RSSVMware CEO ousted for former Microsoft exec
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published July 9, 2008, 6:48 PM
Diane Greene, CEO of industry leading virtualization firm VMware, has lost her job to Paul Maritz, a former Microsoft executive who arrived at EMC -- VMware's owner since 2004 -- with its buyout of Pi Corp. last year.
In issuing an announcement that stunned the software industry, EMC Chairman Joe Tucci applauded Greene -- who co-founded the $1.3 billion virtualization software company 10 years ago -- for guiding "the creation and development of a company that is changing the way that people think about computing." According to some analysts, though, Greene and Tucci have been at odds with each other ever since EMC's acquisition of VMware four years ago. Issues have apparently included Greene's management style, which has been described as private and detail-oriented.
But although VMware remains the top seller in the virtualization software market, the field is becoming increasingly crowded, particularly with Microsoft's arrival earlier this year.
But while existing virtualization players such as Parallels have been advancing their technologies, VMware hasn't been known for all that much innovation lately.
When VMware recently reported that its anticipated revenues for 2008 would be "modestly below" an initial forecast of a 50 percent increase, the company's shares took a tumble in the stock market. Maritz, Greene's new replacement, is someone who must know a lot about Microsoft. As previously reported in BetaNews, upon EMC's acquisition of the somewhat mysterious Pi Corp., -- the developer of a novel type of personal information management software -- Maritz immediately took over the reins of EMC's emerging cloud computing division, an entity which is competing with Microsoft.
Before that, Maritz spent 14 years with Microsoft, serving as a member of the Executive Committee which manages that company. During various stints, he was in charge of developing and marketing Microsoft's Systems Software (such as Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows 2000), Development and Database Products, and Office and Exchange line-ups.
An MIT-educated engineer and computer scientist, Greene co-founded VMware with her husband, Mendel Rosenblum, and three other engineers. Her husband remains at VMware as chief scientist.
What is not mentioned is that it has been reported that Greene was trying to get Vmware re-spun off away from EMC. This ticked Tucci off as she probably went directly to board members to garner support of the idea. There have been internal memos leaked that support this.
Score: 0
|"VMware hasn't been known for all that much innovation lately"
What?? Have they used VMware ESX in an enterprise lately?? ESXi is an amazing accomplishment. VMotion and Storage VMotion make life for a SysAdmin soooo much easier -- Microsoft can't do it. VMware virtual servers use generic VMware drivers which means you can easily move them to dis-similar hardware in a DR situation -- Microsoft uses drivers tied to the host's hardware and claim this is a good thing (WTF?). Microsoft hires product evangelists (seriously), VMware enterprise customers ARE the VMware evangelists, just talk to one.
Score: 0
|"VMware hasn't been known for all that much innovation lately"
What?? Have they used VMware ESX in an enterprise lately?? ESXi is an amazing accomplishment. VMotion and Storage VMotion make life for a SysAdmin soooo much easier -- Microsoft can't do it. VMware virtual servers use generic VMware drivers which means you can easily move them to dis-similar hardware in a DR situation -- Microsoft uses drivers tied to the host's hardware and claim this is a good thing (WTF?). Microsoft hires product evangelists (seriously), VMware enterprise customers ARE the VMware evangelists, just talk to one.
Score: 0
|Actually, not to take anything away from VMWare who does dominate the x86 marketspace... aside from adding USB capability to Workstation, and releasing Fusion for the Mac (which is a truly kick @ss environment that the Windows folks SHOULD be jealous of for a fraction of the price of Workstation!!!), they haven't. ;-)
Parallels has (surprisingly) been the big innovator lately.
But I don't think you will hear too many of the VMWare users complain about VMWare.
Score: 0
|I think they have plenty of new innovative products.
Even without them, where's the need? After the physical servers are connected up, you can pretty much get an ESX cluster installed and configured in under 4 hours.
I don't know of any other Virtualization product that is as easy to implement and use. It really is an amazing product.
Score: 0
|You obviously are unaware of some of Parallels new technologies relative to virtualization. BN addressed this a week or so ago.
And go back and re-examine the original statement. VMWare was innovative. But they have not come out with any significant NEW innovations lately. Fixes and refinements and small functionality, but NOT new innovations.
You may not know about the other virtualization products, but they have significantly closed the gap in an x86 market segment that VMWare wholly Owned until just several years ago. Simply being a fan of VMWare is not enough to change the facts of the market.
It is interesting to note that so many in the x86 world are simply oblivious to the rest of the enterprise world.
IBM's AIX has had 64 bit virtualization capabilities embedded in the OS since 1998. And it is as simple to implement as several commands.
Score: 0
|Will AIX run windows server virtualized?
I haven't looked at Parallels yet. I'm downloading their bare metal beta now.
Still, I'd pick ESX right now over most of the other options just based on their longer track record. Parallels is a bit to new for me to move an organization to it.
Score: 0
|Why should AIX run Windows?
Windows doesn't support the vast majority of the protocols and services utilized in a secure distributed UNIX environment tied to the Power platform!
Their virtualization suite has been fundamental to the OS for over TEN years - back with VMWare was still a concept and certainly not an enterprise class product! It is not some add on environment!
It runs AIX virtual environments as well as 64 bit enterprise Linux variants...again for over 10 years.
And who in that environment wants to run Windows server???
This technology did not come from the desktop market and spread to the enterprise backend - it was the other way around.
And the desktop market does not drive the enterprise backend. In fact, as the Windows world is rightly discovering, it is moving more toward a secure Citrix based thin terminal world. Who needs PCs in the enterprise...
Score: 0
|Gee, now this is a VMWare fanbiy issue.
We have used VMWare at the enterprise level on x86 machines for almost 6 years. It works fine, but it HAS had functional limitations and some security issues.
Their primary orientation in the last 3 or so years has been fixing bugs and in adding necessary lacking functionality such as support for USB.
Except for Fusion for the Mac, and the ability to download canned opensource VMs and run them without the full version of VMWare installed nothing radically new has emerged.
Enthusiasm is nice, but facts and market awareness is even better.
And VMWare enterprise customers are users of VMWare. I don't know any who are "evangelists"! Not even at the VMWare developer's forum!
It is a tool, one that either solves a problem or exacerbates it. No one goes home and sleeps with the manual or the box.
Evangelists? God, we could stand a few LESS evangelists on this site.
Score: 0
|VMWare has supported USB 1.1 in all products except ESX for years. 2.0 is supported in Workstation 6, and Server 2.x.
There hasn't been a ton of new innovation, unless you discount:
ESX 3i (embedded)
VMWare Server (becoming free)
VMWare Lab Manager
VMWare Stage Manager
VMWare Desktop Infrastructure
etc. ;-)
They have a great core product, it makes sense that they are now building management and new product lines around it.
There's been a lot of good work in the Xen, and VirtualBox arena too (I have parallels, legally and I've used it once so I can't comment on it).
Score: 0
|Yes, and I had it on HPUX.
It's very new to the x86 and x64 platforms, and it's about time it matured enough to get it. :-D
I've been doing software hypervisor work on x86 (not in the enterprise of course) since 1999, even when it wasn't hardware. ;-)
Score: 0
|There are some more details over at virtualization.info:
http://www.virtualizatio...ware-loses-its-ceo.html
http://www.virtualizatio...-employees-reveals.html
Score: 0
|It's a sad day for VMWare.
'nuff said
Score: 0
|It was a sad day when they were bought by EMC.
A simple example of the problems with customer support (I dare you to call their sales number and get a real person!) is that their 30 day support begins counting on the sales date - not even the delivery date , or more reasonably, the software registration date.
Good product. lousy sales structure - and sales reps who lack any substantial knowledge of the product. (But when you do finally get support - IF your support has not already expired by the time you can install it! - support is good.) A fine product made more difficult by an awkward support system.
Score: 0
|"It was a sad day when they were bought by EMC."
I second that.
Score: 0
|A good friend to many has left.
On the bright side, change isn't always bad. Maybe (And I'm being incredibly hopeful and positive here...which hurts) we'll start seeing some new ideas coming out, or implementations of ideas that have been apparently ignored. (Seamless linux desktop in Mac/Windows?, seamless Mac/Windows desktop in Linux?)
Yeah, not really "Enterprise" oriented, but still....I can dream. ;)
Score: 0
|Don't u get seamless with the free VirtualBox?
I have my gripes with their QA and it sometimes taking forever to fix acknowledged bugs that slipped but it's a top notch product. Hopefully Sun will make it only better.
Score: 0
|Don't u get seamless with the free VirtualBox?
Sure. Windows guest/Windows host.
Not very useful. :(
it's a top notch product.
For personal use, I agree, and use it myself.
Score: 0
|You get it with Windows Guest, Linux host too.
I like VMWare server better.
The storage management interface in VirtualBox is ridiculous, I shouldn't have to "add" an ISO to a management interface, then attach it to a VM.
That's the ONLY reason I don't use it, petty but MEH.
:-D
Score: 0
|They have had this on Linux for a LONG time, and on the Mac since last summer in VMWare Fusion.
Score: 0
|See? See how you are?
I actually *like* that feature. Set up a list of ISO's and Hard Disks and you can swap around all you want without ever having to browse for them.
Of course, you'd rather use the command line. ;)
Score: 0
|It's absolutely useless.
I much prefer the command line and text files, but that's just me.
heh
Score: 0
|