Customers want mobile of all sorts, according to Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM of End-User Computing at VMware, Inc. The virtualization service provider is constantly seeking out the tools to meet mobile demand. Whether it’s integrating with other technologies, building its own, or purchasing key assets, VMware has its eye trained on enterprise mobile.

Poonen talked with Dave Vellante and John Furrier on theCUBE about VMware’s decision-making process around acquiring mobile security offering AirWatch, trends related to the Internet of Things (IoT), and enterprise mobile. 

Though there was an internal push towards choosing AirWatch, Poonen said the selection also had a lot to do with conversations he had with customers. VMware would ask who it lost out to in mobile deals — “89 percent of the time, it was AirWatch.” Acquiring AirWatch, as well as the surge of interest in mobile throughout the industry has allowed VMware to increase its portfolio tenfold. “Now,” he said, “we…have vision and substance.”

SAP Integration

SAP is a “tremendous player,” Poonen observed. He thinks that integration between VMware and SAP’s application will be very valuable to customers. It’s why, he said, VMware and SAP are working together to “build integration between the mobile apps and mobile platform of SAP with the management and security of AirWatch.”

Integration between the two tech companies means customers will get to use the “elegant, simple, cloud-centric mobile management security system” in addition to ensuring all apps function properly. It means that enterprises across all industries can secure their apps with AirWatch.

Asset leverage helps companies lower costs

Though virtual desktop infrastructure was an expensive tool, Vellante observed that mobile seems to have changed its cost-of-value discussion. To lower the cost of VDI, Poonen explained that VMware “reinvented a modern stack for Disco virtualization.” It runs on top of the software-defined datacenter and, among other things, integrates AirWatch security. Integration, Poonen said, lowers cost. And in conjunction with easier navigation, integration makes VDIs much more user-friendly.

“Desktop, mobile, and content collaboration,” are the three tenants of Poonen’s mobile efforts. Mobile isn’t limited to one any device, he says, “Mobile means on the move,” which presents a unique set of challenges. It’s the software defined data center, Poonen said, that allows “desktop, mobile, and content collaboration” to become reality.

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Upcoming trends in enterprise software

Poonen sees software as a tool for making devices more relevant, quipping “Software’s like the wine, but hardware is like the bottle.” For him, it’s the glue that knits hardware together. Poonen thinks simplifying and securing enterprise software is the inflection point that will lead to enterprise software looking a lot more like consumer software.

• IoT trends

As the IoT comes to light, tech companies can explore data in new ways in order to provide unique services to their customers. In the United Airlines case study, for example, manuals and flight landing instructions were digitized so pilots could access them from iPads. The app’s reach expanded to flight attendants, who use it to store passenger manifests.

This idea also extends to machines, Poonen said. “Every single potential machine that is on the internet can be tracked, managed, and secured.” The VMware’s goal, he added is to “manage and secure every possible machine and thing and then analyze the data coming out of that.” Poonen expects the analytics run on data collected from the IoT to be a “treasure trove.”

Particular industries that have expressed interest in the IoT, Poonen shared, include the consumer packaged goods, oil and gas, retail industries, and medical devices.

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