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VMware: VMware Server for the SMB!



ZDnet guys report (and not totally unexpected actually, the move to push VMware Server into SMB that is). Like I said in my previous Strategy Article about fighting the Low-Cost Rivals, the strategy must revolve around something more concrete than just plain fending off the rivals. And a move to the SMB market is indeed the most logical one.

The bundle from VMware includes VirtualCenter for VMware Server and support for $1,500. VMware Server is available for free and anyone can download it. VMware's SMB bundle will enable companies to monitor virtual machines and setup alerts for computing thresholds, provision servers and cut hardware costs.


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PS: Coming back to another news article and my take on it:


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"That's the key. ESX is a big nut to swallow for small businesses," said Marc Mangus, vice president of practice development at MTM Technologies, a Houston-based solution provider. "This is something new for VMWare outside their traditional sweet spot. I think it is all positive though, because it does allow smaller companies to run more software on less servers."


And here all I can say is that one (as a consultant, marketer, channel sales engineer) must really gauge the situation and the history of that potential SMB client. Tell me how do you define a SMB client anyways? Many SMB's may have (from the infrastructure point of view) fewer machines on desktop and server level BUT have robust business so they can easily buy and sustain the license and operational costs with ESX Server. And this reseller would agree:

"We only sell ESX server, so [VMware Server is] not of interest to us. We sell plenty of ESX to the SMB market," said Kaplan, whose company formed two years ago as a dedicated VMware partner. "I'm sure they will have a big sell to small business, but we want the full value. ESX is a bare metal [solution]. It rides on top of Linux or Windows and still has the underlying complexity of the OS you have to deal with."


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Although it will be pretty hard for this very same reseller to sell ESX to a high school or Jr. Secondary school , which have relatively bulkier infrastructure (more pcs, students with laptops, servers running on PCs etc). They will find deploying ESX a very expensive exercise. Buy compliant hardware, train staff, robust networking considerations. Simply higher operational costs! These are perfect candidates for VMware Server + Virtual Center (or any other Management Solution like VMLogix for instance) to start moving towards a virtual infrastructure.

So my advice (for both vendors and clients): Gauge your situation properly. Check your wallet and operational maturity. As a VMware Consultant you would want to help them achieve the same actually. So you're both looking at the same goal.
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