IT contractors and freelancers could soon be called upon to virtualise data centres in the UK, after one magazine claimed there are "obvious savings" to be had by implementing the process.

Michael Crane, editor of Network Communications News, said these benefits include cutting right down on hardware while sustaining the same performance.

Maintenance costs can also be reduced, saving companies even more money through efficiency saving.

"Having said that, the decision to virtualise can depend on the organisation's current business environment, the number of data centres they have, the applications used and the sort of access required," Mr Crane went on to say.

Computing giant IBM recently introduced advanced virtual deployment software that is claimed can virtualise a data centre within minutes, which may be used by IT contractors in the future.

The software is currently in an open beta stage and has "unmatched dynamic provisioning and scheduling of server resources", according to the company.