I’d like to share some personal news with you, industry watchers and fans of VMware’s network virtualization offering.

As network virtualization starts to mature, and it has, I have thought hard about how best to participate in the broader movement of infrastructure to software and services that I believe so strongly in. Having spent the last decade in a deep, but narrow operating role, I have decided that going forward I would like to engage much more broadly.

Recently, Andreessen Horowitz VC reached out about a GP position in the enterprise space.  Given my familiarity and history with the firm, and how rare these opportunities are, I knew this was my chance. So I accepted.

I will be joining on April 1. And I’ll stay connected to VMware. I’m transitioning into a strategic advisor role, continuing to evangelize VMware’s network virtualization vision with key stakeholders. And, with Rajiv Ramaswami coming on board as VMware’s General Manager and Executive Vice President of the Networking and Security business, I feel extremely confident that the team is being left in very good hands.

While some say that there is never really a good time for change, I know NSX is firmly on the path to be the next standard in data center and cloud networking. VMware will continue to reshape compute, networking and storage, and as the only major infrastructure player not tied to hardware, an OS, or a particular cloud, it can provide solutions for managing, and securing all IT assets, from mobile, to private cloud to public cloud.

So, there it is. I am becoming a VC. In retrospect, the networking world is a much different place than it was when I started. And while I played only a very small part in this change, I feel so deeply humbled to have been able to participate at all.

I’ll see you around.