Mark Bowker
Senior Analyst
Enterprise Strategy Group
Mark Bowker joined ESG in 2006 and currently champions ESG’s Data Center Transformation practice, focusing on all things virtualization and cloud computing. In his current role, Mark researches the various virtualization technologies available and the impact these solutions have on IT strategies and the broader marketplace. His other research areas include cloud computing, data center management, and application workload deployment in next generation data centers, as well as the external influences that drive the adoption of these technologies.
Prior to ESG, Mark ran the IT organization for a business consulting and technology services company and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He has experience in designing, implementing, and expanding network and system infrastructure for global organizations.
Mark holds a BS in Management Information Systems from American International College and a continuing education certificate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in UNIX administration and C++ programming. He is also a private pilot. You can usually find him flying around the skies of New England on the weekends.
Jon Oltsik
Sr. Principal Analyst
Enterprise Strategy Group
Jon Oltsik is a principal analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group as well as the founder of its Information Security and Networking services.
Oltsik is widely recognized as an expert in security management and technology as well as identity and access management. Most recently, Oltsik has focused on Information Technology and Cybersecurity in the U.S. Federal Government.
Oltsik has been in the technology industry for well over 20 years. Prior to joining ESG, Oltsik was the founder and principal of Hype-Free Consulting. Mr. Oltsik has also held senior positions at GiantLoop Network, Forrester Research, and EMC Corporation, and Epoch Systems. Mr. Oltsik has an MBA and a BA degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Most people understand that virtualization technology turns physical systems like servers into virtual machines. This is just the underpinning, however; virtualization can also change the way IT is built, managed, and secured. In this session, Enterprise Strategy Group analysts Jon Oltsik and Mark Bowker will highlight recent research on server virtualization to present a snapshot of the market today. This presentation will look at server virtualization deployment, detail how enterprises are using the technology, discuss what benefits users are achieving, and call out new organizational and technical challenges directly related to server virtualization. The presentation will also introduce the audience to the ESG Server Virtualization Maturity Model which maps users into server virtualization leaders, followers, or laggards, and then details the characteristics of each group.
Participants will learn:
- How organizations are using server virtualization technology today
- Server virtualization benefits and challenges
- How use of server virtualization changes over time
- What issues users should anticipate as their server virtualization deployment grows