As seen here, VMWare is set to slash the pricing for VMWare ESX and VirtualCenter for the SME market – three copies of ESX and a limited copy of VirtualCenter, for the nice round price of $3k US – a significant price cut. This is hot on the heels of XenSource’s new pricing and acquisition by Citrix (XenSource also has a current promotion of “buy one, get three” as an introduction to the new XE 4.0 pricing model.)
Has VMWare seen the writing on the wall? They look a bit defensive at times. Or maybe VMWare has just realised they’ve neglected the SME market for too long. In NZ especially, most businesses are in the SME bracket, and just can’t afford VMWare’s prices – it’s cheaper to buy a new server machine in most cases.
Xen Enterprise’s new price tag of $2.5kUS may be outside their reach as well, but most SMEs don’t need the enterprise features present in XenSource’s flagship product. XenServer, at $750 US, fits right in the sweet spot, along with VirtualIron’s flagship offering.