Is VMware still in the frying pan over VMworld decisions?
So which is it -- is VMworld a VMware conference or an industry-standard virtualization event for all to participate in?
Follow @infoworldThe world's largest virtualization event has been getting a lot of attention in the news over these last few days (as if VMworld needs a lot of press leading up to the show at the end of August to bring in attendees). But is this attention coming at the expense of VMware?
Here's the rub: Members of the media and the virtualization community all piled on when news came out about VMware adding certain legalese language into its exhibitor/sponsorship agreement document specifically targeted at competitors. The two sentences read: "Sponsors and exhibitors must market or demonstrate products on the exhibition floor and in the sessions which are complementary to VMware products and technologies. Complementary products and services are defined as products/services that do not overlap/substitute with VMware's products/capabilities, and help expand the reach and solution scope of VMware's capabilities solely as deemed by VMware."
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I thought the matter was over when VMware responded to community outrage with a blog post of its own, answering the fears and questions around what this would mean for VMworld. VMware assured the community that "VMware is totally committed to continuing to make VMworld the leading virtualization conference in the world, highlighting the rich, diverse ecosystem that is the virtualization marketplace." This new legal statement was after all "standard" across the industry and was not "out of the ordinary." Even better, competitors like Microsoft and Citrix (companies that this new legal statement was probably meant to target) "have already signed up and will of course be participating in the conference this year, as well as hundreds of other companies."
Sounds well enough? Didn't explain why the language was added, but it seemed to do the trick. However, that wasn't the end of it.
