Cheaper virtualization becoming a reality

VMware on Tuesday unwrapped the latest version of its Virtual Infrastructure -- re-christened as vSphere 4.0 -- and detailed a new pricing structure that might make IT shops consider more ways to reap virtualization's bounty.

Simply put, VMware now offers two lower-cost stratifications called vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus, as well as two new higher-end iterations in the form of Enterprise and Enterprise Plus. Pricing at the high end has risen while it's plummeted at the low end, but more importantly, the new versions mean that IT shops have more midrange options, pointed out Richard Jones, vice president of datacenter services at Burton Group.

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"VMware owned the market for a couple years, but now with the introduction of Microsoft's Hyper-V, Citrix making XenServer free, and even Oracle's VM, there's pricing pressure on VMware," said Mark Bowker, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group.

VMware has responded to the pricing pressure. The new options unveiled on Tuesday stretch from the low-end vSphere Essentials at $166 per processor to vSphere Enterprise Plus, which carries a $3,495 ticket for each processor.

Granted, vSphere Essentials is for smaller customers only. But even for enterprises virtualization pricing is dropping, according to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "The way that virtualization has spread into every corner of the enterprise is creating the opportunity for volume pricing."

The upgrade to vSphere 4 is free for existing VI 3.x Enterprise customers, said Raghu Raghuram, VMware vice president of products and solutions. "You don't have to pay a dime extra."

In addition to lower prices, Pund-IT's King said, the virtualization sector is undergoing "a real shift in the way vendors' quantify business value." Today, that means proving a return on investment as well as the quality of business performance. "That's in reaction to how cautious IT has become with their dollars before spending tens of thousands," King explained.

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