VMware is driving the hottest trend in the IT industry today. Therefore I decided to do to a little research in how VMware is being seen in the media. Now, when I say media, I mean mainstream media. Not http://www.eweek.com or http://www.itworld.com/, but CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. So went to each of those sites and did a little search. I decided to search for Microsoft, Linux, and VMware. I choose Microsoft because I knew they were going to have a lot of press.  I choose Linux because I knew there would be some press, but like VMware, Linux is a major force in the It industry, but not a household name.  Here are the results:

http://www.cnn.com/:

VMware: 7 results (Estimated). Most recent: 6/16/2000. Even then the article was more about Linux.

Microsoft: 4503 (Estimated). Most recent: 1/29/2007. No surprise with Windows Vista coming out.

Linux: 1054 (Estimated). Most recent: 1/2/2007. The article is about Novel’s $100 laptop initative.

http://www.msnbc.com/:

VMware: 2 results. Most recent: 1/24/2007. Wait before you get excited. 1 result was from a MotleyFool’s report on EMC, and the other was from a Symantec press release. Both times, VMware was mentioned in passing.

Microsoft: 160821. Most recent: 1/29/2007. Once again, Windows Vista. Also remember, the MSN in MSNBC does stand for MicroSoft Network

Linux: 5130. Most recent: 1/16/2007. The article is about Sun trying to compete with Linux.

http://www.foxnews.com:

VMware: 6 results. Most recent: 1/23/2007. 4 were about EMC, 1 was about Ubuntu, and 1 about the Microsoft XenSource deal..

Microsoft: 5310. Most recent: 1/29/2007. Vista, again.

Linux: 196. Most recent: 1/16/2007. Most of the articles were about Microsoft.

So what’s the big deal? The big deal is that VMware needs to get more coverage. Pacific Gas and Electric announcing rebates for Virtualization should have been headlines in the mainstream media, and VMware’s name should have been all over that.

There are tons of articles about how Vista is going to change things. but what about the most logical platform for running Vista? What about a technology that saves companies thousands of dollars?

Virtualization is revolutionizing the data center and everyone needs to know now. Because mark my words, when Microsoft finally gets the bugs worked out of Virtual Server they will market it. Once that happens, VMware will be mentioned, but only in passing. This will give Microsoft the “perceived” advantage in the minds of those who aren’t educated in Virtualization.

I found this on http://YouTube.com/ and had to post it. It’s a VERY unofficial history of Microsoft. I couldn’t help but post it.

Back in October I reported that VMware had announced that they were going to release a new P2V tool called VMware Converter. Today VMware announced today that Converter is officially available. Their official statements says:

“VMware Converter Starter is available free of charge at www.vmware.com/products/converter. VMware Converter Enterprise is available at no additional cost to VMware customers who have current support and subscription contracts for VMware VirtualCenter Management Server.”

Some of the features include:

Convert to virtualization faster
VMware Converter rapidly improves cloning time though the use of sector-based snapshot copying rather than file level copying. Customize the image of your virtual machines through a powerful scripting tool.
Manage and schedule multiple conversions
Easily manage, schedule, and monitor multiple conversions through the centralized management console. You can even queue up conversions for a later time.
Integrate with VirtualCenter
Convert directly into VirtualCenter 2.0 managed or ESX Server 3.0 virtual machines from the VMware Converter console.
Convert remote servers
Perform remote conversions with zero disruption to the source servers.
Get broad operating system support
Support is available for cloning the most common operating systems including Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4 (SP4 +) and 64-bit Windows Support (Windows XP and Windows Server 2003).

I also have un-official word that VMware is looking to include Live P2V capabilities in the 3.0.1 version. This will be in direct competition with Platespin’s PowerConvert product.

The VMware press statement can be read here.

For more information on Converter 3 go here.