The Case For Virtual Appliances

Time-to-deployment means time-to-revenue for most ISVs today, and reducing deployment complexity can be the difference between making your quarterly numbers or not. ISVs can now address time-to-deployment via new options, including hardware appliances and software-as-a-service (SaaS). This report makes the case for a new deployment option made possible by the proliferation of server virtualization — the virtual appliance. Virtual appliances enable dramatically simpler on-premise deployments without the burden of hardware management or the infrastructure implications of SaaS. Other benefits include assurance around performance and reliability, simpler administration, lower software life-cycle management, and streamlined upgrades. ISVs should begin evaluating this new option to determine if it can speed deployments and transform their business models for the better.