What does the concept of virtualization entail?

The concept of virtualization fundamentally involves the creation of a virtual version of a resource, which can include hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. This technique allows multiple instances of operating systems or applications to run simultaneously on a single physical machine while sharing the underlying hardware.

By creating virtual versions of these resources, organizations can optimize their IT environments, improve resource utilization, facilitate easier backups, and enhance disaster recovery setups. Virtualization also enables better isolation between different workloads and applications, leading to improved security and performance.

The other choices, while related to computing concepts, do not encapsulate the essence of virtualization. Running multiple operating systems on one machine is a specific application of virtualization but doesn’t represent the broader concept. Physical upgrades to IT equipment refer to tangible hardware enhancements, which are outside the scope of virtualization, and removing hardware dependencies in software is a benefit that can arise from virtualization but does not define the core concept itself.