KL SENTRAL - Malaysians are known to be more conservative than their Western counterparts when it comes to adopting virtualisation and cloud computing solutions.

Virtualisation is an industry buzzword for computing where multiple operating systems and applications run within different virtual machines such as VMware on a single centralised computer or several interconnected, sometimes geographically dispersed computers, with common memory, storage, printing and other shared resources.

Cloud computing is the latest industry buzzword for what was previously called an application service provider (ASP) model, service-oriented architecture (SOA), software as a service (SaaS) and so on, whereby multiple, quite often geographically disperesed clients such as PCs, PDAs or mobile smartphones run applications hosted on an often remote, centralised computer via the Internet or a virtual private network within  a thin client such as a Web browser.

The reasons for both is primarily to cut capital and operational costs in terms of computer hardware, software licenses, power consumption and to optimise memory and storage resources as well as peripherals through sharing, especially in these economically challenging times.

Speaking during a break at the CSC Technology Conference on Tuesday, Wayne Roberts (pictured left), Business Development Director, CSC Malaysia, mentioned that Malaysian corporations were not considered as early adopters of emerging technology.

CSC Malaysia did not attribute the conservative attitude to a technology or monetary issue. Instead, Malaysian companies preferred to see proof of these technologies working out for them before embarking on a decision. Wayne then cited Japan's slow adoption of Internet culture despite its prominence as a highly advanced technological society, as an example.

CSC described the approach to virtualisation in Malaysia as a relatively new scene, and that there was a lack of  detailed information on expenditures concerning cloud computing in Malaysia. However, Wayne went on to explain that approximately twenty percent of the 140 companies attending the conference had already implemented virtual environments, and that another twenty percent were in the process.

When asked about the problems faced by CSC Malaysia when it came to cloud computing, Wayne answered, “Each organization will have its own challenges and risks. But some of the common challenges faced [include the] sustainability of networks and making sure that [corporations] would have a structured business plan or strategy.”

CSC Malaysia also mentioned that a lot of local companies tended to adopt technology for technology's sake, tending to adopt knee-jerk approaches to resolving problems. The IT solutions provider also claimed that it was capable of helping its customers to maximize their cost savings by as much as 25 to 40 percent through server consolidation efforts.

Wayne stressed that not every organization needs to go the full journey of virtualizing their IT environments, although companies need to assess their respective situations according to their respective business strategies.