VMware Global Alliances Blog

Posted by Chris Carrier
Director, VCE Alliance Mktg

There have been so many exciting announcements, programs and events from both VMware and alliance partners lately that sometimes it’s difficult to keep up. Personally, I have been working closely with VCE on a number of innovative activities worth mentioning.

Many of you are probably familiar with VCE and Vblock. Recently, VCE has taken the concept of converged infrastructure to the next level. They have taken Vblock beyond a “reference architecture” to a real product that you can order—a complete product with full integration and a single point of support. What VCE has done in a relatively short amount of time is impressive.

We at VMware have been doing a great deal to help you take the next step toward cloud computing by building “your cloud”. In the same way, VCE is providing a platform that helps customers take that next step in providing the physical infrastructure with the flexibility, agility, and performance. A Vblock provides the foundation needed for cloud and is comprised of proven products from Cisco, EMC, and VMware.

To that end, VCE has collaborated with VMware to deliver an interactive “Your Questions. Your Cloud.” tutorial and microsite. It includes videos and whitepapers from industry analysts, as well as our Cloud Readiness Self-Assessment. This is my favorite area because the assessment asks you to answer a number of questions about your current environment and plans. Then, you get immediate feedback and scenarios that you can use as a guide as you move along your cloud journey.

It was also great to see VCE take converged infrastructure one step further. Based on research showing one of the top desired use cases for Vblock is desktop virtualization, VCE integrated VMware View into Vblock and created the FastPath Desktop Virtualization Platform. This solution enables you to rapidly and easily deploy a virtual desktop environment in increments of 500, 1000 or 1,500 users. The installation wizard included with the platform incorporates best practices from VMware, Cisco, EMC and VCE. You should check out the online demo. Similar to Cloud Infrastructure, you can learn more about VCE and desktop virtualization by going to the desktop virtualization site where you can learn more about VMware View, FastPath, and our joint solution. You will find videos, whitepapers, and some industry information from IDC.

I’m excited about the solutions and programs we are developing with VCE and other alliance partners. Together, we are helping customers, IT administrators and CIOs achieve their goals faster and with greater return on investments. Keep checking our alliance blog and let us know what you want to hear about.