Virtualisation is going to be a key opportunity for software players in the next 3 to 5 years, according to Amit Chatterjee, general manager, Windows Group of Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited.

Virtualisation of PC and server enables manoeuvrablity with various operative systems at the front end and provide a novel opportunity to optimise the utilisation of server space at the back-end across the enterprises.

While a team at Microsft's India Development Center in Hyderabad is slated to work on further abstraction in terms of server virtualisation alongside its management strategies, the virtual PC developed by the IDC and released last month had received instant response indicating its advantage for PC users.

The free software tool had recorded 4.5 lakh downloads in the first week of its launch, Amit told reporters.

Currently, the Virtual PC supports several versions of Windows OS and the company is working on the next version with a few more features such as USB support among others.