Virtualization has been widely touted as a major cost-saving technology that reduces infrastructure costs and streamlines IT management. But in this economic climate, are small and midsize businesses willing to spend their IT budgets on emerging technology? Some vendors are betting on it.

Software company DataCore is the latest vendor to offer virtualization products aimed at the small-business market. The company announced a new line of software packages, with entry prices starting at under $2,000 per server, that includes thin provisioning, data migration technology, storage performance caching software, snapshots for fast disk backups, remote site disaster recovery replication and the company’s HA (High Availability) data protection.

DataCore President and CEO George Teixeira said the software is a “renewable resource” within SMBs that will provide years of return on investment, “Unlike throwaway hardware-based solutions, it can be expanded and upgraded to meet growth needs and stay on top of the rapid pace of changes in IT,” he said.

However, a recent report from research firm IDC suggests small-business owners will likely spend IT budgets on more bread-and-butter issues such as security and storage rather than on emerging technologies. The reasoning rests on the shaky global economic situation. But IDC did say a heavy marketing push by vendors should heighten interest in virtualization among SMBs in the next 12 to 24 months.

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