BES CAN run on a Virtual machine (Hyper-V or VMWare), as long as it has enough allocated resources. If you don't want to use the P2V Utility, you have to remember a few things:
1) You will have downtime, as you cannot have two BES servers running the same license key at the same time. Exception is that if you have a TSupport contract with RIM, they may issue you a temporary license to get your new server running.
2) Decide what upgrade path you want to take. You have two options. One is to install an identical load on your VM, move the DB file from the old physical server to the VM, restart BES services, and then upgrade. The other is to upgrade first, but the process still will involve making sure your two environments are patched to the SAME level before you move your BES database.
In any case, make sure you allocate enough resources to your VM, make sure your old and new servers are patched to the same level, and unless you are working with RIM make sure you don't have both servers online at the same time. To clarify, the servers can be up at the same time, but BES services CANNOT be running on the two machines at the same time. If they are, RIM will lock your license and you will have to contact them to get it unlocked.
