Microsoft, VMware offer deep discounts to gain virtualization market share
When it comes to comparing publicly available list prices from VMware and Microsoft, IT shops and channel partners say the figures should be taken with a grain of salt, because both vendors negotiate pricing deals to capture territory in the market.
On paper, the comparison between published list prices for VMware and Microsoft virtualization tools fluctuates according to the type of OS being virtualized, the size of the environment and what types of management tools a customer buys.
Beyond that, there are nearly endless theoretical nitpicks that surround VM density, operational efficiency and the ever-elusive concept of total cost of ownership (TCO).
In real life, though, the actual price negotiations render list pricing moot.
Entering into an Enterprise Agreement (EA) with Microsoft is the first step toward negotiating a better price for many customers. Virtualization users can also get into the Enrollment for Core Infrastructure (ECI), which bundles together Windows Server operating system (OS) licenses and System Center 2012 into one package that costs less than licensing the two separately.
ECI prices contract negotiations are different for each organization, but prices often fall well below the publicized list price.
“For a three-year cycle, [System Center and Windows] Datacenter edition is commonly around $2,500 per processor,” under ECI, along with a bundled-in license for a Forefront Client Security device subscription, said Rob McShinsky, a senior systems engineer at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. List price for System Center 2012 ECI is $5,056 per processor.
Organizations in the education field can also get generous discounts from Microsoft.
“For Windows Server Datacenter we pay $150 per processor,” said Scott Ladewig, a network and operations manager of information services at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. List pricing for Windows Server Datacenter edition is $2,357 per processor.
“VMware also offers academic discounts, but it’s nowhere near on that scale,” Ladewig added. “I’d be looking at thousands of dollars if I wanted to upgrade my vCenter license to add more than six sockets.”
Mainstream enterprises also get deals on Microsoft software, channel partners report.
“Microsoft is willing to work with customers to make the cost factor fall in their favor,” said David Kinsman, national technical solutions architect for World Wide Technology Inc., a systems integrator based in St. Louis, Mo.
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