As all of you who have read my previous blog entry recall, business has been looking really positive here at Nixu Software regardless of the economic malaise surrounding us. At times, I have almost been feeling a little schizophrenic, given the discrepancy between the media coverage and what we have been witnessing ourselves.

During times like this, I think it’s pretty healthy for companies to start looking around for weak signals on where the world is heading after the smoke has cleared, to see if their strategy still aligns with the world we live in once the next upturn starts. After all, economic downturns and downright recessions are capitalism’s way of cleaning up the table, to pave the way for new technologies and companies that make this world a better place for us all to live in. When the next upturn comes – and trust me, it will come - we all want to make sure that we have positioned ourselves right bearing the new situation in mind.

There’s actually a great little book that relates to this, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, M.D. It’s a story about two little mice, Sniff and Scurry, and about two little people, Hem and Haw. While the two little mice are always quick to sense the upcoming change and act upon it immediately, Hem and Haw are more concerned about preserving the status quo and enjoying their comfortable lifestyle, until they realize that someone moved their cheese. As far as Nixu Software is concerned, we’ve always tried to act like Sniff and Scurry, the two agile mice, rather than as Hem and Haw.

Of course, being a mouse doesn’t come without downsides. There will always be cats around. Some of these cats are copycats tempted by the quality and the quantity of the cheese Sniff and Scurry found from the Maze. Some are there only for the thrill of chasing down the mice, with little genuine regard for the cheese itself. And the cats come in all colours: some of them are black, some white, and some blue. Luckily, as long as Sniff and Scurry have found their quality cheese in time, they have gained a rat-like size that helps them in keeping the cats at bay. Especially if the cat is just a kitten that doesn’t walk his talk.

Now, you may be wondering what all this has to do with virtualization-ready DNS, DHCP and IPAM software appliances. Please allow me to explain.

Today, I noticed that Bluecat Networks had become rather tempted by the cheese Nixu Software has found and wants to join the party. As such, we’re significantly ahead of the competition in this space and so I’m more than happy to welcome anyone to compete with us. Especially as Copycat… sorry… Bluecat Networks doesn’t even have a virtual appliance they could offer to the market. This is a direct quote from their press release published this week: ”BlueCat Networks will be making its virtual appliances available to select customers for Early Adopter testing.” Will be making… Select customers… Early Adopter testing… I guess Copycat thinks selling paperware as opposed to software is a great strategy!

But not having products is not why I decided to write this blog. Rather, this entry stems from the comedy of the visual elements they are now using at Bluecat Networks’ website. Below, please see a screenshot of Nixu Software’s website that has been online for a lot more than a year now:

Here is Bluecat’s new homepage they published this week:

Notice any similarities?

No products and visual clues ripped off from others… Well, at least they were able to write the press release.