Larik-Jan looks back at VMworld 2019
Earlier this month, some of our colleagues attended VMworld in Barcelona. VMworld is a four-day conference for virtualization and Cloud computing, where VMware shows its new strategy and products. Larik-Jan looks back on VMworld and highlights the most interesting developments shown there. Larik-Jan, CTO at Fundaments: “For years we have been attending VMworld. During this conference we get insight into VMware's strategy and test it against our own strategy. In addition, we are updated on the latest developments and innovations through keynotes, strategic round table sessions and hands on labs.” In recent years, Larik-Jan sees a clear shift in VMware's market approach. “This is now much more focused on VMware partners than on end users. This makes perfect sense, because everyone is looking at the Cloud and then gets in touch with a Cloud partner, such as Fundaments, for example.”
Effective networking
“VMworld offers plenty of networking opportunities. I have come to know quite a few people within the VMware ecosystem with whom I can spar strategically. In addition, there will be over 14,000 visitors, so there are plenty of networking opportunities with, for example, colleagues from the BeNeLux but also with suppliers such as Cohesity, Zerto and Dell. You can also just run into potential customers from the end-user segment.”
Project Pacific, Carbon Black and Public Clouds
“For me, three interesting developments have been shown this year. The first is Project Pacific. With this project, VMware vSphere and Kubernetes are coming together and transforming vSphere into an optimized, native Kubernetes platform.” When asked what this means for Fundaments, Larik-Jan responds, “In 2020, Fundaments is implementing a container platform. On this platform, we can host containers in a way that works well for our ISV customers. It is therefore a logical step, with Project Pacific becoming available, to embrace this so that we can provide an optimalizing step for our Kubernetes platform.
In addition, we learned how VMware has embedded renowned security company Carbon Black into its strategy and products. This acquisition represents the evolution of VMware's security strategy, building security features into the infrastructure as well as workloads, clients and applications. This is an incredibly exciting development for the ISV market because it allows us to take their application environment to a much higher level of security. We also help our MSP customers embrace the same security technology so they can provide secure applications to their end customers.
The third development is the ever-increasing integration with public Clouds. A very important step in terms of multi Cloud solutions as well as for being able to port workloads. This gives us powerful tools for everything on a technical level to be able to deploy that porting for a good exit strategy for our customers.”
Celebratory finale
“During VMworld an awful lot of information comes at you. To get the right things out of it, exchange visions and spar, we organized a delightful Wine & Dine this year. A pleasant and meaningful feedback moment with like-minded people from the Cloud world. During moments like these, it is good to be able to test what the right solutions are for our customers. In the end it's all about focus and everyone doing what he or she does best. Fundaments offers the right tools to achieve that,” says Larik-Jan.
