VMworld 2013 Draws Record Crowd for Annual Virtualization Show

by Chris Preimesberger

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger (left) and President and Chief Operating Officer Carl Eschenbach address questions from the press Aug. 27 following the VMworld 2013 Day 2 general session, which focused mostly on demonstrations of the new NSX software platform. Most of the questions concerned functionality of the new network virtualization platform.

Not widely known as a cloud hardware, software or services company, Hitachi Data Systems nonetheless knows where the future lies and has new products in this burgeoning market. The U.S.-based affiliate of the Japanese conglomerate was bold enough to erect a large, colorful booth in the middle of the show floor at VMWorld.

Since Intel’s processors are just about everywhere in the IT world—and that more business intelligence is being baked into them—it makes sense for the world’s largest chip maker to have a presence at VMworld, alongside hundreds of companies that are either partners or customers.

Newcomer Io.com, which purports to have developed the world’s first dedicated data center operating system, was a center of attention at VMworld 2013. The Phoenix, Ariz.-based company claims to provide data center hardware and software that enables enterprises to deploy, provision and control data center infrastructure anywhere in the world. Customers include Goldman Sachs, Lexis Nexis and Allianz Global Investors.

It was interesting to see Oracle’s smallish booth at VMworld. Oracle, one of the boldest companies in the business, is a major competitor to EMC/VMware in many data center sectors, but the companies have many customers in common, so they have to learn to get along. Oracle’s day will come soon, however, when 30,000-plus folks will show up at Moscone Center a month from now for Oracle OpenWorld.

VCE, the fast-rising data center hardware company spun off from EMC, VMware, Cisco Systems and Intel, had a prominent presence at VMworld, showing off its new VBlock converged systems.

VMTurbo, which makes cloud-based workload management software, staged a virtual surfing demo that proved to be a popular attraction.

Amitabh Srivastam, president of EMC’s Advanced Software Division, offers a preview of the company’s ViPR cloud storage system to a small group of reporters. EMC will stage the launch of the new-concept storage next month in Milan, Italy, to emphasize the fact that it is indeed an international company and not relegated to the United States.

Mobile is not by nature one of the front-line topics at VMWorld, but Cortado, the Colorado-based enterprise cloud desktop service provider, was a sought-after vendor at the show. Cortado provides secure enterprise desktops for any mobile device, so it’s a BYOD favorite among a growing number of companies.

This brightly colored recreation room was part of a popular “hang” lounge at Moscone Center during VMWorld 2013. Attendees played ping-pong, foosball, air hockey and several other games lit only by black lights.