Apple iPhone 3G as an End Point Virtualization Platform

Most of you have heard me say that the virtual desktop is the next wave of opportunity to hit the data center. While server virtualization is still in its infancy and has plenty of opportunity ahead, desktop virtualization has the potential to impact thousands or tens of thousands of desktops in a single company. The impact on management, security, end-user self service, laptop/desktop disaster recovery and power consumption is enormous. Of course, there are still the licensing issues that are currently killing the ROI, but I’ll save that for another day.

Desktop virtualization is not a one size fits all solution. End-users have different roles and tasks to perform their job functions and end point devices vary in size, shape, color and performance. One of the most interesting aspects of desktop virtualization is servicing the mobile user on a mobile device like the iPhone.

The Apple iPhone 3G is available today and takes advantage of a “faster” network. While the iPhone was first touted as a toy that really couldn’t handle corporate IT integration, the game is quickly changing.

• I have already caught wind of organizations replacing their Blackberry investments with iPhones.
• Apple did the smart thing and built in integration for Microsoft Exchange, one of the biggest messaging and collaboration applications used today.
• Oracle announced Oracle Business Applications for the iPhone which pushes reports, analytics and alerts to the phone. Business executives have got to be loving that.
• Newcomer Syncplicity enables users to back up their iPhones and sync information with multiple computers.

The bottom line is that the Apple iPhone is becoming a very interesting platform to run everyday business applications. I think it is a bit of a stretch for us to think that we will soon be running our entire desktop image on the iPhone with virtual desktop technology, but I do see an interesting opportunity to run a slice of desktop virtualization on the mobile phone. VMware ThinApp, Symantec Appstream, Citrix XenApp, and Microsoft Softgrid (OK…..maybe not MSFT, but they should) all have the opportunity to expand their products to deploy and manage corporate applications on the iPhone. Imagine if the iPhone becomes Apple’s entry into the enterprise!

Diane Greene Departs VMware

VMware just announced it has made a change in the leadership of the company with the departure of Diane Greene as President and CEO. First some reflection……. We should all commend Diane for what she has accomplished. She created thousands of jobs for some of the most talented workforce, drastically changed the face of x86 computing, brought virtualization to the mainstream and is always focused on “Green” technology to better our environment. Diane also deserves kudos for driving a very impressive growth rate and taking part in one of the most successful technology IPOs ever!

Paul Maritz, a retired Microsoft executive is now VMware’s CEO.  Paul also founded Pi, a cloud-based computing software company that was acquired by EMC in February 2008. Paul jumps in the hot seat just as the market competition is heating up. Microsoft recently RTMed Hyper-V and Citrix is doubling XenSource growth quarterly. Up until this point VMware has enjoyed the market leadership position with little competition and has been able to stay focused internally on improving its suite of offerings. The tide is about to change.

• During any change in leadership there is always a ramp up period and cultural impact. A change at the top typically leads other changes in management and priorities. It’s important that VMware doesn’t get too distracted during an important time of competition.
• With the departure of Diane Greene, VMware needs to maintain the loyal following of employees and partners she has established.
• It looks like VMware is falling short of its original guidance of 50% growth in 08’ over 07’. Paul is stepping into a situation that demands focusing in on increasing revenue growth while the competition attempts to gain market share.

VMware is entering its next stage in growth with new leadership and increased market competition. VMware made it to the top and now the company’s challenge is to maintain its number one position while the virtualization landscape undergoes a significant change. Paul’s success will quickly be measured by how he steers management on course, increases revenue, continues growing the market share and fends off the competition.

Cloud Computing & Slimmed Down VMs

Virtualization is changing the way businesses think about IT. The concept of an application being directly associated with a physical piece of hardware is quickly being dissolved and I would even go so far as to say that the association between an application and a customized or tuned operating system is on the road to changing. All these changes are being made in an effort to enable fluidity and automation to IT and ultimately benefit the business.

I spoke with a couple of recent newcomers who are taking full advantage of the benefits of virtualization.

• Q-layer announced the concept of a Virtual Private Data Center (VPDC) that would enable customers to support on-demand cloud computing through virtual data centers and also complement a wide range of existing virtualization solutions. Service providers and corporate IT departments can utilize Q-layer to build their own virtual environments using a credit-based chargeback system to track resource allocation and utilization. Q-layer is enabling businesses and service providers to optimize their infrastructures and transform the way data centers are built and deployed.
• FastScale is touting increased performance and scalability in a VMware environment by efficiently building and provisioning virtual machine images without all the redundant data that commonly is associated between virtual machine images. Without going too deep, FastScale manages a central software component repository from which users follow a recipe to build a lightweight software stack in seconds. Due to the slimmed down image FastScale claims greater virtual machine density and reduced networked storage capacity requirements.

Server virtualization has opened the doors for numerous opportunities in the market and Q-layer and FastScale are only a couple of examples of how vendors are innovating as a direct result of the success of virtualization.