Virtualization solutions market

Date: July 8, 2024
Edition: System Administrator magazine. Issue No.6 (259), 2024

Evgeny Chuverin

Evgeny Chuverin, Product Manager (PLM) of Merlion's virtualization department, told the editors of the System Administrator magazine about the criteria for selecting a distributor for virtualization solutions to be included in his portfolio.

According to the "Review of the Russian market of infrastructure software and prospects for its development" by Strategy Partners, the market for virtualization solutions grew by 37% due to the high priority of import substitution of this class of software among customers. In 2023, the Russian market saw an increase in the number of available virtualization products, which, in some cases, delayed consumer decisions on implementation due to the necessity of testing various products.

The System Administrator magazine asked experts several clarifying questions.

1. What criteria do you consider when choosing virtualization software vendors?
2. What are the expectations of customers from Russian vendors?
3. Which domestic virtualization solution do you believe is a suitable substitute for foreign vendor products?
4. What are the current limitations of Russian virtualization solutions in terms of capabilities?
5. Please share your experience with migrating to Russian virtualization software.

Evgeny Chuverin, Product Manager (PLM) of Merlion's virtualization department, shared, "As one of the leading distributors, Merlion observes an increased interest in Russian virtualization solutions in the IT market. We strive to enhance our portfolio with IT products that cater to companies' needs."

In selecting Russian virtualization solutions, we prioritize the following criteria:

• Compatibility and functionality. We test and verify nearly all solutions introduced in the Russian market. However, you can never be certain of how a solution will perform in real-world scenarios. First and foremost, the solution must be technologically compatible with the customer's global infrastructure and enable seamless migration.
• The vendor's activity involves updating functionality and providing long-term support for the entire product life cycle.
• High reliability is crucial: solutions must be safe, highly resistant to failures, and meet all the requirements of Russian legislation and quality. Ability to fully integrate into the customer's IT landscape.

Evgeny also discussed the expectations of customers from Russian vendors: "Merlion customers (who are our partners' customers - system integrators) have a single desire - a secure and trouble-free operation of the entire infrastructure and the confidence that replacing one component will not affect the others."

Evgeny Chuverin discussed the leaders in the virtualization market and the opportunities that Russian vendors still need to improve. He mentioned that there are currently about a dozen mature solutions. In their portfolio, they have gathered developers whose solutions are applicable to both the SMB segment and enterprise customers.

The market leaders stand out not only for their virtualization solutions but also for their entire product ecosystems.

Despite significant progress, Russian developers still have much room for improvement, particularly in expanding the ecosystem to ensure compatibility with a wide range of software and hardware components. However, manufacturers are constantly working on improvements, and this is evident with each new update and release.

The full article and opinions of other participants can be found on the website of the System Administrator magazine