This year InfoWorld Technology of the Year Award looks odd: a new category Platforms appeared with the description of Linux desktops and server and application virtualization.
I don’t understand how these segments could coexist together on a single category.
Anyway it has been almost completely monopolized by virtualization products, where some popular names in the market received the award:
- VMware Infrastructure 3 (Best Server Virtualization)
- SWsoft Virtuozzo 3.0 for Linux (Best Server Virtualization)
- Scalent V/OE 2.0 (Adaptive Infrastructure Innovator)
- Altiris SVS 2.0 (Best Application Virtualization)
- Surgient VTMS 5.0 (Best Virtual Lab Automation)
It seems strange to me competitive products (VMware and SWsoft) are receiving same award: it’s true they have different approach to virtualization, but they still are on the same customers target.
Also: why a datacenter automation product (Surgient VTMS) is included in this category? And why server virtualization for desktops products (VMware Workstation/Player, Microsoft Virtual PC and Parallels Workstation/Desktop) don’t appear at all?
Another couple of things are notable:
- poor Novell/SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 achieved last position in this category
- VMware (server virtualization), SWsoft (OS partitioning) and Altiris (application virtualization) won over Xen/XenSource/Virtual Iron, Sun and Microsoft/Softricity
Last year InfoWorld had a category Virtualization for virtualization products, where VMware ESX Server, VirtualCenter and Workstation won, and a Operating System category for OSes. Definitively less confusing.
P.s.: VMware didn’t achieve only InfoWorld award. Its free Server also won the eWEEK Labs award as Top Product of 2006.
Number of prized VMware collected in these years is overwhelming. So much that they arranged a dedicated page about them.