Tomorrow's news today: Microsoft buys VDI vendor Calista Technologies, expands partnership with Citrix

Posted by Brian Madden on January 21, 2008. send this link to your friendsprint this post
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Microsoft will announce tomorrow that they are buying VDI vendor Calista Technologies. They will also announce an expanded partnership with Citrix where Citrix and Microsoft will jointly market their virtualization services.

Off-the-record rumors of a big acquistion by Microsoft next Tuesday (tomorrow) started circulating last week. Then today Forbes magazine (accidentally?) published an article with a publication date of tomorrow about the Microsoft aquiring Calista and expanding their partnership with Citrix. Oops.

I'll have a full analysis of this deal tomorrow. In the meantime, you can read what I wrote about Calista Technologies last year.

Reader Comments
Very interesting indeed
Monday, January 21, 2008 9:04:18 AM

Guest

Thank you Brian for providing us with a peak into the future. I'm definitely looking forward to your analysis. In the interim here are my two cents:

Given that Calista's purchase is estimated at "south of $100" I wouldn't call it "a big acquisition", certainly not for Microsoft. But it is very, very cool. Assuming Microsoft integrates this technology into its RDP protocol, RDP will become a killer remoting protocol. Amusingly this benefits almost everyone except Citrix! This is because Citrix is the only SBC/VDI provider not using RDP. So Microsoft, Ericom, Quest/Provision, 2X, etc. should be happy about this acquisition. Even VMware, because VDM uses RDP.

The article is very light on details regarding what the extended partnership between Microsoft and Citrix actually means. "Jointly market services that "virtualize" computers, operating systems and applications" doesn't explain much. We've already seen that the two cooperate in marketing against VMware, e.g. last iForum. However in terms of products their virtualization offerings appear to compete with each other as well. Guess we will have to wait and see.

Re: Very interesting indeed
Monday, January 21, 2008 9:06:49 AM

Guest
I meant south of $100 million of course. But it is still small change for Microsoft.
Odds..
Monday, January 21, 2008 11:24:27 AM
So odds are we giving that Microsoft will aquire Citrix?
or Yahoo?
Monday, January 21, 2008 12:47:37 PM

Guest
as a very big acquisition. SAP would not make sense.
Microsoft and Citrix will jointly...
Monday, January 21, 2008 12:52:54 PM

Guest

Intestering quote from the forbes article:

Microsoft and Citrix will jointly market services that "virtualize" computers, operating systems and applications

Well...I can swallow that with lots of salt and pepper with the decade long rhetrotic "Every sold Citrix license is a sold Microsoft license", the day that wont be part of the equation then Citrix will be wading in huge amaounts of shit, ultimately drowing

 

 

Re: Microsoft and Citrix will jointly...
Monday, January 21, 2008 1:39:08 PM

Guest

Every XenDesktop license is a Microsoft VECD license...the Citrix/Microsoft story continues.  VMWARE is roadkill to be...even Larry Ellison says they are this decade's Netscape.

Re: Re: Microsoft and Citrix will jointly...
Monday, January 21, 2008 3:17:54 PM

Guest
Larry should know :P
Check out the article on Bloomberg.com. Note the price drop of virtualized Vista...
Monday, January 21, 2008 9:38:08 PM
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