Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud
    • Networking
    • Virtualization

    VMware Bridging Gap Between Traditional, Virtualized Data Centers

    By
    Eric Lundquist
    -
    August 27, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      VMware VMworld

      The technology portfolio in companies is dividing between traditional, reliable and structured systems and newer, agile, fix-it-on-the-fly components.

      Traditional technology vendors, and VMware in particular during the 2014 session of its VMworld show, are eagerly trying to show that they can build bridges between the two worlds.

      However, building bridges requires more than simply dropping off loads of components and hoping that somehow the bridge gets built. You need a skilled team ranging from architects to welders to make a bridge happen.

      VMware doesn’t want to be left behind as the best virtualization provider around in an era of cloud and mobile computing that utilizes the latest tools, platforms and business models.

      Do you want a bridge from VMware to Open Stack? On Monday, VMware offered one up in the form of its own Integrated OpenStack distribution using the vCenter infrastructure and ESXi hypervisor.

      Do you think that you will have to transition from the server virtualization model to container-based technology? No way, as VMware execs announced it has partnered up with Docker, Google and Pivotal to bring container technology to the VMware community.

      And so it went as VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger championed the hybrid datacenter as the future of all things good in corporate IT. He called on the 20,000 plus attendees to be brave in embracing the new hyper connected, hyper-converged world.

      While bravery is a noble trait, a realistic view of the world also has its merit. Gartner analysts have recently reported that a new bi-modal world of IT is emerging in the corporate world. In one mode resides the traditional infrastructure running those old reliable corporate apps and overseen by techies who understand patches, network sniffing and coaxing aging personal computers to reboot once again.

      In the other camp are techies that grew up with cloud computing, IT infrastructure that resides outside the corporate walls, the smartphone as the application platform of choice and applications designed to scale out by using new database models, new programming tools and new programming languages. The traditional camp is necessary but shrinking while the new camp is where the business will find its future growth.

      The idea of spanning those two camps with a common architecture and common set of management tools is appealing, but not realistic. While it might seem incredibly inefficient and expensive to have two technology operations happening within the corporation, that is what has been happening by default. The rise of Saleforce.com and Hubspot has seen marketing take a larger and larger chunk of the technology budget.

      In addition to partially embracing open source and container technology, VMware is expanding into areas that the company once steered clear of. End-user computing via desktop virtualization and more importantly virtualized applications are now on the agenda.

      Mobile device management and security, which formed a big gap in the VMware portfolio, are now a priority. VMware is supporting engineered systems through partnerships. The company is moving both vertically and horizontally across the corporate computing infrastructure to maintain relevancy and revenues in a rapidly changing world.

      The pitch to the attendees was about giving them the ability to use familiar tools while moving to the hybrid cloud world. VMware executives described it as the “power of and.” In six hours of keynotes, the company provided its pitch, but never talked actual pricing for the products.

      Without pricing you can’t really talk about the advantages of hybrid computing over moving more of the corporate infrastructure totally to the cloud. Also missing from the discussion was the implication that the increasing automated provisioning and management of software-defined data centers will require fewer of the IT administrators and managers that were sitting in the audience.

      The bridge building talked up by VMware resounded well with the audience of traditional IT pros, but the VMware bridge also has to appeal to a new IT staff used to open software running in the cloud. That side of the bridge will not be so easy to build.

      Eric Lundquist is a technology analyst at Ziff Brothers Investments, a private investment firm. Lundquist, who was editor-in-chief at eWEEK (previously PC WEEK) from 1996-2008 authored this article for eWEEK to share his thoughts on technology, products and services. No investment advice is offered in this article. All duties are disclaimed. Lundquist works separately for a private investment firm which may at any time invest in companies whose products are discussed in this article and no disclosure of securities transactions will be made.

      Eric Lundquist
      Since 1996, Eric Lundquist has been Editor in Chief of eWEEK, which includes domestic, international and online editions. As eWEEK's EIC, Lundquist oversees a staff of nearly 40 editors, reporters and Labs analysts covering product, services and companies in the high-technology community. He is a frequent speaker at industry gatherings and user events and sits on numerous advisory boards. Eric writes the popular weekly column, 'Up Front,' and he is a confidant of eWEEK's Spencer F. Katt gossip columnist.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×