Want some insight on what's coming next when it comes to database technologies? Take a few minutes to read a good piece by writer Wayne Rash on how database virtualization is just starting to pop into play.

The eWeek.com article offers up insight from industry analysts and a company that's embarked on using virtualization within its database environment and what it hopes to accomplish.

Here's what it's all about in the words of Enterprise Strategy Group Senior Consulting Analyst Brian Babineau who discusses how database virtualization is a natural expansion from virtualizing the server infrastructure.

“In database virtualization, it’s very similar. We take an instance of rows and columns and allow it to be fluid. We can move it anywhere. We can shrink the size of it, we can write to it anywhere, we can allow the table to be split up multiple times.”

That equates to easier (and cheaper) management, higher availability and better performance, according to experts.

But maybe most interesting is this tidbit as many tech teams many not realize how much duplication is happening today when it comes to databases and applications:

More than 30 percent of data in organizations is duplicated because they have to use those databases by multiple applications.

So it's not hard to see the win-win that virtualization could bring down the road: a streamlined database environment and the need for just a single version of data.

Sounds like nirvana.