VMware Keynote At XChange Shares Vision Of 'New IT'

VMware's Tuesday afternoon keynote at XChange made clear the virtualization leader will continue to reinvent how business applications are delivered from cloud and on-premises data centers.

Peter McKay, COO for the Americas, was joined at a cocktail table on stage in San Antonio by vice presidents Frank Rauch and Hatem Naguib. The three engaged in a discussion about VMware's path toward enabling a true heterogeneous computing environment where apps don't know or care about the platforms on which they run.

McKay told attendees that VMware pioneered and remained focused on advancing a concept of "new IT," which delivers a more flexible and secure virtual workspace.

Related: XChange 2014 Coverage

"Decoupling of desktop software from a piece of hardware and the ability to move it where you need it, and to be able to do that from any device, anywhere, is the vision that we have," McKay said.

Naguib, vice president of networking and security, spoke further about the shift to the software defined data center and the opportunities that innovative technology creates for VMware partners.

Those solution providers have a choice between building software defined data centers (SDDC) or more traditional hardware-bound platforms. Enterprise customers already know they need to go in the direction of more flexible and secure solutions that leverage platforms, and implement best-of-breed technologies for private, public and hybrid clouds, Naguib said.

This "new IT" is trying "to deliver their services and their application models in a SDDC capability so they can achieve the speed and agility required to be relevant," Naguib said.

Rockwall, Texas-based solution provider My Computer Guy, a VMware partner, services mostly small businesses, and is committed to the VMware vision.

My Computer Guy installs VMware products on every server it deploys, even those that stand alone, President Bill Hair told CRN. Currently, a quarter of its engagements deploy in the cloud -- two years ago 100 percent of the work it did was on-premises.

"We don't build a server and not put VMware on it. We always load the software and hypervisor, so if something changes down the road, we're ready for it," Hair said.

He was pleased to hear that the VMware execs focus much of their discussion on security, but slightly disappointed they mainly discussed solutions for big businesses. And while "giving us the opportunity to understand the next step," Hair had hoped they might present more new information about upcoming products.

"It gives us an idea of what's going on down the road," Hair said of the keynote, adding "our clients probably can't afford it."

Rauch, VP of VMware's Americas Partner Organization, ended the keynote by reminding the audience why it all mattered.

"The market we just touched on is over $100 billion," Rauch said, adding it's an industry that's "software and services rich."

It's also a market growing by 20 percent each year with "margin and profitability accelerators" built in to all the solutions VMware is offering, Rauch said.

PUBLISHED AUG. 19, 2014