The virtualization war heats up!!!

Xen Server

2009 is said to be the year of Virtualization.

The old rivals Citrix and VMWare are at it again and this time Citrix has one-upped VMWare by offering Xen Server for free!!! Thats right folks. Thats a huge sucker punch to VMWare and also Citrix and tightened up its association with Microsoft.

See this for a review of how Xen Server matches up with its competitors.
http://virtualizationreview.com/features/article.aspx?editorialsid=2641

So in essence, Microsoft and Citrix have ganged up against current market leader VMWare. Also Citrix believes that its suite of applications called “Citrix essentials” will bring home the business as Xen Server is made free.

So even you can download the latest Xen Sevrer Enterprise edition and try it out for free!!!!
try it out here…

Microsoft plans to layoff 15000?

Its been a while since I last blogged. In any case its sad to see all the rumors floating along about Microsoft’s plan to lay off a large number of employees. Some put the “headcount” as high as 15000. As a software professional myself, its depressing to see this happen in a company widely regarded and respected as the biggest software company in the world. The layoffs here will be symbolic of the terrible economic conditions the IT industry is going through.

Though as per Steve Ballmer, the company’s CEO…the layoffs might not be so huge after all. In any case lets wait and watch.

Muahahaha

Courtesy: NDTV

Microsoft says it will slash 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months as it reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter profit.

The software giant said Thursday the moves were driven by deteriorating global economic conditions and lower client revenue, resulting from weakness in the PC market and a shift to lower-priced notebook models.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company says profit slipped to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, from year-ago earnings of $4.71 billion, or 50 cents per share.

It says total revenue edged up 2 percent to $16.63 billion, as server, tools and entertainment sales helped offset an 8 percent drop in client revenue.

The results missed Wall Street’s forecast for earnings of 49 cents per share on sales of $17.08 billion.

Microsoft Corp. says the job cuts will reduce operating costs by $1.5 billion as it prepares for lower revenue and earnings in the second half of the year.

The company says it is unable to offer profit and revenue guidance for the rest of the year, due to market volatility.