Virtual Technology allows solution providers to build appliances that better fit their customers needs and bring increased margins. While hardware appliances introduce both positive and negative elements into the market, solution providers do have an avenue to greatly reduce the negatives and enhance the positives. While that may sound like a magic trick, solution providers will find that by combining open source products with virtual server technology, it will allow them to build their own appliances that bring simplicity to the enterprise, yet are still upgradable and deliver much higher margins. Virtualization technology makes this all possible by eliminating the proprietary hardware that is needed to build a hardware appliance. Adding the open source element then allows VARs to build a customized virtual appliance that can be much more profitable. Those building virtual appliances also have the option of selling generic server hardware to run one or more virtual appliances, as far as scalability is concerned, it all comes down to the power of the hardware. VARs can upgrade processors, memory and so on to increase performance if needed.
/ 12 
