Last Friday's Virtualisation talk

Last Friday I spoke at an event run by MJ Flood (a local partner).  The format was something new to me (and something that I really enjoyed).

There was around fifty of us in the room and we all got to listen to the main presentation (PowerPoint slides for half an hour or so explaining Microsoft's Core Infrastructure Optimisation model).  Then the attendees split up into five groups of ten and sit at round tables.  The five presenters (of which I was one) all sit down at a table each.  Then the fun began..  The clock starts and we get twenty minutes to talk to our table.  We're not allowed PowerPoint or Laptops (just a sheet of paper).  In twenty minutes time, we are dragged away (kicking and screaming) to sit down at the next table to have another go at perfecting our timing (twenty minutes isn't very long)!

My chosen subject was Microsoft & Virtualisation.  I got to explain this (below) and explain in detail how Virtual Server compares with VMware and the up and coming Windows Server Virtualisation (our hypervisor that will be available with Windows Server 2008).

I'll say it again - I really enjoyed the format.  Twenty minutes isn't very long and it really make you think about the key messages you want to get across.

My summary was this:

"Virtualisation is more than just Server Virtualisation (VMware), you don't need to go out and purchase a separate set of management tools (just for Virtualisation) and there's a lot of FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) out there - don't believe any of it (Microsoft can do everything our competitors can do - and more)".

Dave.