The promise of virtualization is reduced hardware costs. By deploying virtual machines instead of physical servers, businesses do not have to purchase a new physical server every time they need to roll out new applications on dedicated servers.

According to the Yankee Group, virtualization will become a popular option -- even for businesses running a handful of servers -- as hardware becomes more powerful. And VMware is betting that SMBs will appreciate its bundle because this group accounted for 70 percent of the 1.2 million downloads of its VMware server since July 2006.

Inside the Bundle

As part of the VMware bundle, SMBs receive VMware Server, a virtualization product for Linux and Windows servers that lets users partition a physical server into multiple virtual machines. SMBs can use the free VMware Converter Starter, a migration tool optimized to help migrate physical systems to a virtual infrastructure , and then install the VMware VirtualCeter to get centralized management of their virtual infrastructure.

Centralized Management allows SMBs to monitor virtual machines and hosts from a single interface. It includes the ability to set up alerts via e-mail or predefine actions on the basis of thresholds such as CPU usage. VMware claims its Rapid Server Provisioning tool reduces time required to provision a server from hours to minutes with its preconfigured templates.

"We believe this new bundle will create an onramp for SMBs to virtualize their environments with a cost-effective, feature-rich management suite that provides tangible benefits -- including lower costs and increased responsiveness to business needs," Ben Matheson, director of product management for SMBs at VMware, said in a statement.

Realigning Perceptions

Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata, said the new bundle is indeed tuned to the needs of SMBs. Small businesses, he explained, will enjoy a subset of benefits that larger enterprises are paying for.

"SMBs have a perception that it is difficult to deploy virtualization," he said. "I don't know if this is a magic bullet. Ease of use is something everybody claims and can be difficult to quantify. But I think this should make the conversion legitimately easier for SMBs."

John Dolan, an independent consultant who specializes in SMBs looking to deploy virtualization, said the new bundle is perfect for SMBs because they can better use the rich functionality of VMware Server by adding the management features of VMware VirtualCenter.

"This allows the typically small I.T. staffs at these companies to focus on strategic projects while optimizing their long-term hardware investments and cutting costs," Dolan said in a statement. "It also provides the opportunity to scale out their infrastructure to keep pace with company growth because they can easily deploy virtual machines without adding physical hardware and can add on infrastructure virtualization capabilities as needed."