Jeff Vance

Authentication is the last thing on security professionals’ to-do lists these days. The big security worries are trendy things like mobile devices, data leaks, applications security and Web 2.0. Authentication is yesterday’s problem, and it’s been fixed. That’s the conventional wisdom, at least, but it’s a myth. Despite a flurry of new regulations, user names […]

When Red Hat acquired Qumranet, the company pointed to two key pieces of technology that came along with the acquisition: Qumranet’s hypervisor, KVM, and its desktop virtualization technology, SolidICE. With KVM being an open-source hypervisor (it’s included in the Linux kernel), the real opportunity for revenue is SolidICE. We’ve been hearing about the promise of […]

When Red Hat acquired the virtualization startup Qumranet in early September, it announced its intention to challenge the virtualization status quo. According to IDC, the virtualization market is on target to expand to $11.7 billion by 2011. VMware is the acknowledged leader in the space, with analysts giving it anywhere from a 55% to 85% […]

Much has been made of the recent CEO change at VMware, but what does it really tell us about the future of the company? Yes, the consensus is that former CEO Diane Greene clashed with the leadership of EMC. Yes, new CEO Paul Maritz has a solid leadership pedigree and an insider’s knowledge of the […]

When VMware’s stock took a nosedive last month, the headlines were grim. “VMware Smashed,” said one; “The Party’s over,” said another. My favorite of these claimed that VMware had suffered through a “Wall Street Chainsaw Massacre.” What was missed in all of this doom and gloom was the fact that VMware’s revenues were actually up […]

Assessing the top five virtualization vendors is like ranking NFL teams this year. There’s the New England Patriots and everyone else. Sure, the Colts, Cowboys and Packers look good, but no one else is close to New England’s level. The same is true with virtualization. There is VMware and the rest of the pack. Big […]

Interop is back. My last few visits to the show left me wondering whether it was worth coming out. News was stale, crowds were subdued and vendors seemed to be in a holding pattern. This year, there is real buzz once again – and by buzz I don’t mean hype lacking substance. This year’s show […]

Microsoft is once again tormenting the open-source community. This time it’s not about the quality or price of its software, or source code issues. This time Microsoft has set its sights on Linux and other open-source projects, claiming that 235 Microsoft patents have been violated. What’s the strategy here? Does Microsoft truly intend to collect […]

Company: VirtualLogix Location: Sunnyvale, CA Founded: 2002 (formerly named Jaluna) Product or Service: VirtualLogix VLX is a virtualization suite that allows multiple operating systems and their application software stacks to operate on the same hardware. The company is targeting an array of devices with its technology, including telecom and datacom infrastructure equipment, multimedia devices, and […]

If financial backing is any indicator, open-source companies are hot these days. In the past year, Linux Networx raised $37 million, Zend Technologies hauled in $20 million, and MontaVista scored $21 million. For those keeping an eye on exit strategies, last summer saw JBoss acquired by Red Hat for a cool $350 million. Of course, […]