5. Provisioning new servers for prototyping, testing and migration is simplified.

With virtualization, creating an additional server for testing takes a few minutes, and doesn't require any additional hardware. In contrast, buying a new physical server (or keeping extras on hand for testing) is expensive, and installing the operating system and applications can be quite time-consuming. Since existing VMs can be cloned with all operating system configurations and applications, it's a very simple process duplicate a production system to test new patches or a new version of an application.

6. You can save energy.

While strides have been made in energy efficiency for servers, it's still cheaper to run one or two big servers than a dozen or more separate ones. With the latest servers, core parking and other features allow resources to be shut down when not in use, further reducing energy usage. A large server hosting dozens of VMs may not use any more energy than one small server at low levels of utilization, and it can replace dozens of small servers.

7. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure can save you a fortune on PCs.