For example, EMA found in a survey of 627 respondents earlier this year that virtualization benefits for enterprise IT managers include server consolidation (73%), reduced hardware costs (69%), lower system administration costs (50%), reduced data center floor space/rent (48%) and reduced software costs (34%).

The same survey revealed the enterprise IT managers also experience gains deploying automation software. Nearly 50% cited reduced manual management costs and 40% said deploying automation technology improved human resource efficiency.

According to Mann, "Automation can also stabilize (or even reduce) IT administration headcount -- our research shows that data centers that deploy automation can reduce their IT administration staff by around 50%, saving 11 [full-time employees] or almost three-quarters of a million dollars ($727,257) annually in staffing costs alone."

Embotics says its approach to tracking virtual machine life cycles can potentially help enterprise IT managers curb , which could negate the if virtualization technology if left unchecked.

"Virtualization technology has become an integral part of most data centers, and the market is now looking at ways of addressing the problem of dealing with virtual sprawl," said Phil Reddon, managing director of Covington, in a statement. "Embotics has developed products that allow their clients to manage their virtual environments in an efficient and cost-effective manner. As a result, the demand for their products continues to grow at a significant rate."