Target Virtualizes Its Business-Critical Retail Store Applications Using Microsoft Technology

Discount retailer Target has virtualized business-critical workloads such as inventory, point-of-sale, supply-chain management, asset protection, in-store digital media and other functions using virtualization and management technologies from Microsoft. Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center are being implemented on 15,000 virtual machines at 1,755 stores and 37 national distribution centers in 49 states. Applications supported include Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP1, SharePoint 2007 and Exchange 2007, as well as third-party, line-of-business software. By using the new technologies, Target eliminated 8,650 physical servers along with their maintenance and power costs, according to Microsoft..