Next Software Frontier: Virtualization

Now that you know that next software frontier crosses Usability and Software Testing, what is next? Definetly virtulization.

Not so visible to general users, unless you are on Mac running your Windows in a virtual machine. For Mac users VMWare Fusion or Parallels is must have. But virtualization is making a revolution in IT "under the hood". A BlackBerry user? You are backed by virtualization!

The changes virtualization is bringing to the software are exciting. Not only does it redefine the ways we think and use computers, it redefines what computers are. In the virtual world, when you need an extra hard drive, you don't run to Best Buy: with a few clicks a new HD is at your disposal. No need to ghost a machine: take a snapshot and revert to it any time. Record the execution and play it back bit by bit. Run the machine and throw away all the changes after the session is done. Playing with new software in a sandbox of VM - isn't it cool? I hate iTune for installing bunch of crap on my PC - I isolate it in a Virtual Machine, turn on demand. Well if you are with virtualization, you got it, if not - go catch up right away.

I predict that like any big invention, after aging a bit in enterprise it will come directly to consumers. And for developers: many assumptions turn false in virtual world. What was expensive is now cheap. What was impossible is now possible. This opens a Pandora box of surprises and opportunities. Get ready.