Edge computing is the new wave of digital transformation emerging to accommodate an ever-increasing mass of user data. But while the edge’s sensor-enabled, internet-of-things devices generate valuable data returns for businesses, a current lack of intelligent processing is stifling the ability to utilize it.

“Right now we’re just hooking up a lot of sensors,” said Bask Iyer (pictured), executive vice president and chief information officer of Dell Technologies Inc. and VMware Inc. “These things are just sending information, not doing intelligent things. Processing is going to get bigger at the edge, in the enterprise especially.”

Iyer spoke with John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the VMworld conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They discussed the future of artificial intelligence implementation at the edge and how Dell and VMware are working to create solutions to enable rapid modernizations in the enterprise. (* Disclosure below.)

‘We bring credibility to the IT side’

While VMware and Dell work relatively independently, their partnership offers a strong foundation of software and supply chain that gives customers an all-in-one solution for their evolving digital transformation needs.

“We give you a simple way to buy an appliance completely managed from us, manage all the edge, set up an architecture in place, and get ready for the edge-computing revolution,” Iyer said.

With so much to be discovered around this still-developing technology, the partner ecosystem is still being cultivated, but VMware’s reputation is proving a solid endorsement with new customers, according to Iyer.

“We bring credibility to the IT side. When we assure them that this box running their factory is really a VMware software running Dell, there’s a lot more credibility. There’s a partnership,” he said.

With its novelty and adaptability, the work of enterprise edge integration requires Iyer to spend most of his time listening to customers and developing custom strategies.

“For the portfolio projects we have, we’ve got a ton of stuff to offer on the edge and IoT, but we don’t want to overpower customers. You need to package it as a solution that’s meaningful,” he said.

As Iyer continues his work of both further uniting VMware with Dell and uniting the companies as a partnership with edge-adopting enterprises, he remains focused on imbuing all new processes with the intelligence necessary to extracting truly valuable insights. He sees an integration of sensor-enabled devices, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to manage it all as the future of interoperability.

“The combination of sensor-enabling IoT and AI is fabulous; then throw blockchain on top of it so you don’t have to govern it. We’re getting to a stage where these can be intelligently put together, and you can actually do useful things,” Iyer concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the VMworld conference. (* Disclosure: VMware Inc. sponsored coverage of VMworld, and some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE