There is a lot of talk these days about virtual computers and virtualization. There can be advantages to virtual computers, such as being able to run different operating systems on a single computer at the same time. This means that a single file is available to both operating systems. It eliminates the need to reboot and select which operating system you want to work in.
However, virtualization needs to be approached carefully. There are many applications that will not run reliably, or at all, on a virtual computer.
A while back, we had a customer with a relationship with another vendor for some of their hardware products. We found out that he was changing all of their servers to be virtual servers. First, this customer really had no need for virtualization. Second, he had not checked out the software they were running, to see if it was compatible. Major components of their Point of Sale system, the primary software for the company, were not compatible. Fortunately, we found out what had been planned, and warned the customer so they could stop it, before a critical machine was converted. This would have taken the corporate server down for their day-to-day operations.
If you have a need for virtualization, and the software you have is compatible, then by all means look into it. If you need help sorting through all the intricacies, we are happy to help. Contact us at CCS Retail Systems.