Cloud computing and VMware
VMware Inc. is a California-based virtualization software provider.
Founded in 1998 near the peak of the first dot com boom, VMware has in the decade of its existence grown to be a recognized name in software development, and even managed to carve for itself a niche as a leading provider of virtualization software.
As of 2008, VMware’s revenues topped $1.9 Billion, produced by a workforce of about 6,500 people. A substantial part of VMware is owned by EMC, though the company is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as VMW.
VMware’s Products
VMware’s products target both the individual consumers of technology (through the desktop VMware software) and the corporate consumers of technology – through its enterprise VMware software.
VMware’s desktop applications have the remarkable advantage of cross-platform compatibility, and are currently accommodated by Windows, Mac OS X and Linux – the three being all the leading operating systems in the world.
Notably, its enterprise computing solution – VMWare ESX Server can actually run directly on the server without the need for intermediation through an operating system.
Other remarkable VMware products include its VMware Lab Manager, site recovery manager, stage manager, workstation and ThinApp software applications among others.
Cloud Computing at VMware
Although VMWare was founded in 1998 before the idea of cloud computing was even talked of, the fact that it made its name as a virtualization software providers means that it is likely to one of the leaders in the cloud.
VMware’s main product on the cloud is its VMware Vcloud – which promises its users ‘cloud computing for any application and for anyone’.
According to VMware, the Vcloud solves for the people coming into the cloud one of the leading concerns, namely cross-platform compatibility – which often translates into considerable costs both in terms of time and money when the customers consider moving into the cloud or changing cloud computing platform providers.
VMware’s Vcloud is marketed on a platform of mobility (users can change virtual machines quite effortless), application support (over a thousand different applications are supported on VMware’s Vcloud) and choice – given that VMware’s partnership with numerous cloud computing hosting companies makes for easy transitions between providers, which too is a considerable advantage as people don’t want to end up locked up with a cloud computing hosting provider they have fallen off with (or one whom they feel is not delivering), which unfortunately is what many cloud computing platform providers (implicitly) require their users to do.
Some of the hosting partners with whom VMware has relationships with include Skytap, Hosting 365, DataPipe, Hostway, Defender Hosting, Verizon Business, Siemens and Bluelock. Others include Attenda, Opus Interactive, Apparatus and AccessFlow, to name but a few.
On the other hand, the cloud computing technology providers with whom VMware has partnered with include EMC (its parent firm and a leading cloud computing technology provider), Cisco, Rightscale, Workstream, as well as giants like Sun Microsystems, Intel and Dell.
The entry of Paul Maritz, former head of cloud computing at Microsoft into VMware gave the company’s cloud computing efforts a shot in the arm (though this was done at the expense of one of VMware’s original founders) – given that Maritz was one of the earliest proponents and visionaries of cloud computing.
The future of Cloud Computing at VMware
VMware is one of the first companies to make specific products for the cloud (its Vcloud API is already in beta-testing) and this combined with its experience in virtualization means that it will be one of the companies to look out for in the cloud.
Furthermore, VMware’s strategy for the cloud – which includes software specifically for ensuring business continuity in the cloud – means that it enters the cloud with the advantage of having products which might take its competitors some time to develop and promote.
Of course, it remains to be seen how VMware will respond to the entry of its competitors in the cloud, considering that the competitors happens to be IT-Giants like Microsoft (through its MSFT.0) and Oracle (through its ORCL.0).
Of course the cloud is largely a new marketplace, and companies that were natural leaders in other niches might find themselves having to go through a whole new learning curve, which means that the entry of Microsoft and Oracle need not be such a threat to VMware’s future in the cloud, after all.
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