Virtualization Congress Invites Startup Firms, for Competition Premiere

London, United Kingdom - (The Hosting News) - April 4, 2008 - Vendor independent virtualization event, Virtualization Congress, has officially opened its Call for Startups competition, inviting not yet launched or stealth mode companies focused on virtualization technologies, to participate.

Startups can now apply and get their chance to win a free keynote slot during the main days of the event: 15th - 16th October, 2008. To be eligible, the startups must agree to remain in stealth mode until Virtualization Congress, without announcing products, exposing websites or exhibiting at other tradeshows.

Additionally, these companies must be ready to show a working product on stage during their keynote. The two selected winners will have an unrivalled opportunity to launch their company's to a wide audience of potential customers, including influential journalists and analysts, potential technology and sales partners, and successful venture capitalists and angel investors.

Mark Fernandes, Managing Director of Sierra Ventures, one of the leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms noted, ''Sierra Ventures is excited to work with Virtualization Congress to create a platform to launch the most promising new startups in the virtualization space. This is a great opportunity for young companies to get the immediate attention of customers, partners and investors.''

Leading virtualization players that are supporting Virtualization Congress as Platinum sponsors include: Citrix, HP, ManageIQ, Microsoft, Phoenix Technologies, Quest and VMware. Virtualization Congress sponsors also include Marathon Technologies, Vizioncore, Veeam, VMLogix and Transitive. About Virtualization Congress Virtualization Congress, launched in 2007 by virtualization.info, is the first and only independent conference dedicated to virtualization technologies. It brings together the entire sector under one roof, giving customers and potential virtualization users the opportunity to hear about all of the latest products and technologies on the market without prejudice. The event prides itself on showcasing genuinely new technology, not just from the biggest vendors, but from the brand new entrants to the market. The event takes place between 14-16 October, 2008 at London's ExCel conference centre in Docklands.

Contest rules and application form are available at: www.virtualizationcongress.com/startups.htm Submissions are accepted until August 31, 2008.

Established in 2003, virtualization.info is recognized as the leading news and analysis site for the virtualization industry, with more than 6,000 subscribers, recording over 160,000 page views per month and referenced by more than 36,000 other sites, blogs and forums. It provides unique tools, like the Virtualization Industry Radar, to allow new customers to follow and ultimately make purchasing decisions within virtualization.

To learn more about, please visit: www.virtualization.info.