Microsoft Launches Virtualization Partner Profitability Kit
Microsoft is making another virtualization pitch to partners. This one involves a two-part claim: First, the world has evolved beyond VMware. And second, a new Microsoft partner profitability toolkit can assist channel partners with their virtualization business practices. Here’s a quick look at both claims.
In a blog post, David Greschler, director of Microsoft’s virtualization strategy, wrote:
Every partner knows about the great opportunity to sell virtualization technology and services. For a while, that meant one thing: working exclusively with VMware.
Times have changed.
Greschler says Microsoft’s Hyper-V generated 215 percent year-over-year quarterly growth in Q4 2009, according to IDC. Now, he adds, “Nearly every VMware partner we talk to recognizes that Microsoft is a major player in virtualization and tells us they would like an opportunity to build a virtualization practice that includes both VMware and Microsoft.”
With that goal in mind, Microsoft has launched a so-called virtualization partner profitability toolkit for channel partners. Microsoft dubs it no more than an “interactive spreadsheet,” but it’s designed around selling virtualization into midsize businesses. Microsoft hopes the new calculator also allows partners to get a decent overview of the differences between doing project work around technology from only one vendor, to bringing in other practices and being “technology agnostic” with multiple vendors.
Fun to note, Microsoft concedes that some of the results for project would could favor VMware. But take a long-term view, Microsoft claims, and the numbers start to favor Hyper-V. “The logic here is pretty simple,” wrote Greschler. “Microsoft virtualization offerings are 3 to 5 times less expensive than VMware so partners can sell more of it, and there are some great follow-on project opportunities to add value for customers in security, integrated management, operating system and application upgrades, moving toward desktop virtualization and the cloud, and so forth.”
Still, here’s an interesting twist: During a recent meeting with a major storage company, a CEO in the room told The VAR Guy’s staff that he expected VMware to maintain market share. The reason: Although VMware may be more expensive than rival offerings, VMware still manages to save customers substantial money through server consolidation projects. Plus, VMware has a strong track record for reliability, the CEO noted.
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