--- title: "Report finds VIRTUALIZATION to be the #1 priority for IT Leaders" description: "Global business consulting firm, Protiviti compiled the survey aimed to assess what IT leaders found to be lacking within their environment. Virtualization ranked #1 with 86% listing the solution as a significant priority." image: https://blog.vlcm.com/hubfs/list-372766_1280.png?t=1534372344393 --- [![VLCM Getting IT Right Logo](https://blog.vlcm.com/hubfs/_vlcmlogos/vlcm%20tagline.svg "VLCM Getting IT Right Logo")](https://www.vlcm.com) # Report finds VIRTUALIZATION to be the #1 priority for IT Leaders ![](https://blog.vlcm.com/hubfs/vlcm.png) Jessica Doucette August 16, 2018 [mailto:?subject=[SUBJECT]&body=Check%20out%20this%20site%20https://blog.vlcm.com/blog/ne/report-finds-virtualization-to-be-the-1-priority-for-it-leaders](mailto:?subject=[SUBJECT]&body=Check%20out%20this%20site%20https://blog.vlcm.com/blog/ne/report-finds-virtualization-to-be-the-1-priority-for-it-leaders) 1000-person survey finds [virtualization](https://blog.vlcmtech.com/blog/virtualization-101) to be the top IT game changer for IT leaders. With most companies approaching the end of their fiscal year, this highly valuable and efficient nugget of technology should be highly considered when mapping this year’s IT budget.  ![Pixabay - To do list](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/list-372766_1280.png?t=1534372344393&width=618&name=list-372766_1280.png "Pixabay - To do list") Global business consulting firm, [Protiviti](http://www.protiviti.com/en-US/Documents/Surveys/2015-IT-Priorities-Survey-Protiviti.pdf) compiled the survey aimed to assess what IT leaders found to be lacking within their environment. Seeing a 15% priority increase from the previous year, virtualization ranked #1 with a resounding 86% of the participants listing the solution as a “significant priority” in regards to cost reduction and simplification. # Cost Savings Virtualization’s magnetic pull can be attributed to its dual purpose in enhancing value while slashing costs. Boosted efficiency and productivity spawn from a reduction in power usage, operating costs, and hardware. # Security Aside from its incredible cost saving factor, virtualization is also playing a large role in strengthening security and disaster recovery capabilities. By cutting down hardware, virtualization can simplify deployment, maintenance, and patching. Additionally, with the reduction in number of servers, virtualization consequently creates a smaller attack surface - enhancing your security simply by size. Virtualization also grants administrators the ability to record all activity, making it easier to monitor and audit activity on the host. Learn more about virtualization’s security benefits [here.](http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/features/scale-security) # Other Survey Results Additionally topping the priority list was virus/malware/advanced threat detection/eradication, data breach and privacy laws, and enterprise architecture. Ranking the top of IT’s transformation objectives were cost/simplification (64%), new functionality (such as mobility, new products, etc.), service assurance, and regulatory/compliance. ## **TOP 10 IT PRIORITIES FOR 2015 (INCLUDING TIES)** | **Rank** | **IT Area** | **2015 Priority Index** | **2014 Priority Index** | **Significant Priority** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | |   1 |  Virtualization | 7.3 | 6.5 | 86% | |   2 |  Virus/malware advanced threat  detection/eradication | 7.1 | N/A | 83% | |   3 (tie) |  Data breach and privacy laws (various U.S. states) | 7.0 | 6.2 | 83% | |  Enterprise architecture | 7.0 | N/A | 81% | | |  Incident response success  (containment, recovery) | 7.0 | 6.3 | 83% | | |  Monitoring security events | 7.0 | 6.4 | 84% | | |   7 (tie) |  Data architecture | 6.9 | 6.4 | 81% | |  Data governance | 6.9 | 6.3 | 81% | | |  Incident response policy and  preparedness | 6.9 | 6.3 | 82% | | |  Incident response reaction time | 6.9 | 6.3 | 83% | | |  IT project management | 6.9 | 6.5 | 82% | | |  Patch management | 6.9 | N/A | 83% | | |  Vulnerability scanning | 6.9 | N/A | 82% | | - [Protiviti](http://www.protiviti.com/en-US/Documents/Surveys/2015-IT-Priorities-Survey-Protiviti.pdf)   [powered by](https://www.surveymonkey.com/user/sign-up/?ut_source=powered_by&ut_source2=new_website_collector)   **Copyright VLCM   |  All Rights Reserved  |  [Privacy](https://www.vlcm.com/privacy)** - [![facebook icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-fa.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-fa.png "facebook icon")](https://www.facebook.com/VLCMtech/)[![linkedin icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-in.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-in.png "linkedin icon") ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/valcom-vlcm-) [![instagram icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-phot.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-phot.png "instagram icon") ](https://www.instagram.com/vlcmtech/) [![twitter icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-twi.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-twi.png "twitter icon") ](https://twitter.com/vlcmtech)[![shopping cart icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cart.png?width=24&name=cart.png "shopping cart icon") ](https://usm.channelonline.com/valcomslc/storesite/Login/?destination=/valcomslc/storesite/Search/Category/index.co) ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=494756&fmt=gif)