As data drives more business decisions and automation alleviates operational burdens on companies of all sizes, technology is growing past the confines of its industry and becoming increasingly pervasive throughout a range of markets.

“Back office has become front office. Every aspect of data becomes mission-critical for the business. … Data is the new oil,” said Pat Gelsinger (pictured), chief executive officer of VMware Inc. As the impact of tech expands, Gelsinger aims to take on the responsibility of information technology support by making VMware the essential ubiquitous digital infrastructure.

Gelsinger spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and Stu Miniman (@stu), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at the Dell Technologies World 2018 event in Las Vegas. They discussed the significance of digital transformation and how VMware is working to future-proof for businesses in all industries. (* Disclosure below.)

Moving to the future without giving up the past

Becoming a digital company once meant spending time, capital and labor stitching together disparate resources, but today’s demand requires greater efficiency and operational independence. That shift is the driving force behind VMware’s mission.

“You want to … have a robust infrastructure and increasingly rely on fewer, more strategic vendors. It’s my job to put it together so you can take your investments and turn them into the applications and services that really differentiate your business,” Gelsinger said.

This approach appears to be working for VMware, which currently accounts for 10 percent of Dell Technologies Inc.’s revenue. Gelsinger owes the success to a few key factors. “Our strategy is resonating with customers … the Dell momentum has … been a powerful accelerant, … [and] it’s a good market,” he said.

Gelsinger also observes customer confidence in the types of workloads businesses run on VMware, which are shifting from share points and outlooks to core banking and core transactional data. By providing a “ubiquitous digital infrastructure” that enables streamlined migrations across private, public and “internet of things” cloud, VMware allows businesses to leverage the benefits of hybrid infrastructure.

“If we can give common operational security management and automation environment that transcends containers and functions as a service, but combine it … with today’s infrastructure, that’s the big easy button for IT. We could take you to the future without giving up the past,” he said.

Gelsinger recognizes four technology superpowers as the driving force behind digital transformations: “Mobile … over half the planet is now connected; cloud, the ability to scale as never before; AI, the ability to bring intelligence to everything; and IoT, the ability to bridge to the physical world,” he said.

As tech’s reach transforms industries and communities, Gelsinger sees an increased responsibility of those at the helm to dictate the power that drives its tools. “Technology is neutral, and it’s our job as a tech industry to shape [it]. … We need to be involved in shaping legislations, policies and laws to enable tech to be that force for good,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Dell Technologies World 2018 event. (* Disclosure: Dell EMC sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Dell EMC nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE