Microsoft, Novell Making Virtualization Moves At VMworld

The VAR Guy is hearing rumblings from Novell about potential virtualization news at this week’s Microsoft GetVirtualNow event or the upcoming VMworld, scheduled for Sept. 15-18 in Las Vegas. The news will likely involve bi-directional virtualization efforts with Microsoft, according to our resident blogger. Here’s the scoop.

First, a little background. When Microsoft and Novell hopped into bed together in November 2006, skeptics viewed it as little more than marketing hype, and conspiracy theorists accused Novell of selling out to the evil empire.

Truth be told, The VAR Guy despises the patent agreement that Microsoft and Novell signed. And plenty of reporters have raised questions about the relationship.

Still, there’s no denying that Novell and Microsoft are working closely together. Seriously. And plenty of CIOs like the joint efforts.

This week, Microsoft is hosting a major virtualization event of its own. And next week during VMworld, The VAR Guy expects to hear quite a bit about bi-directional virtualization between Windows Server and Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 release.

According to one Novell insider, attendees should expect to see or hear about SUSE Linux running virtualized on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003. On the flip side, watch for Windows Server 2008 to run as a virtualized guest on top of the Xen hypervisor in SUSE Linux Enterprise 10.

Novell announced the Xen/Windows Server 2008 efforts in June. Apparently, the efforts are now fully baked, and Novell will put them in the spotlight during VMworld.

The Bigger Picture

Smart move. But virtualization is only one piece of complex business puzzle that Novell needs to snap together. Generally speaking, The VAR Guy thinks Red Hat has shown greater momentum than Novell with its ISV (independent software vendor) and channel partner efforts.

Indeed, Red Hat will generate roughly $332 million through channel partners this year. In stark contrast, Novell’s entire SUSE Linux annual revenue is roughly $110 million to $150 million or so, according to The VAR Guy’s best estimates.

Novell has managed to line up 2,000 certified ISVs for SUSE Linux, but the company still needs to announce a new channel chief to head Novell’s global partner strategy.

Novell is expected to announce the channel partner executive within days.