Half of workloads will run on virtual machines in three years, up from just 16 per cent now, according to Gartner.
Admitting that "virtualisation is not currently as widespread as many presume", Gartner predicted that the tech will soon jump to 50 per cent of workloads running on x86 systems.
That move will be lead by small and medium sized businesses, the analyst firm claimed. "While large organisations were quick to leverage virtual machines to reduce server sprawl and power costs, as well as conserve data-centre space, small business started late on virtualisation," said Tom Bittman, Gartner analyst, in a statement.
But by the end of next year, businesses with 100 to a thousand employees will use virtualisation more than the top 500 firms, he predicted.
"For years the entry point was simply too high for small businesses, but increased competition by server vendors has enabled smaller firms to embrace virtualisation," he explained.
Click here to find out what's next for virtualisation.
