Virtualization vs Cloud Computing: What's the difference?

Virtualization and cloud computing

Virtualization vs cloud computing is two words that often seem interchangeable if you are not familiar with either work. Although the two technologies are the same, they are not the only thing, and this difference is important enough to influence your business decisions. Here is a guide to help destroy the technology behind the jargon.

What is virtualization?

Virtualization is the basic technology that powers cloud computing. This software package separates reason environments from physical infrastructure, permitting you to run multiple in operating systems and applications at the same time on an identical machine. For example, if you do most of your work on Mac, but use the selected apps, which are unique to PCs, you can run Windows on a virtual machine to access those applications without switching to the computer.


"Virtualization software package ... permits businesses to scale back IT prices by increasing the potency, usage and suppleness of their existing constituent," aforesaid microphone Adams, Senior Director of Cloud Platform Product Marketing at VMware.


There are many practical applications in virtualization. For software developers, virtualization allows them to test their applications in different environments without having to set many different computers. If the application crashes on the virtual machine, they can lock the virtual machine in the previous state and restart without damaging your computer.


The biggest advantage of virtualization is serious consolidation. Rather than maintaining multiple servers that have a different function in each, server virtualization allows you to split single server resources for many purposes. Often server resources are underestimated, resulting in businesses spending a lot on server maintenance for little output.

How is virtualization different from cloud computing?

Virtualization is software that manipulates hardware, while cloud computing refers to a service that arises from that manipulation. You can not do cloud computing without virtualization.


"Virtualization is a fundamental element of cloud computing and helps deliver the value of cloud computing," Adams said. "Cloud computing is the delivery of shared computing resources, software or data - as a service and on-demand service through the Internet."


Most confusion occurs because virtualization and cloud computing work together to provide various types of services. Claude Firm, and most often, includes virtualization products to provide computing services, said Rick Phillips, vice-president of the calculation solution at IT firm Vedenhammer.

"The difference is that a true cloud provides the self-service capability, elasticity, automatic management, scalability, and payment, as you serve, which is not rooted in virtualization," he said.

What are the advantages of virtualized environments on the cloud?

To understand the benefits of virtualization, consider the difference between private and public clouds.

A private cloud, in its own virtualized atmosphere, provides users the simplest of each world. It can give users more control and flexibility to manage their own systems, while cloud computing provides the benefits, InfraNet vice president and chief sales officer John Livesey said.

"Private cloud computing means that the client is the owner of hardware and software or provides a model of consumption," said Livesey. "You pay for the resources you go to, as you consume them, from [vendor], which is providing such resources to many customers, often in the co-tenant scenario."

On the other hand, a public cloud is an open environment for many users, which is designed to meet multi-rent needs, Philips said. "Here are some risks involved," he said, such as a poor neighbor and potential delay in performance.

With virtualization, companies can build and protect their own "castle", "said Philips. There are many benefits to this. First of all, you can maximize your resources by reducing the number of your physical resources, You need to get it. This allows you to get the maximum value from your server because you use multiple systems and applications on the same hardware Can Su. Finally, when you use virtualization, you can integrate the cost in your IT budget like all the requirements of managing, administering and managing your own infrastructure.

How do you know that your business needs virtualization solutions?

Determining that virtualization is the best solution for a business, it requires a deep analysis of the organization's specific needs and requirements. You should consider the costs; How much business can manage and wants to do; Scalability requirements; Need protection; And how many developments can be expected, Livesy said.


For a small operation looking to cut costs on computing resources and maintenance, audit your physical, on-location hardware. Are your server resources being used with full capacity? Can they take charge of any other server that is being equally underlined? This can reduce power consumption and cost.


"Businesses who work more on the OPEC [operational expenses] model, in which IT workers are less and security concerns are more oriented," said Livesey. "Businesses that need more control for integration and security or who work more on the CapEx [Capital Expenditure] model, the model will tilt towards modernization."

How do businesses apprehend if they ought to use a real cloud solution?

While virtualization is the best solution for some organizations, a cloud solution provides many benefits which are more suitable for other businesses. Philips said that cloud solutions with the following requirements are best for business:

Outsource IT - Day-to-day administration, caring, and feeding of assistive systems lead you to the service provider. It can free internal IT resources for high-value business support and allow you to put IT budget dollars towards efforts to pursue your business.

Quick setup - It is relatively quick and easy for cloud startup. When you use this type of service, the servers, equipment, and software end up the permanent license.

Pay-as-you-go - An example can be found in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications that are available today, which allow basic IT requirements to cloud off-service providers. You have to pay for what you need and use. But you do not have to continue investing in many products used to support the network and the system, such as spam/anti-virus, encryption, data collection, email services, and off-site storage.

Scalability - Using the cloud, you can temporarily measure your IT capability by loading the external provider to high-demand computer requirements. Consequently, you pay only what you need and use, only at that time when you need it.

What should businesses look at in virtualization providers?

Businesses that consider virtualization should think about the following questions, Adams said:

Is this a tried and tested solution? Do research on product innovation, success and track customer's track record.
Is there a vision and public roadmap for a solution? You want to understand how the solution will move forward and how it will help your business in the long run.

What kind of ecosystem support is available for the solution? It is essential that the seller works with a wide range of leading business and industry-specific independent software vendors (ISVs) as well as a wide range of resellers, service providers and system integrators.
What solution supports openness and choice? As your business grows, you want the flexibility to develop your ability to include your products and processes, and other techniques over time.

What will happen next?

Virtualization and cloud services are not end-all, be-all solutions Like any other technology or service, which the business adopts, things can always change.


Adams said, "Everyone has their own advantages in cloud computing and virtualization, however, they’re not in competition." "We see cloud computing as the development of virtualization. Customers who virtualize their hardware servers can adopt cloud computing over time to the level of service, scale, service delivery, and agility."


Conversation on virtualization and cloud computing nowadays speaks of "serverless computing", which aims to eliminate the end-user concerns about server maintenance, constraints, and scalability. This is a fully-managed service that often bills you for the resources you use and the amount of time your code runs. This "pay for what you use" model can be costly for small businesses, but after the technology is developed, it is constantly getting more affordable.