It appears that VMware is not only pricing itself out of new customers, but also current customers. An October 11, 2011, by Beth Pariseau story on SearchServerVirtualization shows that open source virtualization is encroaching on VMware. An InformationWeek story by Charles Babcock on November 3, 2011, also shows that VMware pricing is a real concern.

We always knew that KVM and Xen represented a compelling alternative to VMware’s proprietary and locked hypervisor. We have many users and customers who are taking advantage of open source’s ability to provide a free platform on which to build out a virtual datacenter before committing to it. As a result, KVM and Xen make it into production from the outside margins of many companies and work their way in.

What these stories also tell us is that VMware’s pricing is so scary for businesses that change is also coming from the inside of enterprises. IT managers are now considering ripping and replacing VMware with open source. Clearly, the cost/benefit/performance analysis that people are doing demonstrate an ROI that justifies abandoning VMware’s ongoing license fees and adapting KVM and Xen.

As the ecosystem, management tools and support for the KVM and Xen hypervisors continue to grow and improve, performance differentiations with VMware will become increasingly irrelevant and IT managers will be able to judge based simply on what is delivering the best VALUE to their organization.

The compass is pointing unmistakably toward open source.

Folks, eWeek has both ConVirt Enterprise and our new pride and joy, ConVirt Enterprise Cloud, in their labs this week. Jason Brooks over there is delving deep into both and putting us through his usually thorough assessment process. We are looking forward to eWeek’s verdict.

In the meantime, Jason has just blogged describing his impressions part way into the review and, most interestingly, has asked for input from everyone on any specific areas you are particularly interested in and would like to see tested.

You can read Jason’s blog post here.

So, don’t be shy. Drop eWeek a note or comment, tell them what you’d like to see tested, and help them get you the answers to your burning questions!