PlateSpin Forge is a virtualized disaster recovery hardware appliance that allows organizations to cost-effectively protect both physical and virtual server workloads. Designed to augment existing availability strategies and extend recovery capabilities to servers that have previously been left under-protected, PlateSpin Forge makes it easier and more cost-effective to deploy, test and manage a disaster recovery solution.

SYS-CON's Virtualization Journal announced today its first annual Virtualization Readers' Choice Awards. SYS-CON's Readers' Choice Awards, also known as the "Oscars of the Software Industry" has been one of the most prestigious industry award programs for more than a decade. This year's virtualization awards will be given in 17 categories and award-winning products and services will be selected by Virtualization Journal readers.

Virtualization takes the cost and complexity out of IT, and can even help us reduce the CO2 footprint. IDC has stated that the virtualization services market alone is going to reach $11.7 billion by 2011 and in general this technology, which has been around for a good number of years, seems suddenly to be on everyone's mind.

In short, Virtualization is fast becoming a key requirement for every server in the data center, enabling increased workloads in server consolidation projects, efficient software development and testing, resource management for dynamic data centers, application re-hosting and compatibility, and high-availability partitions.

The tipping point, though - as anticipated by industry experts already back in 2005 - seems to be coming in 2008.

2008 will be the year of Virtualization with many companies offering their products and services, including: 3 Leaf, Acronis, Agilysys, Akorri, AMD, APC, Appistry, AppStream, Attune Systems, Avanade, BEA Systems, Blue Lane, Brocade, CA, Cassatt, Certeon, CiRBA, Citrix, ClearCube, Coraid, Crosswalk, DataDirect, DataSynapse, Digipede Technologies, Double-Take Software, Dynamic Network Factory, Ecora Software, Egenera, Embotics, EMC, Enigmatic, Enomaly, EqualLogic, Evault, eXludus Technologies, F5Networks, FalconStor, FastScale Technology, Fortisphere, GlobalFluency, Grid Dynamics, Hitachi, HP, IBM, InovaWave, Intel, KACE, Kidaro, Layeredtech, LeftHand Networks, Leostream, Mainline, ManageIQ, Marathon Technologies, Mellanox Technologies, Microsoft, Mid-Atlantic Computers, Mindbridge Software, Ncomputing, NeoPath Networks, Neoware, Network Appliance, Neverfail, Novell, Opalis Software, OPNET Technologies, Opsware / HP, Oracle, Panologic, Parallels, PlateSpin, Platform Computing, PolyServe, Provision Networks, Raxco Software, Red Hat, Reflex Security, rPath, Sagent Solutions, SAP, Scalent Systems, ScienceLogic, Seanodes, Splunk, Stoneware, StorageNetworking.org, Supermicro Computer, Surgient, SWsoft, Symantec, Tangosol, Thinstall, Tideway Systems, TOA Solutions, TRANGO Virtual Processors, Trigence, Univa UD, VeeAm Software, Virtual Iron, VirtualLogix, Virtugo Software, Vizioncore, VMLogix, vmSight, VMware, vThere – Sentillion, Wyse Technology, XDS, XenSource, Xsigo Systems, and ZenithOptimedia.