Virtualization Of Computing Technology Can Save Time And Money

This article was originally published in the June 16, 2008 issue of Texas Lawyer.

As lawyers become increasingly mobile and firm budgets tighten, technology can help make attorneys and staff more efficient. In the realm of computer networking, the future lies in virtualization.

The term virtualization has been in use since the 1960s in reference to numerous aspects of computing. Generally speaking, it describes the pooling and sharing of computer technology.

Think of virtualization as a framework for dividing and allocating a computer's resources, such as the central processing unit, hard disk, operating system and network interface. Virtualization makes it possible to run multiple operating systems and applications on a single computer at the same time and allows sharing of computer hardware and software.