Adoption of Virtualization by Government Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

Virtualization is an emerging trend that entails turning an object or resource simulated or emulated in software into an identical physically realized object in terms of functions. It uses abstraction to make software look and act like hardware, with significant advantages in flexibility, cost, scalability, overall capabilities, performance and a wide range of applications. Virtualization provides an opportunity for government organizations to share (ICT) resources. These resources include; servers, operating systems, applications and data storage devices. This paper establishes the most relevant issues related to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding adoption of virtualization and presents a framework of the factors involved in adoption of this technology. The aim is to explore the potential of virtualization adoption in transforming and automating the business processes of government organizations in Kenya. Adoption of this technology is key to policy makers, regulators, service providers, and the industry and research institutions.