Medium-sized and large business in the UK are leading the way in server virtualisation, according to a study published by vendor Citrix this month.

A global survey of 700 CIOs found that 71% of British companies have virtualised servers, compared with 69% in North America, 65% in Japan and 59% in Germany.

Despite this, Citrix’s research showed that the UK was falling behind its contemporaries in terms of desktop virtualisation, at 51% penetration, in contrast to 70% in both North America and Germany, with Japanese take-up standing at 47%.

About 11% of UK firms have failed to virtualise any of their IT environment whatsoever, which is less than the figure of 20% found in Japan, and on a par with North America, but higher than Germany’s 9%.

Security concerns are still a major obstacle to virtualising IT assets, suggested James Stevenson, area vice president for the UK and Ireland at Citrix, although he expects these anxieties to recede over time. “I expect to see even further plans put in place around virtualisation solutions and, as time develops, the allaying of any residual fears associated with the technology,” he explained.