Research Brief: Networking Virtual Appliance Trends

Server virtualization technology is enabling organizations to do more than just consolidate workloads, optimize hardware, and conserve data center floor space. ESG research indicates that many firms are using server virtualization technology as a way to deploy networking and security functions in virtual appliances, a form factor that offers enhanced flexibility and convenience. In the near future, however, virtual appliances will evolve to enable granular network segmentation, layered security, and off-the-shelf network/security infrastructure servers.