Over half (53 per cent) of UK businesses are unable to implement virtualisation technology because of a lack of relevant skills, according to independent research commissioned by IT consultant Avanade.

Although 46 per cent of respondents have mapped a virtualisation strategy, a skills gap in this area is proving a stumbling block for more than half.

Other perceived barriers cited include: understanding what systems are currently in place (38 per cent), decreased system availability (19 per cent), increased complexity (49 per cent) and extended time for transition to the new infrastructure (40 per cent).

'It has taken a long time for virtualisation to become a reality,' said Brent Kronenberg, director of enterprise service solutions at Avanade.

'This research helps explain why many companies are talking about virtualisation, but fewer are actually doing it. It’s one thing having a vision of your ideal technology infrastructure, but quite another if you don’t have access to the skills to make it happen.'

Nearly a third of respondents (28 per cent) have already deployed a virtualisation strategy. The drivers for their decisions range from cost reduction (83 per cent) to improved system management (81 per cent) and the ability to deploy new technologies faster (81 per cent).

Oil, gas and utilities companies are leading the adoption (44 per cent), with financial services and communication and media firms following at approximately a third each (31 per cent).

Virtualisation is also by far the technology that most companies are looking to invest in, followed by service orientated architecture (40 per cent) and self-healing networks (41 per cent).

'The right skills are not just required in the implementation phase,' said Kronenberg. 'There have been a number of reported issues in measuring the return on investment and extent of the server estate – to ensure real value, you need a team that can provide these metrics back to the business.'