Microsoft's Hyper-V VMware Advantage

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Michael Goldstein has made a career out of providing his small business customers with the biggest IT bang for their buck.

That's why the president and CEO of LAN Infotech, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is putting his company's solutions muscle behind Microsoft's Hyper-V rather than VMware's vSphere software virtualization offering.

Goldstein says Hyper-V, which comes lock, stock and barrel as part of Microsoft Server 2008, simply provides more bang for the IT buck than VMware. He says it's a more cost effective solution for his customers. That's why he sells five Microsoft Hyper-V solutions to every one VMware solution. And his virtualization sales are up some 80 percent this year.

Goldstein estimates that his profits on those Hyper-V solutions are 25 percent greater than the VMware solutions' sales.

"VMware is just not as friendly a product for small business customers," says Goldstein. "What Microsoft has done is made virtualization affordable. What it comes down to is small business wants the same virtualization feature set that large enterprise businesses enjoy, but they can't afford to pay for the software." That's not the case now that Microsoft has gotten into the virtualization game with Hyper-V.

The attractively priced Hyper-V solutions on are boosted by the fact that most of LAN Infotech's customers already have Windows Server 2008. That means all LAN Infotech has to do is effectively turn Hyper-V on and those small businesses don't have to dig into their pockets for hefty VMware software licensing fees to get the benefits of virtualization.

Goldstein estimates that more than 50 percent of LAN Infotech's customers already have a Microsoft Software Assurance licensing plan. That means they already have effectively paid for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. "We have been preparing these Microsoft Software Assurance customers to go implement virtualization solutions," he says.

"Software Assurance is not just a budget line item. There is real value to it. It gives small clients the ability to start creating an IT budget. The majority of small businesses buy IT when they need it. They don't necessarily budget for IT. "

So just how much is Goldstein saving his clients? It's substantial even for customers who don't own Windows Server 2008. For example, compare straight up the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for a virtualization solution for three physical servers with nine virtual sessions: the VMware total software licensing cost is $24,075 compared with $13,965 for the Microsoft solution set. That's a whopping $10,110 savings for a cost-conscious small business.

NEXT: The Detailed Hyper-V Vs. VMware vSphere Price Comparison

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