Meanwhile, positive earnings and growth at both BMC and CA show the two smaller players are continuing to increase business as well. BMC reported in March it had reached an all-time high with $1.73 billion in fiscal 2008 revenue. So far for the first half of its fiscal 2009, the company has reported more than $900 million in revenue. Similarly, CA reported fiscal 2008 revenue at $4.3 billion, and for the first half of fiscal 2009, revenue was $2.2 billion, up 5% from the previous year. The reports show the respective strength of each company, but Forrester's O'Donnell says the positive earnings could drive up the appeal of acquiring BMC or CA.

"BMC and CA still seem to be acquisition targets. They both have momentum right now, and they are performing quite well," O'Donnell says. "Neither wants to be acquired, but they continue to become more attractive morsels to the likes of Microsoft, which has no choice with its virtualization push to take on a bigger management role."

Still others argue it won't be an easy task, even for a cash-rich company like Microsoft.

"Microsoft certainly has the motivation and the cash to make a move, but it remains to be seen if it will take such a risk with the state of the economy in 2009," says Jasmine Noel, founder and principal analyst at Ptak, Noel & Associates. "Many companies including EMC and Symantec have been knocking on that door for many, many years, and it's not a club you can easily buy your way into. It is an extremely tough market to crack."