Is Freeware the new Open Source?

As open source technologies continue to pound an increasingly heavier footprint throughout the world’s enterprise IT portals, could we be about to see a new surge in the freeware space as this delivery model bids for voice alongside open source itself?

One has to ask the question after seeing news emanating from VMworld San Francisco this week that virtualisation management specialist Vizioncore has just positioned half their product line as freeware. More specifically, it has offered its vControl Multi-Hypervisor Management product as freeware.

The proposition here being that administration costs should come down if customers who have VMware ESX infrastructures, Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer infrastructure can now manage these environments through a single console – at no cost.

For the record, vControl Multi-Hypervisor Management provides a browser-based interface that enables control of multiple platforms. This is designed to allow administrators to leverage workflows for task-based administration of virtual machines.

One might argue that Vizioncore is simply following the lead set by Microsoft, who only yesterday announced that its Hyper-V standalone hypervisor is now available for free download.

So where are companies like Vizioncore charging money then? Well, you can snap up a vControl Self-Service Provisioning tool for US$399/socket. Plus of course you can hire them for consultancy and support services as much as you please. It’s all compelling stuff – but just remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch… even a virtual one.