisation, as it allows them to run multiple operating systems on a single desktop, and seamlessly execute presentations from a remote computer. “Virtualisation helps make more effective use of existing hardware investments and significantly improve IT agility,” said Kathleen Khirallah, managing director and practice leader, Global Banking, TowerGroup. “These emerging technologies are helping today’s bank compete more effectively in an ever-changing market by helping people anticipate and respond to business challenges and opportunities rapidly and effectively,” Khirallah noted.
The mounting pressure on IT professionals to both cut costs and centrally manage IT resources seem to be driving the driving forces behind the banking industry’s adoption of various virtualisation technologies. Yet despite all of the benefits of virtualisation and its widespread use, the survey also discovered that more than a third of banks are choosing to wait for virtualisation products with a greater value and ease of use, before employing them.
The survey was conducted among 100 technology decision-makers in the United States and United Kingdom with IT management responsibilities over a region or at the enterprise level for retail banks with assets of more than $25 billion. The full results of the “Virtualisation in Banking Survey 2008” can be viewed at: Microsoft Financial Services
Highlights
• 58% of large, tier-one banks are implementing virtualisation technologies across multiple aspects of their IT infrastructures
• Benefits of virtualisation include cost, space and energy savings
• Survey conducted among 100 technology decision-makers in the United States and United Kingdom
