Many people ask me about what the next big thing is:

- some argue it is VOIP

- some say convergence of all mobile technologies (that would be nice).

- some say Blue tooth (still for some stupid reason).

Personally, I think it's gonna be virtualization.

If you have never heard of VMware or Xen... then don't bother reading any further, cause what I am about to discuss won't make much sense to you. I suggest you do some reseach and maybe even play with it a bit, and you will start to see what I will be discussing..

I have seen many companies, enterprises and small, grasping at straws to cut down on the space and effort need to keep all their server equipment all properly managed. Management means find space, making sure everything is cooled properly and handling any issues that come up from aging equipment. So what's the best solution out there? Well, some say Blade server; but I digress, since blade servers need much more cooling than their bigger and bulkier counterparts. Some even say super-computers; but again I have to argue that in most cases, it isn't raw CPU power that is needed... rather the need to have speration between processes. That's where virtualization technology comes into play.

By virtualizing your server farm... you could potentially cut down the server count by as much as 60%. This is especially the case for under-utlilized web servers, file and print servers and in some cases, E-mail servers. By running products like VMware on high end powerfully redundant servers, one can create an environment that is dynamic, stable and scalable; while cutting down the costs of space and cooling management to a minimal footprint. By my estimates, most servers in fact are under-utlized as far as CPU resources are concerned, so products like VMware and Xen are perfect for consolidating resources and pooling them accordingly.

Currently as I write this, I know there is a BIG demand for IT staff that are experienced with Virtualization technologies. I know for a fact that VMware certified people are in high demand because of this increased demand. As the technology progresses and adoption at the enterprise level increases, so does the demand for qualified people to administer and implement these solutions.

So VOIP may make it big and a cellphone/pocket PC type device maybe the next killer app/device; but I still put my money on virtaulization software and in fact, this techie is thinking about getting VMware certified.