VMworld was big – but that’s not really news. It has been big for a while – both from an event perspective, but also from a market impact perspective; after all, VMware is the chosen basis for many applications and users. But this year, the “choir” grew; this was partly the obvious growth of those paying attention, including the newly intended-to-be-acquired Pivotal and Carbon Black…but it was also because of a more cohesive and inclusive message. To use terms that VMware would approve of, the company used its virtually eponymous mega-gathering to ‘make its mark’ in the ‘age of any’ by running even-more-keenly towards a multi-cloud world. Heterogeneity was everywhere…as long as that heterogeneity runs on VMware, of course! Conversations about - and proposals for - hybrid-, multi- and even edge- cloud, were both well-constructed and explained…but also at times served to prudently obfuscate the fact that VMware sees itself as the [benevolent?] spider at the center of this expanding IT web.
The breadth of the ecosystem that VMware has established is immense and impressive – it also means that covering that breadth takes a large number of my ESG colleagues. Many of my attending ESG colleagues share their comments in the ESG On Location video attached below. Each of them strove for brevity, but the sheer scale of the event still created a 7 minute video. That said, it’s 7 minutes worth watching in order to get our succinct take on the company and its ecosystem, key new announcements such as Tanzu, Pacific, and the latest NSX, as well as progress on the vital partner side of the business. I won’t steal the thunder from my colleagues…
