TechWorld was able to catch up with XenSource CTO Simon Crosby in London where he was recently discussing the background to the XenSource and Symantec deal. Interestingly, they were able to get much more from Simon, as he offered up his opinions on the future of the virtualisation industry. And evidently, he launched a serious critique of VMware and even of business partner Microsoft. Questions asked and answere TechWorld was able to catch up with XenSource CTO Simon Crosby in London where he was recently discussing the background to the XenSource and Symantec deal. Interestingly, they were able to get much more from Simon, as he offered up his opinions on the future of the virtualisation industry. And evidently, he launched a serious critique of VMware and even of business partner Microsoft. Questions asked and answered include the following: Q: How do you see the future of the virtualisation market? A: The world has created a new Microsoft – there’s a monster embedded in our industry. So the market is starting to crystallise, partly as a consequence of the way that VMware is building its company. They just want to sell more and more, and it’s starting to step on people’s toes. Q: Is VMware really that horrible? A: Unlike VMware, Microsoft doesn’t compete with its channel but leaves room for an ecosystem. It’s a superb platform player. Microsoft is very conscious of its scale and leaves pockets of $100m markets around for its partners. Our relationship with Microsoft is strong, will remain strong, and strengthens every day. Microsoft has been a very supportive partner. The chink in VMware’s armour is the weakness of its ecosystem – all its partners are under threat. That said, I wouldn’t fault VMware entirely. VMware has grown very fast – they had to do that so I can’t fault them for it, but no-one’s making money out of VMware. There’s a general sense of unease. Read the rest of this great interview, here. Software Development