VMware CEO Sees OpenStack as Lacking Maturity

Earlier this week, we covered a post from VMware that seemed to brush off all three of the emerging open source cloud computing platforms that are gaining such strong momentum, namely OpenStack, CloudStack and Eucalyptus. The post, on VMware's VCloud Blog, characterized the open source cloud computing platforms as "the ugly sisters," and noted that "there are now more than 100 verified VMware vCloud public clouds."  This week, as VMware posted strong financial results, CEO Paul Maritz was asked about OpenStack in particular, which he seems to feel lacks maturity. 

Server Watch has reported Maritz's response to a question about OpenStack:

"At this point, we're certainly aware of OpenStack and aware that there's a fair amount of interest in it from various parties in the industry, which is not surprising given the importance of this fundamental trend where customers are trying to move to operating in a cloud-like manner, both in their internal data centers and the public data centers. So it is highly unlikely that we would be left alone to have that opportunity all to ourselves...OpenStack at this point compared to the vSphere environment is still relatively immature. And we continue to believe that our greater, nearer-term challenge will probably come from Microsoft."

While OpenStack's more than 150 partner organizations might disagree with Maritz, it is worth listening to what he says. VMware is an entrenched player in the cloud and has been moving more in the direction of open source through its Cloud Foundry effort. 

Moreover, Maritz's comments on competition from Microsoft in the cloud are informed. Maritz was a top Microsoft executive through much of the rise of the Windows platform, and he understands how Microsoft ties new initiatives in areas such as cloud computing to its Windows-centric product line. Just look at this post for evidence of how badly OpenStack may need to become integrated with Microsoft's product line if it is to have large-scale success. 

OpenStack continues to gain major backers, and there is room for multiple winners in the cloud. It's no "ugly sister," and it is clear that it is very much on VMware's radar--right on up to the CEO.