Reuters is reporting that VMware is offering a 40 percent discount to Virtual Iron customers if they make the switch. Virtual Iron, which tailored virtualization solutions toward SMBs, was bought by Oracle in May and was promptly shuttered as a business.

VMware is being tight-lipped about the promotion. A little counter-intuitive, no? In any case, with Oracle, Microsoft and the open source community gearing up to challenge the market leader, it’s no surprise things are going to turn a little more competitive.