Thanks, I'd love to take credit for it, but there are at least a dozen companies that are already doing this: http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/c

Thanks, I'd love to take credit for it, but there are at least a dozen companies that are already doing this: http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/cat/131 http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/cat/131 Tell you what, if you go with the idea and make a buhzillion, you can buy me a beer sometime. ;) As to the cost issue, adding $200 onto the purchase price of an enterprise appliance is peanuts. Most enterprise software sells in the $1000 - $100,000 range depending on what you're selling. In fact, you can charge even more for bundling it with VMware. "It's a feature!" Another plus for doing it this way, the very fact that you're using a virtual appliance makes your product buzzword compliant. "Virutualization" makes your product tre' cutting edge--very sexy for CIO types to talk about how they just spent $50,000 on the latest tech.