Microsoft News Tracker

Over the weekend, I mentioned a NY Times profile of Microsoft virtualization software competitor, VMware, that seemed laden with “Microsoft is an unfair competitor” rhetoric. Today comes word that VMware has published a whitepaper on their website that could well be titled “J’accuse” which details Microsoft’s anti-competitive licensing and distribution practices related to virtualization. Most of what is mentioned is familiar to those who follow the industry, but having them lay out the 7 accusations so concisely makes one wonder when the next shoe will drop. As Mary Jo Foley remarks:

My biggest question, after reading The Times story and the VMware white paper is when will VMware file a lawsuit? It sounds like VMWare — in spite of its 80 percent virtualization market share — is gearing up to lodge one heck of an antitrust complaint against Microsoft. (I wonder if VMWare parent EMC Corp. is really up for that kind of move. Maybe.)

Presumably VMware isn’t marshalling their arguments for the exercise, so what will it be - lawsuits or complaints to the various antitrust watchdogs or both?

Gavin Clarke in fine Register style:

Five months after Red Hat snatched JBoss from under the Oracle’s nose, his company has struck back with a service and support package designed to gut Red Hat like a fish.

Dressed in the guise of promoting adoption of Linux in mission-critical environments, Ellison today at Oracle Openworld, announced three-tiered support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 3 and 4 starting at $99 per system per year. It’s not necessary for Red Hat customers to be running Oracle products.

Barely able to suppress excited giggling, Ellison claimed Oracle would undercut Red Hat by up to 60 per cent. Oracle middleware and application users on Red Hat and switching in the next 90 days get Oracle’s support for an additional 50 per cent off.

This could hurt Red Hat, a company that looks to support and maintenance for the bulk of its revenues.

“We want to make all the Linux better,” Ellison said. “The better Linux gets the more successful we will be.” He confirmed Oracle would “absolutely” deliver an entire open source stack running from operating system to applications.

If that seems a little over the top, check out the Oracle press release via Steve Hamm at BusinessWeek Online:

Today Oracle announced that it would provide the same enterprise class support for Linux as it provides for its database, middleware and applications products. Oracle starts with Red Hat Linux, removes Red Hat trademarks, and then adds Linux bug fixes.

Currently, Red Hat only provides bug fixes for the latest version of its software. This often requires customers to upgrade to a new version of Linux software to get a bug fixed. Oracle’s new Unbreakable Linux program will provide bug fixes to future, current, and back releases of Linux. In other words, Oracle will provide the same level of enterprise support for Linux as is available for other operating systems.

Oracle is offering its Unbreakable Linux program for substantially less than Red Hat currently charges for its best support. “We believe that better support and lower support prices will speed the adoption of Linux, and we are working closely with our partners to make that happen,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. “Intel is a development partner. Dell and HP are resellers and support partners. Many others are signed up to help us move Linux up to mission critical status in the data center.”

And that brings us to the big boy part of the story as described by Michael Kahn and Eric Auchard at Reuters:

The news was met with a flood of endorsements from Oracle’s closest technology partners, including Intel Corp., Dell Inc. and EMC Corp. International Business Machines Corp., a major rival in database and middleware software, also signaled its support for the move.

Now I don’t follow the daily doings in the commercialized Linux market, but Red Hat certainly seems to be short on friends. I also wonder what Oracle has after Red Hat goes casters up - maybe they plan to buy it cheap? In any case, Red Hat’s share price went in the tank after this was announced.

So what’s the Microsoft hook? Just what you’d expect:

Apart from the impact on Red Hat, the move is significant for Oracle because it can now supply not only databases and applications but also an underlying operating system, giving it what the industry calls a complete “software stack.”

Analysts also see it as an important counter-balance to the Windows operating system of Microsoft Corp., Oracle’s main rival.

It looks like Mr. Ellison got himself an operating system in a typically odd Ellison way.

Here’s one that slipped under the radar last week - Microsoft and EMC teamed up for a new Enterprise Content Management alliance where Microsoft Office software will serve as a front end to EMC’s ECM offerings:

EMC will bring to market new solutions that seamlessly integrate the EMC Documentum platform with multiple Microsoft solutions and platform technologies including Microsoft Office SharePoint^® Server 2007, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, SQL Server™ 2005 and enterprise search solutions. Microsoft provides content management capabilities in SharePoint Server 2007 today. With this new alliance SharePoint users can take advantage of the advanced ECM capabilities of the Documentum platform. Information workers will be able to access the Documentum platform natively from within Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the Microsoft Office system, enabling users to leverage the power of the Documentum platform in areas such as advanced records management, business process management, imaging and rich media from their preferred Microsoft applications.

China Martens at InfoWorld makes the point that the Microsoft Office serving as a front end to third party software is now a familiar refrain:

If that sounds strangely familiar, it’s because that is the same strategy Microsoft is adopting with SAP around the “Duet” product, said Rob Bernard, general manager of Microsoft’s global independent software vendor team.

…

And EMC and SAP won’t be the only vendors to get hooks into Office, Bernard said.

“Overall, we are seeing all of the major ECM vendors actively building tight links into desktop tools like Outlook and partnering aggressively with Microsoft,” said Melissa Webster, program director, content and digital media technologies at IDC. Vendors of all stripes are beginning to collaborate to make it much easier for users to have full, unimpeded access to enterprise applications from their familiar desktop productivity software, she said.

We previously mentioned Duet (AKA Project Mendocino) here.

Martin LaMonica at CNET:

Computing industry heavyweights on Monday announced a plan to create a standardized way for computing resources to “talk” to each other, a move they say will lower the cost of running corporate data centers.

The initiative calls for the creation of an XML-based standard, called Service Modeling Language (SML), and its adoption in commercial products, including systems management software, hardware, and application development tools.

The companies involved–BEA Systems, BMC Software, Cisco Systems, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems–published a draft SML specification on Monday and pledged to support it in the future.

The goal of SML is to establish a lingua franca for computing resources–servers, networking gear, applications and the like–to exchange operating information, such as security requirements or performance problems.
…
The basis for SML is Microsoft’s own XML specification, called Systems Definition Model. The company has already built support for SDM in Visual Studio 2005; all future management software and future operating systems will use SML starting in 2007, Tatarinov said.

Kirill Tatarinov is Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Windows Enterprise Management Division. The formal press release has more details.

Today’s the start of the European Commission hearing on Microsoft’s appeal of the large fines slapped on them for noncompliance with the EC’s antitrust directives and the two sides were getting in some verbal jabs before the bout started. Microsoft lead off with a press release, Tech Companies Say Microsoft Documents Enable Product Development, that quoted six firms, including EMC, as saying that Microsoft’s technical documentation of server protocols was just dandy:

The companies say they have successfully used that documentation to develop and release interoperable software products to the marketplace.

The EC seemed to be caught flatfooted, but quickly fired back:

“The reason for this hearing is purely a media exercise for Microsoft,” Cecilio Madero, senior Commission official leading the case at the two-day closed hearing, told reporters.

Then as the parties entered the hearing there was more:

“We have complied beyond the requirements of the Commission’s decision,” Microsoft’s top lawyer, Brad Smith, told reporters before the hearing. “Microsoft is willing to do more … Daily fines are not the solution.”

Microsoft says it has submitted 12,000 pages of documentation and will offer parts of its vital source code for work group servers as well as 500 hours of free technical support from Microsoft engineers.

But the Commission dismissed the Microsoft argument.

“Our independent trustee, who is advising the Commission and who was suggested to us by Microsoft, Professor Neil Barrett, has told us the document is, to quote, ‘totally useless’,” said Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd.

Microsoft, the Commission and third parties such as associations representing Microsoft’s rivals and technology pressure groups will take part in the hearing.

The information will then be assessed by the Commission, which will decide whether to fine Microsoft. This process is likely to take several weeks, the Commission said.

Todd also got in another zinger:

But EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said the company still has to comply with a 2-year-old antitrust order to share technical information with rivals.

“The best outcome for everybody would be that Microsoft were to finally do that,” he said.

One further note - Microsoft canceled a planned press briefing after today’s hearing:

Microsoft (MSFT) cancelled an 1115 GMT news conference on Thursday on a private EU hearing into whether it should be fined in an antitrust case after the hearing officer requested confidentiality.

“The Commission’s hearing officer made a clear request to all parties in the Microsoft oral hearing to respect the confidentiality of the process,” Microsoft said in a statement.

“Microsoft will respect this request and has therefore cancelled the press briefing.”

Go to your corners, come out swinging, and let’s have a clean fight! More seriously, does anyone expect Microsoft to come ahead on this hearing?