VMware Plays the Hybrid Cloud Card

Improve Internet Performance by Diversifying Your Cloud Portfolio

When it comes to all things cloud, VMware has a vision that generally aligns with the way most internal IT organizations see the cloud computing world: The cloud is an extension of IT environments that will continue to run on premise for a very long time.

At the VMworld 2015 conference this week, VMware reaffirmed that vision of IT with the launch of a Unified Hybrid Cloud Platform that enables IT organizations to invoke object storage, a database-as-a-service offering based on Microsoft SQL Server and disaster recovery capabilities via the VMware vCloud Air cloud service. At the core of that offering is the EVO software-defined data center (SDDC) software, which VMware is building out as its base management platform.

Mark Chuang, senior director of product marketing and product management for VMware, says the primary VMware goal is to make it easier for IT organizations to consume a broad range of emerging technologies at a higher level of abstraction by using SDDC software. Without that capability, most internal IT organizations would not be able to absorb the costs associated with stitching all those technologies together on their own.

To further extend the scope of that vision, VMware this week also sought to bring emerging technologies like Docker firmly into its orbit. A technology preview of VMware vSphere Integrated Containers running on a lighter-weight VMware hypervisor showed that the technology will enable Docker containers to be managed via the same control plane as VMware virtual machines. In addition, VMware updated core elements of its portfolio, spanning everything from virtual software area networks to its NSX network virtualization software.

Naturally, many IT organizations have some concerns about being locked into VMware for so many technology needs. But most of these organizations have already made massive investments in VMware management tools, and surely most VMware customers will prefer to extend the reach of those technologies rather than replace them all.

Of course, none of that means that IT organizations won’t use Docker and management frameworks such as OpenStack as a means to keep VMware in check. Nor does it mean they are anywhere near prepared to parts ways with VMware virtual machines and management tools upon which most of their existing IT enterprise investments currently depend.