Fortify Software, specialists in enterprise application security, says that VMWare's release of a raft of patches this week - referred to many as a mega-patch - is likely to be the first of many such moves as hacker interest in the virtual environment takes off.

"With the dramatic fall in processor prices over the last 12 months and the amplifying effects of the credit crunch, many companies are reviewing their IT resources and concluding that virtual servers are a highly cost-effective and business-efficient way to go," said Rob Rachwald, Fortify's director of product marketing.

"A typical major business may find that VMWare gives them access to, say, 16 virtual servers when they only have 12 physical servers. This is a real cost-saver and also allows companies to start taking out more innovative software licenses as well," he added.

According to Rachwald, this is why some many major organizations, including educational campuses, are going down the virtual server route.

The only issue that clouds the horizon, however, says Rachwald, is that many conventional IT security applications do not fully protect virtual server users.

"It's a whole new security ballgame, which is why we urge anyone contemplating migrating over to the benefits of a virtual server system to review their IT security systems. It's also one of the reasons why we predict that virtual server patches will become commonplace in the months ahead," he explained.

For more information on Fortify Software contact Yvonne Eskenzi, Yvonne@eskenzipr.com at Eskenzi PR.