Lucian Lipinsky and Ron Pondiscio of Deloitte Consulting seemed a little out of place here in San Francisco dark suits, East-coast accents, and not drunk on the VMware Kool-Aid. These gentlemen like VMware and presented common-sense rationale for its implementation, but almost alone in a sea (well, in this case, a bay) of virtualization fervor, they sounded a note of reason.

First of all, this isn’t new. Anyone heard of mainframes? In the 60s? Or server consolidation on Unix in the 90s and 00s? Get real.

Should your company virtualize? Sure, if it helps you realize your business goals, not just the goals of your IT department. Depends on your applications. Depends on your business forecast. Depends on your staff. Virtualization fits really well where it fits, but it doesn’t solve everything.

Should you run back to the office and institute sweeping changes, mass installations, and total data center overhaul? Fuhgeddaboudit. You’re gonna be upgrading in the next year or so, right? Do it then. As you go. It’s an evolution, not a revolution. Makes more financial sense. If it doesn’t make financial sense, it doesn’t make sense period.

Great job, guys. You may recognize us, we were the ones in the back of the room waving lighters and shouting for an encore at the end of your presentation. Go Patriots.