Category: VMware

VMworld Day 3 – Keynote (My Thoughts)

VMworld

sanjay

My Thoughts

EUC – End User Computing

One of my favourite days of the conference as this is where EUC was the focus and Sanjay Poonen ( an inspiration to tech and business) was delivering the keynote. We also got to hear him strum some tunes on the piano with a band playing before the keynote kicked off.

The first phrase to strike me was Sanjay’s comments that “Animals can be digitised too”. What ?? Seriously, we are moving in a rapidly changing world so who knows what will be possible in the future. Digitised zoos maybe ?

VMware would like any app on any device and bringing this together is where Workspace One plays. Cloud first philosophy is key to EUC and Sanjay was focused on this message for the EUC team.

Unbelievable to think that 20,000 employees at Vmware use Workspace One today. Sanjay wants to ensure that all VMware employees and also customers benefit from this medium for application delivery.

Another comment that Sanjay made was that people take their phone out 100 times a day to check and read email. Boxer is an app that Vmware uses internally to make productivity with email more efficient. I liked this app – Maybe I could use it in my day job too ??

Voice recognition for Salesforce was demonstrated through the iPhone and this worked well in the demo that Sanjay delivered.

As we move forward Microsoft has a key relationship with VMware and enables VMware to build a solution for Skype inside a Horizon desktop today. Sanjay rolled a video that highlighted the use of Skype for Business working inside a Horizon desktop – very cool stuff !!!

TCO is key and it was highlighted that it can cost $7000 per endpoint per user and VMware think they can take this down 10-30%.

Conditional access was a new term for me and it was noted that it meant a document opened in a managed app cannot be posted or saved somewhere unauthorised. It was demonstrated several times and we saw Sanjay shows how certain docs can be opened and not saved to a non-company location thereby keeping security focused folks happy.

 

SDDC

Ray O’Farrell was next up to talk more about SDDC and the key announcements made this week.

vSphere 6.5 was announced and is tailored for digital and a universal app platform with comprehensive security. A single vcenter now supports 20000 VMs with over 6x vCenter operations per second.
Secure boot of ESX host and also the guest and VM encryption is now possible. Encryption does not involve any guest agents and works on all Operating systems – This was pretty cool.
The Web client is still available as is the HTML5 version and VMware are very proud to pitch the HTML5 client for use with many products  to come. I like it and it looks very slick going forwards.

Yan Bing Li also introduced VSAN 6.5 and mentioned how 5000 customers were using it today. Not sure how many are production but it is still a HUGE number.

VIC (vSphere Integrated Containers) on vSphere on premises and also AWS were mentioned again and it was key that containers get to leverage the same networking (NSX) and also VSAN. Cool stuff !!!

 

Closing Remarks

 

Another immense jam packed keynote and lots of news. Good to see the innovation in digital is moving at rocket speed and aligns well with the Dell EMC messaging for digital transformation.

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VMworld Day 2 – Keynote (My Thoughts)

VMworld

betomorrow

MY THOUGHTS

 

Here’s my summary. An entertaining and invigorating day and I was lucky enough to sit on the 2nd row to see all the action. I’ve summarised the key highlights and also the quotes that resonated the most with me.

 

Jean Pierre talked about inclusion at Vmware and also the Airwatch initiative to drive the mobility message to all.

Digital transformation was a key theme as always. GE was started in 1896 and analytics is key to moving forward their company. Leonardo is a leader in aeronautics and driving the digital agenda and transforming themselves.

 

8% of companies are not engaging customers and moving forwards

 

Leaders have mobile cloud at the core and are rewriting the rules.

 

“Since the industrial revolution in 1700s everything is about optimisation and digital business is just as transformative as industrial revolution” – Pat Gelsinger

 

2006 – First time cloud computing used in a core way. Google mentioned it first (Eric Schmidt) 98% of workloads were on traditional IT. Back then 2% was Salesforce and this was the first SAAS model for cloud consumption of software. By 2011 – 13% of apps were on cloud representing 80 million workloads.

 

Today we are at 15% of public cloud and 160 million workloads. We will hit 50% public cloud in 2030 (596 million workloads)

 

“Hosting is 54 billion euros today and growing to 99 billion by 2021” – as quoted by Pat Gelsinger

“Every business function is becoming an IT hub”. I am seeing this become more relevant in companies I talk to as everyone seeks control and power.

 

8 cloud services are an average for most companies that are embracing the cloud.

 

Who is responsible for the security – 90% still want I.T. to control this. Freedom vs. Control is key even as a parent !!!

Users want freedom and I.T want to control this  – How can we combine these forces ? Hybrid Cloud gives consumers the ability to do this.

 

vSphere 6.5 was released and has over 100 features !! Most of these writeups can be found on other blog sites by my esteemed friends out there on the blogosphere.

 

VMware cross cloud architecture is key to combining Vmware Cloud Foundation and Vmware cross-cloud services and will be available sometime in 2017.

 

VMware Cloud on AWS for full SDDC on AWS is going to be big. Mike clayville and Pat talked about the #1 for private and #1 for public coming together. Most customers want to avoid Capex and get out of datacenter building – Mike Clayville. Bursting into the cloud is another use case. Oil and Gas and Public sector defined as leading edge for hybrid. Merck as healthcare in 148 countries is key example

Cloud and AWS announcements

 

Elastic DRS and Vmotion are key features for AWS environment. Full SDDC stack using elastic DRS. Available in mid 2017 and Tech preview today.

 

Vmware cross-cloud Services – New SaaS offerings – Guido Appenzeller – Daimler have 3 clouds at the moment and work with Vmware very closely. Now supporting 7 cloud providers. Different APIs can cause an issue. Privacy laws are very serious and still considered. Changing tech and people is key. Traditional silos are dissolving and requires this agility and to be modular.

 

Why can’t we do the same platform for public cloud  using Cross cloud services to manage across all clouds. Search for VMs across filters for various clouds. You can also filter by applications !!!  UI is smooth and deploying NSX achieved in a few mouse clicks on AWS. NSX cloud agent can manage all networking for an application on AWS. Deploying 3 tier security policy for a web app is short and simple to do. Policy for encryption inside the instance for AWS is powerful. The future will be to encrypt between application between on premises and off.

 

Closing Remarks

I thoroughly enjoyed the keynote and the forward looking thoughts on how cloud and SDDC will come together to offer choice, flexibility and a path forward for the digital transformation journey.

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VMworld 2016 – Who’s going to be tomorrow ?

VMworld

CaptureJust to think that it’s that time of year again when tech officianados from around the world descend upon the hallowed grounds of VMworld 2016 in search of the unicorn, the golden tip or even the life changing keynote that will allow them to be inspired when they return home.

You’ve all read the headlines and no doubt many are dubious of what going back to Vegas will be like after the joys of the Moscone but no doubt it will still be an impressive conference in the US and in Europe. It’s what YOU make of it and how YOU make the most of your time that will set you apart from the others that persist in squeezing as many sessions as they can into 1 day.

All the events kick off from Monday 29th August in Vegas and for those waiting for the European event it’s all going to start from Monday 17th October in Barcelona. I want you all to make your time well spent no matter what as I have done in previous years and again will do so this year.

 

My Tips

 

  1. Wear comfy footwear – There’s a ton of walking to be done at both venues. Make sure you are well prepared and try and coordinate your activities so you arent forever bouncing from 1 end to the other.
  2. Stay hydrated – Make sure you don’t binge on alcohol every evening and carry a water bottle with you to ensure you stay awake, sane, and full of life during the few days whilst there.
  3. Be yourself – There’s a lot of pressure to try and be the one that is recognised by others at a strong influencer or a contributor so only do what you can. Not all of us are extroverts so if you find talking 1:1 instead of large group or vice-versa then stick to your guns. No doubt if you don’t stay hidden and you talk to others then you’ll be a name to be remembered.
  4. Be social – This isn’t just in person but more professionally. Use Twitter to voice your comments and use hashtags and be part of the fun.
  5. Meet at least 3 new people a day – It’s easier said than done but you’ll find that if you smile and introduce yourself to others (at after event, in the hangspace area, in sessions or in the solutions exchange) you’ll feel so much better for branching your network. Don’t be afraid to talk to familiar bloggers that you admire and also new and upcoming community folk.
  6. Try something new – Whether it’s entering a competition,talking to a CEO,partying like it’s 1995 or simply trying some new cuisine, make sure you do something new. Breaking out of our comfort zones is something techies hate to do but it can be rewarding once you try it.

 

SAY HELLO TO ME !! (Only in Barcelona)

 

I promise I won’t sell you all the solutions and products I have access to. Instead I’ll be wanting to branch out my own network and get to know people I have conversed with over Twitter and LinkedIn and also see how I can educate you and hopefully educate myself at the same time. I’d love to learn about your challenges and also see what’s working in your organisation and what’s not. Perhaps a short interview with you to go up on my blog would be beneficial to you and I.

Whatever the outcome, come say Hi as I have done with numerous folk over the last 4-5 years and stayed close friends ever since.

 

See you all in Barcelona !!

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vSphere Beta Program is open

VMware
VMware are excited to announce the upcoming VMware vSphere Beta Program. This program enables participants to help define the direction of the most widely adopted industry-leading virtualization platform. Folks who want to participate in the program can now indicate their interest by filling out this simple form. The vSphere team will grant access to the program to selected candidates in stages. This vSphere Beta Program leverages a private Beta community to download software and share information. VMware will provide discussion forums, webinars, and service requests to enable you to share your feedback with us.
You can expect to download, install, and test vSphere Beta software in your environment or get invited to try new features in a VMware hosted environment. All testing is free-form and we encourage you to use our software in ways that interest you. This will provide VMware with valuable insight into how you use vSphere in real-world conditions and with real-world test cases, enabling them to better align their product with your business needs.
Some of the many reasons to participate in this beta opportunity:
  • Receive early access to the vSphere Beta products
  • Interact with the vSphere Beta team consisting of Product Managers, Engineers, Technical Support, and Technical Writers
  • Provide direct input on product functionality, configurability, usability, and performance
  • Provide feedback influencing future products, training, documentation, and services
  • Collaborate with other participants, learn about their use cases, and share advice and learnings
Participants are expected to:
  • Online acceptance of the Master Software Beta Test Agreement will be required prior to visiting the Private Beta Community
  • Install beta software within 3 days of receiving access to the beta product
  • Provide feedback within the first 4 weeks of the beta program
  • Submit Support Requests for bugs, issues and feature requests
  • Complete surveys and beta test assignments
  • Participate in the private beta discussion forum and conference calls

Here is the link to signup – vSphere Beta Registration Form

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Compute in the cloud and storage on premises ? Are you serious ?

Tech Field Day, VMworld

techfielddayI was lucky enough to attend Tech Field Day Extra at VMworld and one company that really raised some eyebrows was Velostrata as they presented their vision for hybrid cloud. Not Hybrid cloud in the traditional sense from running VM’s on premises and running VM’s in the public cloud but a mesh of the two leading to an interesting proposal.

What can this company offer consumers that other companies haven’t tried already ? Read on to hear my take…. » Read more

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