8 VMworld Scenes That Show The Expanding Influence Of VMware And Partners

Bigger And Better Than Ever

There's nothing quite like VMware's VMworld conference in the tech industry landscape. For the past few years, virtualization and cloud experts have flocked to San Francisco to hear about the vendor's latest and greatest technologies and bask in the glow of data center innovation.

This year, VMware had arguably its biggest fusillade of product promotion ever, pitching new tech like NSX network virtualization, VSAN storage and EVO:RAIL -- VMware's answer to products from scrappy, hyper-converged startups like Nutanix and Simplivity.

The excitement spilled out onto the streets of San Francisco too. CRN was there and captured some scenes that show that VMware's reach is broader and more profound than ever.

VCE Takes Its Message To The Streets

VCE, the joint venture between VMware, EMC and Cisco, is on a $1.8 billion run rate, its executives said recently. VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, in a post-VMworld event in San Francisco, said VCE has "knocked it out of the park."

That said, Cisco and VMware are locked in an increasingly acrimonious battle in the software-defined networking space. VCE has already chosen Cisco's ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure) technology for its flagship Vblock products, and its message rings loud and clear in this advertisement on San Francisco's Market Street.

VMware's VMworld Mantra

VMware's ’No Limits' message at VMworld was meant to highlight how its technologies, both on the server side and client side, enable organizations to avoid making compromises to get work done.

CEO Pat Gelsinger talked about his vision for "brave IT," which centers on the idea of embracing technology disruption and getting out of the old data center mindset of being resistant to change.

VMware unveiled partnerships with Docker, the darling of the container space, and Google, which is using containers instead of VMs to run its own cloud. While containers could pose a threat, VMware is working on ways to support the technology.

Juniper's VMworld Message

Juniper also embraced the brave IT message. Its view is that building networks that are future proof can only be accomplished with emerging, open technologies. In a dig at its main competitor, Cisco Systems, Juniper's marketing noted that proprietary networks and vendor lock-in are going the way of the dinosaur.

In this poster, Juniper makes the case that networks built on its hardware and software are so fast, even notoriously impatient Manhattanites can use it without frustration.

FlexPod In The House

Cisco and NetApp showed off their latest FlexPod, a converged infrastructure product that competes with VCE in the private cloud space. Like VCE, Cisco and NetApp have deemed that ACI is the best choice for SDN in Flexpods, and VMware NSX garnered nary a mention at the vendor's booth on the VMworld expo floor.

Eaton's Weightlifter

Eaton, a data center power supply and management vendor, always has great marketing at VMworld, and this year was no exception. This guy is really excited about the power savings companies can get from virtualizing their data center infrastructure.

VMware's Hybrid Cloud Management Push

VMware introduced several new advancements to its cloud management portfolio, including tools that let customers get a better handle on moving workloads back and forth between private and public clouds.

Here, VMware has brought its hybrid cloud management message to a San Francisco bus stop. "What's hybrid cloud," one commuter was overheard asking another. No answer was available.

VMware's World Is Getting Bigger

This was easily the coolest most dazzling signage VMware has ever had for VMworld. A huge, expansive landscape greeted VMworld attendees as soon as they walked into San Francisco's Moscone Center. It may have been a sign of how VMware's own world is expending with new technologies like network and storage virtualization.

Micron Wins VMworld With Bacon-Heavy Messaging

Storage vendor Micron hawked its solid-state drives in a unique and creative way, playing to people's love of all things bacon. Micron even gave away free bacon-scented T-shirts to VMworld attendees who stopped by to watch their product demos. It's probably not a great idea to wear these T-shirts up in Lake Tahoe, where the bears have been especially active this year.