Dell go big with Cloud

[Disclaimer: I have been invited by Dell Technologies as a delegate to their Dell Technologies World 2019 Conference from Apr 29-May 1, 2019 in the Las Vegas USA. My expenses, travel and accommodation are covered by Dell Technologies, the organizer and I am not obligated to blog or promote their technologies presented at this event. The content of this blog is of my own opinions and views]

Talk about big. Dell Technologies just went big with the Cloud.

The Microsoft Factor

Day 1 of Dell Technologies World 2019 (DTW19) started with a big surprise to many, including yours truly when Michael Dell, together with Pat Gelsinger invited Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella on stage.

There was nothing new about Microsoft working with Dell Technologies. Both have been great partners since the PC days, but when they announced Azure VMware Solutions to the 15,000+ attendees of the conference, there was a second of disbelief, followed by an ovation of euphoria.

VMware solutions will run native on Microsoft Azure Cloud. The spread of vSphere, VSAN, vCenter, NSX-T and VMware tools and environment will run on Azure Bare Metal Infrastructure at multiple Azure locations. How big is that.

Focus on the prize

In the beginning, there was a brief animosity in late 2017 when Azure introduced the “full VMware stack on Azure hardware”. That little announcement did not bode well with VMware. However, with the announcement at DTW19 yesterday, both VMware and Microsoft have patched up knowing full well that they were competing with an even bigger cloud juggernaut, Amazon Web Services. An enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The world has gone hybrid. The lines between public cloud services and on-premises private cloud are blurring. In time, it will be just one single IT utility service that transcends premises. Enterprises and businesses are slurping up the consumption, OPEX model of cloud computing and very engaged with the agile and elastic characteristics that come with it. Organizations have begun building people, process and culture around cloud computing.

Microsoft even set aside their Hyper-V competition with VMware vSphere to focus on capturing the bigger prize – the cloud.

Azure VMware solutions

The diagram below shows the Azure VMware vSphere running VM workloads on Azure bare metal servers.

For the new generation of 5G workforce

Another cloud announcement from the triumvirate of Dell, Nadella and Gelsinger yesterday was introducing VMware Workspace ONE into the Microsoft Office 365 ecosystem on Azure. Based on VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE is management platform that manages access control, application lifecycles and endpoints, both in the cloud as well as on-premises.

Workspace ONE will integrate with Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AAD) Premium and Microsoft Intune and APIs from Intune about devices health and status will link up with Workspace ONE for policy resolution and management with AAD. The new Windows Virtual Desktop is also expected to work closely with Workspace ONE once it is ready for Tech Preview at the end of the year.

I can see the bigger picture of Workspace ONE. In the next 1-2 years 5G networks will pepper the telco and communication networks. And from then on, 5G will proliferate and Malaysia has already started the testing of 5G. And at DTW19, the 5G messaging is everywhere. 5G will transform the new generation of workforce, and soon the VMware vision of “Any Application, Any Device, Any Cloud” will deliver true. Workspace ONE is the platform to manage that vision.

The diagram below is a logical architecture diagram of VMware Workspace ONE.

Big on infra too

While Day 1 of DTW19 was about Cloud, Day 2 was all about Dell infrastructure. The storage lineup got a big boost with the announcements of the new Unity XT, dual-port NVMe for PowerMax, new Isilon H5600 with a new version IsilonFS 8.2. On the data protection side, Dell added the PowerProtect x400 and IDPA 4400 to the family. Details of the infrastructure are found at the StorageReview article.

Exciting transformation

I am now in Day 3 at DTW19. The buzz of excitement is in the air for the Dell team, their partners and their customers. And there is plenty to look forward to as we are beginning to see the Real Transformation of Dell Technologies and its federation.

Dell is public listed again. It has positioned itself to get its federated group of companies in the past 3 years to line up all the wood behind the arrowhead. It is already number one in many server and storage categories and look set to rule the roost for years to come. The team at Dell is energized and is ready. We are looking at exciting times ahead.