Pushing server virtualization without sacrificing application service levels

You're knee-deep in virtualization, and you love the ROI that you've seen so far. But you're also grappling with tough technical and political challenges posed by today's hottest technology, according to CIO's first survey on virtualization.

The top challenges? First, figuring out just how far you can push your physical servers by piling on more and more virtual machines (VMs) without slowing down application service levels, and next, getting experts from across IT silos to plan and manage the virtualized environment together. "Nobody likes change, even when there is often a better way of doing things," says Stephen Elliot, a research manager with IDC. "It takes work and a mindset to reinvent IT and ourselves."

The good news: The payback on virtualization really pops. Server virtualization, in particular, is spreading a lot of love; so far, happiness is harder to come by on the desktop.