Enterprise Hardware - Server Virtualization

Server virtualization is possibly the hottest buzzword in IT today, with just about every organization planning to adopt the technology if they haven't already. It's no longer considered as a technology for the big boys, but rather, it has become a necessity for every organization today. VMware rules the server virtualization

omain across both survey segments we reached out to by a wide margin. The other players are also pretty well known in this segment-MS HyperV, Citrix Xen, RedHat, Sun, and Novell, all of which made it to the Users' Choice club.

RedHat was the only brand to enjoy 100% brand loyalty amongst its existing users in the 100-499 employee enterprises, while Citrix Xen and MS HyperV are at a lowly 50% brand loyalty. While the remaining 50% of HyperV's existing users weren't sure which brand would they switch to in the future, Citrix Xen's customers clearly chose Sun. Interestingly though, Citrix Xen has better grasp over its customers in the 500-1000 employee enterprises, and enjoys 100% loyalty from them. VMware is steady at 80 and 89% brand loyalty in the SME and large enterprise segments. MS HyperV needs to watch out from Citrix Xen, Novell from RedHat, and Sun from both Citrix and RedHat when it comes to possibly customer shift-outs.

VMware is considered for its brand value amongst a majority of its existing users in the 100-499 employee enterprises, while it's product reliability that counts for a majority of them who're likely to opt for it in the near future. In the 500-1000 employee enterprises, Citrix enjoys a slight edge over VMware amongst its current users when it comes to brand value, product reliability, and initial price. VMware has a slight edge over Citrix in after sales service/support. A similar trend exists amongst users likely to buy VMware or Citrix Xen in the future.

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