Ahem. This is somewhat of an awkward moment -- a fresh Fool's first fungible factual foible.
Mea culpa
Yesterday, I told you about VMware's latest free product offering, concluding that the company had timed its release to coincide with some changes over at Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) competing virtualization team. But I had overlooked one important detail: The free software had been preannounced months in advance, and it's actually more likely that Microsoft was adjusting to the EMC (NYSE:EMC) subsidiary than the other way around.
So VMware's motivation is to follow through on plans set in motion long ago, not to jump on an opportunity presented by Microsoft's moves. But that doesn't change my overall thesis; the combination of the two companies' actions stands to benefit the VMware team significantly, because they both stimulate the overall virtual server market, and they're compatible with one another.
My Take also implied that EMC was announcing VMware Server's emergence from beta to become a fully supported production package. But VMware keeps its own sales and marketing staff, not to mention overall budget, separate from those of EMC. The parent company's main line of business is data storage, putting it in direct competition with many of VMware's clients and partners. It's important for both the parent and the child to maintain some degree of autonomy, which puts VMware in a unique position as the only EMC acquisition to become an independently run subsidiary.
These Fools care
I was notified of my oversight by emails from a couple of concerned readers, and also directly by VMware representatives. A nice chat with the company's VP of platform products, Raghu Raghuram, cleared up the mistakes.
Fools get mail all the time. Every one of my articles comes with an email link at the bottom, and readers are encouraged to write in with any corrections, praise, or general discussion about my material. That's true of most of my colleagues, too.
So keep doing your due diligence, Fool, and tell us when we're off the mark. That's how we grow stronger and better together. And richer.
Further Foolish reading:
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Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any company mentioned. Anders has nothing to hide, except an embarrassed blush. The Fool's disclosure policy is never in error.
