Last week Microsoft released a long press announcement detailing its renewed effort in the virtualization market:
- It announced System Center Virtual Machines Manager (SCVMM) capability to manage Citrix XenServer and Presentation Server
- It announced Hyper-V capability to use Citrix XenDeskop as VDI connection broker
- It announced acquisition of Calista Technologies to enhance its RPD protocol for VDI environments
- It announced virtualization of Vista Home Basic and Home Premium Editions
- It announced support for Office when virtualized through Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid)
- It mentioned an upcoming version of Application Virtualization for servers
virtualization.info has just learned that the same day VMware was answering the threat sending out to its sales channel a fierce and scornful analysis of the initiative.
Reporting the entire email content is out of purpose, but some quoted sentences may clarify the tone:
…Microsoft announced a hodge-podge of items related to virtualization in a desperate attempt to make it look like it had a new, coherent vision and strategy for virtualization…
…MSFT includes many recycled items in the announcement to make it look substantive. In actuality, they are just rehashes of old items. Microsoft is not delivering anything new, substituting marketing in place of real substance…
…The new items are a collection of loosely connected pieces thrown together to look like a coherent virtualization plan. Microsoft is still talking vision…
What follows is a list of reasons that clarifies the competitive advantage of VMware. Among them there’s a very interesting point about partnership between Microsoft and Citrix.
VMware is basically instilling the doubt that Citrix may be out of the game very soon, despite the strong relationship with its current partner:
…Microsoft’s announcement introduces new conflicts into the Microsoft-Citrix business partnership and begs the question “When will Microsoft dump Citrix and take all of the business for itself?” Is this just a partnership of convenience for Microsoft until it ships its own product?…
…Tell your prospects that are considering Citrix, that MSFT will soon cut Citrix out of the loop…and Citrix is allowing it to happen…
…New Conflict #1: Microsoft System Center or Citrix XenServer for Management…This declaration hits at the heart of Citrix’s stated business model for virtualization – to generate revenue from the management of Windows VMs with Citrix XenCenter. System Center and XenCenter are clearly competitors…
…New Conflict #2: Calista acquisition creates more direct competition with Citrix SpeedScreen (ICA)..This acquisition strikes at Citrix’s core business since ICA is Citrix’s key differentiator and competes with RDP…
The days when VMware and Citrix where great partners seem so far away now.