GLG News by Content Management Software Users (North America)

VMWare dominates the virtualization market today, but their position is being assailed from several angles. Citrix and XenSource make a formidable competitor, and Microsoft’s Viridian is an ever-present threat. It’s not going to be as easy for VMWare as it might appear.

If Marvell’s chips perform as advertised, this is a killer product. Anything that can deliver a 50% reduction in power consumption will be universally adopted. Data center managers are becoming desperate to reduce power consumption by even 10%, and will embrace a 50% reduction as a gift from the gods....

Google is going to war in the mobile space as part of a wide coalition, rather than attempting to single-handedly take on the entrenched players. This virtually guarantees they will succeed at some level, and possibly achieve huge success.

Now that “everyone” is outsourcing to India, the next big thing is outsourcing to China. The first rule is China is not the same as India. Chinese outsourcing can be necessary for survival, or it can be a money-pit for the unwary.

Cisco’s growth and profitability make it the envy of most corporations. While many high-tech companies sustained permanent damage in the dot-com crash, Cisco rolled with the punches and rebounded stronger than ever. Consequently, when they showcase their Telepresence system as the wave of the future,...

Microsoft’s Windows Server is growing rapidly. At the same time, Linux (particularly Red Hat) is displacing Sun Microsystems’s Solaris, IBM’s AIX and HP’s HP-UX. Windows is not displacing Linux.

Virtualization, together with advances in hardware, will dramatically change the face of the data center. Change will come slowly, but it will come. “The data center is the computer” will be the operating paradigm eventually.

Mobile service, and particularly International mobile service, is a hugely profitable market for mobile carriers. Consequently they are fighting hard to prevent VoIP from entering that market. If Skype can finally get into this market it will be the first movement in a landslide.

Microsoft’s latest offering sounds the death knell for traditional PBX’s. Unified (audio, video, email, IM) communications will be normal in 3-5 years. Microsoft may not dominate this market, but they will have a huge impact.

Microsoft’s executives continue to test the waters to see if they can scare people away from Red Hat Linux. Whether or not they ever attempt to make good on these threats will likely depend on the reaction they get. If they ever believe they can get away with it, they will certainly sue someone.