Citrix CEO Mark Templeton reflecting on VMware CEO Paul Maritz during a press conference at the Citrix Synergy press conference
With all the bad blood happening between virtualization rivals, Citrix and VMware, it’s hard to imagine that both companies CEOs were actually friends and partners.
Answering a question about rival company VMware, Citrix CEO Mark Templeton revealed that his now staunch competitor Paul Maritz (VMware’s CEO) was actually Citrix’s best advocate when he was an executive at Microsoft.
If it was not for Maritz, who convinced Microsoft’s top brass to invest early in the company and later on, sign a licensing agreement that end up being a much needed lifeline for Citrix, the Florida-based company would not be here today admits Templeton.
“He’s really Citrix’s godfather,” reflects Templeton during a media conference at the Synergy conference this week in Las Vegas.
But despite the historical link, Templeton has not warmed to the idea of establishing closer relationships with his Palo Alto, Calif.-rival. “I’m not sure what we can bring to VMware at this point.”
What about a cheaper alternative to virtualization? 
