Virtualization Services Market, 2007-2011 Forecast

August 15, 2007
By

James Maguire

• Submit Feedback »
• More by Author »

Phase three – still in the future – is when virtualization is no longer its own market. Clients won't be soliciting requests for proposals for virtualization help, but instead will assume any large consulting firm handles it as a matter of course.

“In five years, there isn’t going to be a line item in the RFP that says, ‘You must be able to do virtualization.’ It’s going to be a given. And if you [consultants] can’t do that, you will not get short-listed for these deals.”

Two Particularly Hot Areas

In terms of how enterprise expenditures will change as the technology matures, the IDC report details the global virtualization market as follows:

(Source: IDC, 2007)

Note that in the graphic above, hardware support services captures the lion’s share of consulting fees. But as the market matures, this basic work is less important. Instead, the big systems integrators will earn a far larger percentage of the market:

(Source: IDC, 2007)

“What we’re seeing, and what we’re forecasting, is that systems integration and IT consulting are currently the fastest growing segments,” Healy says.

“Our recommendation for the big systems integrators right now is, if you do not have these capabilities, partner with people who have them, or make an acquisition,” he says. “If you don’t have these capabilities, the market will leave you behind. “