Companies take one look at some software applications and decide to keep them on-premises because of legacy baggage, security or what-have-you. Then, there are brand new apps they opt to build the cloud-native way thanks to modern microservices. But often, apps aren’t so easily sussed out; they might require a seasoned hand to help them pick through a trunk full of computing infrastructure options.

“There’s a slew of applications in the middle where customers are kind of unsure about where to go,” said Peter FitzGibbon (pictured, left), vice president and general manager of the VMware practice at Rackspace Inc.

This is why, despite the many Silicon Valley soothsayers that have pronounced data centers moribund, they are still kicking at many companies. A true private cloud environment is only expected to grow, with Wikibon Research predicting the market for such progressive architecture to reach $32 billion this year. (Wikibon is owned by the same company as SiliconANGLE.)

FitzGibbon and David Trigg (pictured, right), global vice president of market development and service providers at Dell EMC, spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and Lisa Martin (@LuccaZara), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the VMworld conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They discussed how real companies respond to cloud and new-tech hype, as well as how Rackspace and Dell EMC serve hybrid-minded customers. (* Disclosure below.)

Sussing out the app endgame

Companies now realize that they cannot simply move all workloads to the cloud because it’s what the cool kids are doing. They understandably care more about putting apps where cost-to-performance ratio is best and customer satisfaction highest. They need a “Switzerland” of cloud and on-prem infrastructure to turn to for clean, unbiased opinions about where their mix of apps ought to land, according to FitzGibbon.

For 20 years, Rackspace and Dell EMC have partnered to deliver solutions to enterprise customers. Rackspace is folding in Dell EMC’s newly developed tech — like machine learning and artificial intelligence — to serve its evolving customer base. It is also making ample use of VMware Inc., which Dell EMC acquired (by way of EMC) in 2016. It has launched Rackspace Private Cloud Everywhere powered by VMware to extend Rackspace private clouds into customer data centers and collocation centers. The offering allows customers more choices about where to run their workloads. Rackspace also aims to announce a VMware-on-AWS offering later this year, FitzGibbon added.

The more options customers keep open, the better, according to Trigg. “They have to think about the SLAs that they’re providing to their end users, to their employees; and that’s where you have to place the application, the workload — in the right place to enable the best … experience for their customers and their employees,” he said.

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: Rackspace Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Rackspace nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE