Virtualization allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on a single physical machine through the use of a hypervisor layer. It provides benefits like server consolidation, application consolidation, sandboxing, and mobility. The main technologies that enable virtualization are the hypervisor and virtual machines. Virtualization can be implemented through full virtualization, para-virtualization, software virtualization, or hardware virtualization. It has become a widely used technology in areas like desktops, servers, and cloud computing.