By Simon Quicke4 September 2008
Red Hat has the option to move into the Windows market after
splashing out $107m for virtualisation specialists Qumranet.
The purchase of the Israeli based company not only means
that Red Hat can offer virtualisation to its open source customers but can
offer similar services to Windows users.
The response to the deal from some of the open source
bloggers has been to focus on that development pointing out for Red Hat it is
an entry into that market without the need for direct interaction with Microsoft.
Facing that question the vendor posted a response online
pointing out that following the acquisition it would be in a position to sell
to Windows users.
“Red Hat is focused on providing the best infrastructure
upon which to run the complete spectrum of enterprise workloads. This will
range from server virtualization to desktop virtualization, which includes
Linux servers, Windows servers, Linux desktops, and Windows desktops,” the
company stated.
As a result of the purchase the key technologies that Qumranet
brings to the table include a Kernel Virtual Machine and its Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure, which will be incorporated into the Red Hat product.
Qumranet has been getting involved with the growing desktop
virtualisation market that has also seen interest from other players including
VMware.
Commenting on the rise of interest in desktop
virtualisation, Frank Coggrave, vice president and general manager EMEA at
NComputing, said that the benefits of saving costs and using devices that
required low power was driving interest and sales in the technology.
