Virtualisation is the Top Priority for CIOs

Research analyst group IDC has released a report on the top priorities for CIOs in 2012.

Taking the number one spot, with 40% of CIOs giving it a top ranking, was virtualisation and the improved server efficiency it delivers. IDC believes that budget savings from server consolidation will then be reinvested into activities such as social media, cloud computing, data analytics and mobility.

Other key priorities uncovered by IDC were cloud services, collaboration tools, and business analytics.

David McNally, IT executive advisor at IDC, took part in a webcast where he claimed that there is a broader goal of decreasing IT complexity. Virtualisation and server consolidation play a significant role in this.

IDC considers 2012 to be the year in which CIOs shift their focus away from cost savings and productivity towards the ‘intelligent economy’. In other words, there will be an increased emphasis on delivering innovation.