Walking around the conference, the change over the last ten years was very apparent. VMworld has transformed from primarily educating the masses on the power of virtualization as it did in the early days, to showcasing the benefits of cloud computing and helping customers consume and leverage cloud resources, services and Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC).
VMware has continued to make the line between On-Premise Clouds and Public Clouds nearly invisible as it continues to make hybrid cloud deployments easier and less cumbersome. One example of this is VMware Cloud Foundation. Though not new, VMware has made additional partnerships and deployment models available to consumers. VMware Cloud Foundation is a software defined infrastructure model that combines solutions into a single offering. Compute (vSphere), Storage (vSAN), Networking (NSX) and manageability (SDDC Manager) are all included and can be deployed or consumed in several ways.
The first being on-premise where you can choose to install the solution yourself. By procuring the VMware Cloud Foundation software and qualified vSAN ReadyNodes, you can network from an OEM like Cisco Systems and install all the pieces yourself or with the help of a partner like Zumasys.
The second on-premise deployment model is purchasing turnkey solutions from OEMs like Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) were you rack, cable, power on and start configuring through a wizard. HPE also unveiled its VMware Cloud Foundation partnership this year at the VMworld conference.
The third and newest deployment option is the Public Cloud offering that has gained significant ground with the official release of VMware Cloud on AWS. The same VMware Cloud Foundation components are available as a service running on bare metal servers in AWS’ cloud. Other cloud providers such as CenturyLink and IBM also have similar offerings in this space.
VMware is also moving to give VMware vSphere a friend on the core solution podium. VMware NSX will accompany VMware vSphere as the company continues to advance NSX’s compatibility and integrations. With the ever-growing need for security, the complexity of solutions also grows. VMware NSX aims to help manage and control that complexity. Features such as micro-segmentation, group and policy-based management, as well as cross-cloud compatibility. One thing was very clear with almost all of the solutions that were discussed; they all either integrate with or require VMware NSX in some capacity.
Want to learn more key takeaways from this year’s conference? Tune in next week for Part 2 of my VMworld recap.