Operating systems can't tell the difference between a virtual
machine and a physical machine, but manufacturers are seeing --
and celebrating -- the notable difference virtualization is
having on their bottom line. With aging plant infrastructures,
tighter regulations, data security issues and numerous other
challenges to address, process engineers want to get the most
from their IT-based plant assets. To do this, many have included
virtualization in their automation migration plans.
Virtualization is rapidly transforming the IT landscape, and
fundamentally changing the way you use hardware resources. And
the return on investment (ROI) is nearly immediate because
virtualization helps you build an infrastructure that better
leverages manufacturing resources and delivers high
availability. What is Virtualization? Virtualization is a
software technology that decouples the physical hardware of a
computer from its operating system (OS) and software
applications, creating a pure software instance of the former
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