Microsoft Extends Virtualization Strategy, Outlines Product Road Map
Microsoft puts Windows Server virtualization and System Center Virtual Machine Manager on the fast track, and announces the intent to acquire Softricity Inc., a leader in application virtualization solutions within the virtualization space.
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had already framed virtualization as a technology it wanted to bring into the mainstream in an April discussion of making virtualization more broadly accessible. The May roadmap turns that positioning into a broader product-and-acquisition strategy spanning Windows Server management and application virtualization.
The intended Softricity acquisition matters because it adds an application-virtualization capability alongside Microsoft’s accelerated server-virtualization and virtual-machine-management plans.
First-order effects
- Microsoft is advancing Windows Server virtualization and System Center Virtual Machine Manager on an accelerated schedule, giving its server customers a clearer virtualization product path.
- Softricity is set to become an acquisition target for Microsoft, placing its application-virtualization technology within Microsoft’s stated virtualization strategy if the deal closes.
Second-order effects
- Enterprise buyers evaluating Windows Server virtualization must weigh Microsoft’s server and management roadmap together with its planned application-virtualization capability, rather than treating those layers as wholly separate purchases.
- Application-virtualization suppliers face a larger Microsoft presence in a category that Microsoft is explicitly linking to its server and systems-management offerings.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft executes the roadmap and acquisition as described, virtualization competition shifts toward integrated stacks that combine server virtualization, virtual-machine management, and application delivery under one vendor strategy.
The trend: Virtualization is moving from a standalone infrastructure feature toward an integrated enterprise software stack assembled through product roadmaps and capability acquisitions.