--- title: MAAS – Fast and efficient virtualisation for small and medium enterprises description: The advent of virtualisation has significantly changed the way we use IT infrastructure. Whilst promising lots it is often expensive and complex. url: https://canonical.com/blog/maas-fast-efficient-virtualisation-sme?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical "More about Canonical") on 1 March 2019 # MAAS – Fast and efficient virtualisation for small and medium enterprises [MAAS](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/maas) [SMB](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/smb) [SME](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/sme) [Virtualisation](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/virtualisation) Share on:* [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.canonical.com/blog/maas-fast-efficient-virtualisation-sme "Share on Facebook") * [Twitter](https://twitter.com/share?text=MAAS%20%26%238211%3B%20Fast%20and%20efficient%20virtualisation%20for%20small%20and%20medium%20enterprises&url=https://www.canonical.com/blog/maas-fast-efficient-virtualisation-sme&hashtags=ubuntu "Share on Twitter") * [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.canonical.com/blog/maas-fast-efficient-virtualisation-sme&title=MAAS%20%26%238211%3B%20Fast%20and%20efficient%20virtualisation%20for%20small%20and%20medium%20enterprises "Share on LinkedIn") --- --- ## Newsletter signup Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/data-privacy). Sign up The advent of virtualisation has significantly changed the way we use IT infrastructure. In theory, the ability to share single server resources to run multiple isolated operating systems provides flexibility and promises easy operations. However, in practice, managing virtualised infrastructure can be quite expensive and complex as a result of numerous features that require deep technical knowledge and extensive training. The challenge is even more evident when it is necessary to manage distributed infrastructure with only a handful of servers installed in every location. Use cases range from enterprise applications and content delivery, to point of sale systems and shared file systems. Organisations are challenged with determining if their use case warrants the overhead and complexity that comes with complex virtualisation solutions, and if all of the optional features, prescriptive architecture, proprietary functionality and per-feature licensing, are truly required. MAAS addresses the gap though use of KVM Pods.  This solution allows administrators to utilise a physical host as a dedicated hypervisor and quickly create multiple KVM-based virtual machines. Based on workload requirements, infrastructure operators can easily allocate resources such as CPU, RAM and storage. This functionality extends and supplements the way MAAS manages physical infrastructure, as KVM Pods can reside side-by-side with dedicated bare-metal servers sharing the same network environment MAAS detects and configures. *KVM Pod hosting two virtual machines* On-demand, simple and automated creation of virtual machines provides businesses with the infrastructure needed for back office applications and can follow the same operation processes utilised for real servers. KVM Pods are a great example of technology abstracting complexity of hypervisor configuration and delivering resources when and how organisations need them. To learn more about KVM Pods and how to use them for SME needs, please try the latest MAAS release at [maas.io](https://maas.io/) and KVM Pods [tutorial](https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/create-kvm-pods-with-maas). [Contact us to learn more](https://www.ubuntu.com/contact-us) #### Related posts --- [David Beamonte](https://canonical.com/blog/author/dbeamonte) 14 July 2026 ### [MAAS installation: bare metal provisioning is easier than ever](https://canonical.com/blog/maas-installation-bare-metal-provisioning-is-easier-than-ever) Cloud and Infrastructure Ubuntu tech blog MAAS brings cloud-like automation to physical servers. It helps teams discover, commission, deploy, and repurpose machines from a central control plane, turning bare metal into a programmable resource. But to experience that value, users first need to get MAAS up and running. That path is now cleaner and easier to follow. We’ve created ne ... --- [David Beamonte](https://canonical.com/blog/author/dbeamonte) 9 July 2026 ### [Managing Ubuntu on bare metal at scale](https://canonical.com/blog/managing-ubuntu-on-bare-metal-at-scale) Cloud and Infrastructure Ubuntu tech blog Modern infrastructure teams are expected to deliver cloud-like speed, consistency, and reliability, even when their workloads run on physical servers. Bare metal remains essential for many environments: private clouds, Kubernetes clusters, AI infrastructure, edge sites, regulated platforms, and large Ubuntu estates. But operating physical ... --- [Rhys Knipe](https://canonical.com/blog/author/rhysknipe) 7 July 2026 ### [Ubuntu Server: a platform made for enterprise scale](https://canonical.com/blog/ubuntu-server-a-platform-made-for-enterprise-scale) Cloud and Infrastructure Ubuntu tech blog A platform is an environment that allows software to run smoothly across the infrastructure, runtime, and application layers. The key word there is “smoothly”: a good platform connects those layers so well that you don’t notice it. That’s what Ubuntu Server has become: the essential layer between bare metal and the apps running on top, ...