VMware vCloud Blog

webappVM provides software solutions that enable PHP and Java developers to onboard existing Web applications to cloud computing environments such as vCloud Express while reducing risk by providing built-in scaling and monitoring. We talked to webappVM CEO Isaac Roth about what today’s VMware vCloud partner announcement means for developers (http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vcloud-api.html).

What does this partnership mean for developers?
Roth: this partnership is particularly exciting because it combines a self-service solution with emerging industry standards to address an important problem: rapidly deploying and scaling web applications. Developers want self-service and ease of use, in the cloud.  Being locked in to a closed architecture is no longer an option. With webappVM, VMware can offer a self-service experience to application teams using their solutions.  Users can deploy their applications on that cloud without changing their application or middleware. Which means greater agility and cost savings to enterprises who use the combined solution.

What are the benefits for users of being able to launch a platform-as-a-service on vCloud Express?
Roth: PaaS solutions leverage the cloud’s potential to make application management simpler, lighter, and quicker.  This includes built-in monitoring, built-in scaling, and easy onboarding, all designed with developers in mind.  One of the greatest benefits of webappVM’s PaaS solution, however, is that our deployment capsule doesn’t require you to rewrite any of your code – developers don’t have to write to a new framework or middleware. They just specify the same components, web server, application server, etc, that they’re already used to.  Which means easier implementation and greater portability to get applications up and running in vCloud Express even faster.

How will the vApp solution help developers?
Developers are frustrated with the time it takes to stand up environments for their applications. Too much work is spent configuring and provisioning, and not writing code, which kills project schedules. And even with the time constraints, developers always want just one more test environment.
VMware sees the need for a solution that enables developers to rapidly on-board applications.  With webappVM, we offer the first cloud orchestration solution to have shipping support for vCloud.  We provide the same scaling and automation benefits of other PaaS solutions while enabling developers to have their choice of infrastructure providers, including those powered by vCloud Express.

How will this solution help accelerate the Java community’s adoption and use of vCloud Express?

The hype machine has been running at full steam for a while now as far as the cloud is concerned.  But there are very few options for easily taking a Java application onto the cloud and, until now, none that let you choose your infrastructure provider and middleware.  WebappVM provides a simple, powerful, self-serviced and self-managed approach to application deployment and monitoring visibility necessary to trust cloud infrastructure.  We provide the automation and choice customers have been looking for.  This partnership means developers can adopt vCloud Express and know they are receiving the support they need in making the transition into cloud computing.

Issac Roth is CEO and co-Founder of webappVM (www.webappvm.com), where he is responsible for product direction and strategy. Before founding webappVM to solve application management problems for customers moving to cloud and virtualization infrastructures, Roth spent five years at Wily Technology, helping to grow the APM leader from a few handfuls of customers through the $375 million acquisition by CA, Inc.