Big deal hits in not-so-quiet August

It was some August for industry watchers. While many of us were at the beach, there was a lot of moving and shaking going on.

Witness Citrix’ half-a-billion-dollar buyout of Xensource, the virtualization paragon. See this blog for an interesting examination.

The two companies and their mutual sometimes ally Microsoft clearly plan a mutual counterattack on newly public VMWare,

The big logistical question here, other than the product amalgamation issues, is if and how the two companies’ partner channels will come together.

Early on, Citrix won plaudits for its partner programs. Of late, however, many partners complain about over distribution leading to thin margins. Xensource partners are watching that with some concern.

And now, with virtualization clearly a prize, all eyes will turn on other players— Virtual Iron, SWsoft.

Barbara Darrow, a Boston-area journalist, can be reached at badarrow@comcast.net