Virtualization Editorial

Our next question was about Desktop Virtualization. Would it 'come from behind' in 2008-9 and start to catch up server and network virtualization as the hottest growth area, did our experts think?

Scalent's Epstein thinks not. "Anything that helps manage desktops is an interesting growth market, but CPU virtualization provides for server consolidation, which seems inherantly higher value on a total available market basis."

But Trigence COO Hamilton disagrees: "I think that there will be a big up tick for desktop application virtualization with declining pricing."

Observing that this growth "will create a true dragalong effect for Trigence and Application Virtualization within the data center," Hamilton's view is that application virtualization for the desktop, while the new thing several years ago, has now moved out of the early adopter stage and into the mainstream, becoming a commodity.

Enomaly's Reuven Cohen is even more forthright: "Desktop virtualization will be hot," he declares. "But infrastructure virtualization will be hotter."

There is another dimension to it too, according to Reuven:

"Personally I find desktop virtualization another way to force Windows licenses down our throats. I'd rather see a shift away from desktop computing altogether."

Mention (again) of Microsoft leads to the next question, which is who - if anyone - currently has a stranglehold on virtualization?

A recent report by Saugatuck Technology speculated that a VMware / Cisco / Citrix stranglehold will last till as long as 2010, which does not impress Cohen: "I'm not aware of a VMware / Cisco / Citrix stranglehold. But then again I've never heard of Saugatuck. I'd rather see a grudge match in the octagon of death this Friday on pay-per-view," he quips.

Trigence's Hamilton on the other hand sees the picture differently, especially in view of the M&A records of these companies:

"I think that given their size and appetite for acquiring companies this could very well be accurate. However if they focus purely on P2V or on VDI they are only addressing half the problem. People are waking up and realizing that its not just the desktop where app virtualization plays. They are realizing that the data center is rapidly becoming a problem for them where application virtualization can help tremendously. "

"Shouldn't that read 'VMware / Citrix / Microsoft'?" asks Epstein. "It sure looks like CPU virtualization is a three-horse race until Intel's chips are shipping," he adds, "but that's hardly a stranglehold on a market that's desparately seeking management, I/O and infrastructure virtualization."

Next page: What Role in Virtualization Will Open Source Play?

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