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Hyper-V Replica, Windows Server 8 debut at Microsoft WPC 2011

LOS ANGELES -- Hyper-V Replica, the next version of Microsoft’s virtualization platform, will support more than 16 virtual CPUs per virtual machine.

The public got its first glimpse of Hyper-V Replica and Windows Server 8 at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) on the same day that VMware Inc. launched vSphere 5. The virtual CPU (vCPU) enhancement in Hyper-V Replica is one of hundreds of new features in Windows Server 8, Microsoft said.

“The improvements in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Service Pack 1 bring a lot of feature parity with [VMware],” said Dan Germain, director of hosting infrastructure for Microsoft partner Outsourcery, a cloud service provider. “The next release of Hyper-V will really nail it.”

Microsoft executives also took their share of shots at VMware’s new memory-based vSphere 5 licensing , using its potential effects on cost to hammer home their message that Microsoft virtualization is more affordable for customers – and somewhat counter-intuitively  more profitable for partners.

Whereas Hyper-V is included in Windows Server licenses, VMware licenses vSphere 5 on a per-CPU basis. And each vSphere edition sets a limit on how much virtual RAM users can assign to their virtual machines (VMs).

“It’s based on RAM allocated, not RAM used,” said Rohit Rahi, a Microsoft product marketing manager. “That’s a huge, huge, huge difference. … [VMware’s] licensing model has changed three times in the last three years, so what’s the reliability that it won’t change again in six months?”

Making money on Hyper-V

In Gartner Inc.’s latest server virtualization Magic Quadrant, the analyst firm named Microsoft a market leader for the first time (joining VMware and Citrix Systems). But Gartner also noted that, because Hyper-V is free, the channel does not have as much incentive to push it to customers.

At WPC, Microsoft told partners that the money lies in the management. Every $1 in Microsoft server virtualization software sold generates $34 in sales of complementary products and services for partners, said Sally Kim, the company’s competitive strategy director.

“It’s services dollars,” she said, “--not necessarily licensing dollars, but definitely services dollars.”

Dave Sobel, CEO of Microsoft partner Evolve Technologies, also dispelled the notion that the channel can’t make money on Hyper-V. “There are a lot of people who’ve built successful businesses around Linux, and that’s free,” he said. “I don’t buy it.

Single CIO handling different local authorities will improve ...

According to David Wilde, Public sector CIO, there should be less number of heads of IT in government. Out of his own interest and attitude, David strongly favors lessening out the ranks of CIO in government for reforming the way public services are delivered today. Wilde who was CIO at Westminster City Council is now CIO at Essex County Council wishes to see lesser number of CIOs who would take responsibility for a large number of public sector organizations. He told silicon.com that this change would prove to be very powerful and advantageous to public service delivery.

Wilde strongly believes that a CIO in charge of different local authorities can easily help these authorities to handle information and at the same time guarantees that It systems are interoperable. This is perhaps an important step in case public bodies need to coordinate front line service delivery or set up shared service centers so as to take charge of internal processes like HR. he added, information governance and information sharing is the one among the potential challenges of public sector. This challenge is deeply motivated by a fact that systems and technologies are built at organizational level and not at geographical level. Barriers can be effectively dealt with if the CIOs consider issues like benefits of information sharing while balancing against the duty to guard that information at geographical level.

Wilde also favors the single CIO working over a range of authorities including councils, health trusts and voluntary organizations if they are given the crossover in the kind of front line services offered by different public sector as well as charitable bodies.  If single CIO coordinates IT strategy across different belts, it would be helpful for authorities to share the cost of IT services and infrastructure. Moreover this will help in building up of delivery partnerships existing between local authorities. An example to this statement is the local authorities in Hampshire and various regions in UK entering into public services network agreement according to which regional authorities depends on common network services and infrastructure.

David Wilde also thinks London is the city with greatest scope for merging public sector CIO roles where he believes should be fourfold fall in public sector IT leaders. He added London needs just 10 CIOs not 40 to 60 CIOs. Well, Wilde’s role of CIO at Westminster City Council might be one of the first to go but council has yet to make decisions.

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