In June 2008 Microsoft formally launched its Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) to extend the support on its products when they run as virtual machines on 3rd party virtualization platforms.

Today the company announces that 31 back-end servers are now supported on Citrix XenServer, Novell SUSE Enterprise Linux, Sun xVM Server and Virtual Iron thanks to this program.

The effort that Microsoft put on this operation is remarkable and has been noted by many like Chris Wolf, Senior Analyst at the Burton Group:

Other vendors should take note of Microsoft’s support model, as Microsoft supports more virtualization platforms than any other vendor by a hefty margin.

But this is not the most important part of the news: Microsoft has announced that two new vendors are participating this program: VMware and Cisco.

(note: VMware doesn’t appear nor in the press announcement neither in the official SVVP page because of a late confirmation)

While a notable achievement, the fact that VMware signed for the SVVP shouldn’t surprise anyone but the presence of Cisco is something truly unexpected.

Update: VMware officially confirmed its participation to the SVVP.