On February 1, Hewlett-Packard will launch its Virtualization Assessment Service. The goal is to inform small and medium size businesses how virtualization could aid them. Virtualization, the company says, is the ability to subdivide servers and enable them to perform different tasks simultaneously. This is done by using programs to partition the support elements of the computer and enable more than one completely independent operating system to run. Smaller companies will be reached by HP's channel partners, the company says.