Comparing features is a waste of time

Once again the issue was raised that my virtualization expertise group should write a comparison between Microsofts Hyper-V and Private/Hybrid cloud on one side and VMware vSphere and vCloud on the other side to facilitate our sales force. In my humble opinion it would be an utter waste of time to compare features (on paper the most recent editions are more or less equal). I made a few calculation models and they showed that in a green field situation, there is no real cost difference.

However what might be interesting is to state our standard or preferred solution and why. And when to deviate from that standard. In which case would we advise our sales to offer product A and when to start talking about the alternative, product B. What scenarios are valid for which vendor. Have a look at security when it is important for the customer. Sometimes pricing is an issue, how to work around that constraint.

Actually the same story goes up for Citrix versus VMware concerning End User Computing. Both solution stacks have equal right to life, like Microsofts Hyper-V and VMwares vSphere. Competition is good, it keeps the companies sharp so new features are developped and soon we will start to see the runners up starting to come with new ideas and features that the other competitor will have to match.

That same competition gives us as system integrators and trusted advisors to our customers more choice. I am not a fan of vendor bashing as some collegues do. All vendors pay for published reports, so of course these reports state that a certain solution is better or cheaper that the solution of the competitor(s). What makes some of the publications interesting is that they state what was tested and how and on which hardware platform, more or less inviting us, the community to repeat the test to see if we reach the same conclusion.

Each customer case demands its own solution and there isn’t a single good answer. It all depends on the requirements, the budget, the time frame and the IT maturity of the customer.