VMworld 2020 is going to be different. Yes, it will be virtual — but that’s become expected in the upside-down world that has manifested since COVID-19 spread across the globe. For VMware Inc., major changes began long before the coronavirus made its presence known.

The company has moved beyond its virtual machine roots by diversifying into multicloud management, application modernization, networking, digital security, hyperconverged infrastructure and end-user computing. VMworld 2020 will offer an equally broad spectrum of topics, with scheduled tracks covering emerging technologies, remote work strategies and 5G networking. The event features 800 interactive sessions, games and hands-on labs.

Although VMworld’s 2020 Premier Pass is sold out, you can still get a general pass here for free. The event, which takes place from September 29 to October 1, kicks off the last quarter of 2020 looking to the future of cloud computing.

Keynote speakers include VMware execs Pat Gelsinger and Sanjay Poonen, as well as Michael Dell, chief executive officer and chairman of Dell Technologies. Gelsinger and Poonen, along with many other industry experts, will also be speaking with theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s livestreaming studio, during theCUBE’s coverage of the VMworld 2020 event Sept. 29 and 30. Watch for exclusive interviews, insights, product announcements and industry analysis. (* Disclosure below.) 

Embracing the modern workload

VMware’s bread-and-butter technology — virtual machines — has faced a growing threat from the popularity of containers’ tech for managing clustered software applications, alongside the market’s shift to multicloud environments. In response, VMware spent 2019 embracing Kubernetes for its flagship vSphere portfolio and beyond.

The open-source platform for managing containers has fast become an industry standard and is central to VMware’s Tanzu platform aimed at maturing Kubernetes for the enterprise. The company has also integrated artificial-intelligence and machine-learning support into vSphere, thanks to technology from acquisition Bitfusion.io Inc., and made advances in edge computing and the “internet of things.”

Tanzu brings to fruition VMware’s acquisition of development platform Pivotal Software Inc. Yet Pivotal is just one acquisition among many aimed at modernizing app management for enterprise environments. VMware also snapped up open-source application enabler Bitnami Inc. and cybersecurity firm Carbon Black Inc.

“We’ve put to bed the debate about containers versus virtual machines,” Ajay Patel, senior vice president and general manager of modern application platform business at VMware, recently told SiliconANGLE’s Paul Gillin. By incorporating Kubernetes into the vSphere platform, VMware proved that “in a single environment you can run both,” Patel added.

Building on Gelsinger’s 2019 promise that he was going to “change security,” VMware announced earlier this year plans to acquire cloud native security vendor Octarine Inc. with the goal of embedding security for applications running on Kubernetes into the VMware Carbon Black Cloud. In 2020, the Carbon Black Cloud was named one of the top 20 endpoint detection and response solutions by Gartner Peer Insights for the second year running.  

Other major announcements demonstrating VMware’s commitment to application modernization include the introduction of elastic infrastructure for artificial-intelligence and machine-learning applications into vSphere 7. The graphic card virtualization technology behind the announcement comes thanks to VMware’s 2019 acquisition of Bitfusion.io Inc. and is bundled into Dell EMC’s Ready Solutions for AI and Ready Solutions for vHPC.

“VMware’s challenge now is to stay relevant by modernizing its platform to appeal to developers with machine intelligence and tools for building modern applications that support digital transformations,” said Dave Vellante, chief analyst at SiliconANGLE sister market research firm Wikibon Inc. and host of theCUBE. “It must demonstrate leadership in hybrid and multicloud, show that it can execute on its security strategy, and turn aspirational edge opportunities into real, monetizable offerings.”

In the partner ecosystem, it’s virtual hugs all around … even to rivals

Alongside embracing modern technology, VMware has formed partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Google, companies that just a few years ago were rivals for supremacy in the cloud wars. VMware’s vCloud Air has been consigned to the annals of history, and the company is no longer aiming to be king in its own kingdom. Instead, VMware’s strength in the cloud ecosystem comes from its place within the larger ecosystems. And that place is significant: 90% of enterprise organizations have VMware infrastructure, according to Patel.

VMworld 2020’s theme of “Possible Together” reflects this emphasis on collaboration. “Competitive dynamics are driving partnerships,” Patel said. “And if you think about one company that’s sitting across all clouds, has all platforms, has Spring [framework] and a Kubernetes community, the answer is VMware.”

VMware’s portfolio is evolving for infrastructure and cloud partners alike. Most recently Tanzu unveiled a full integration with Dell’s VxRail hyperconverged infrastructure, supporting reference architecture, cluster and private cloud offerings. AWS and Microsoft Azure remain opportune partners for VMware’s platform-agnostic appeal to multicloud management, seeing consistent, significant updates. 

The high-profile partnerships come with the challenges of maintaining good vibes with VMware’s longstanding channel partner network as VMware balances numerous variables across its products and partners.   

“VMware has a dominant position in data centers, and that makes them a partner-of-choice for all of the cloud environments,” said Stu Miniman, senior analyst of theCUBE. “That shifts VMware being the center of an ecosystem to being a major player in other ecosystems.”

Despite strong earnings, ‘workforce rebalancing’ brings layoffs

The tech market was riding high in late August, when VMware announced yet another positive earnings report. Figures for the second quarter of fiscal year 2021 show the company beating out Wall Street forecasts at $1.81 per share and a rise in revenue to $2.88 billion, a 9% increase over Q2 2020. Pointing the way toward continued growth was the 44% jump in subscription and software as a service. At $631 million, this sector now accounts for 22% of the company’s total revenue.  

Strong bookings for VMware’s Carbon Black Cloud service and results that “exceeded expectations” for the Pivotal software development platform, Heptio infrastructure automation platform, and Tanzu observability suite were behind the growth, according to VMware. “Q2 showed the value of diversified products and services,” said Zane Rowe, VMware’s chief financial officer.  

Despite the positive forecast, VMware hasn’t been unscathed by the chaos of 2020. In early August, just a couple of weeks before the release of the Q2 figures, the company announced its second round of layoffs for the year, described as a “workforce rebalancing.” VMware declined to reveal the number of employees affected.

The layoffs have been accompanied by a companywide salary freeze and temporary salary reductions for top management, including Gelsinger and Poonan. An internal memo revealed by Business Insider explained the freeze was the result of the cautious investment plans of the company’s customers, which meant that “VMware must also be thoughtful and prudent as we navigate the next several quarters.”

This approach has been validated by the recent downturn in the market, marking the possible end of the growth enjoyed by tech companies riding the wave of remote operations triggered by the pandemic. “Information technology is again being asked to do more with less,” Vellante wrote in a Breaking Analysis on September’s drop in the stock market.

Livestream of VMworld 2020

VMworld 2020 is a livestream event with additional interviews to be broadcast on theCUBE. You can register for free here to access the live coverage. You can also watch it on demand on theCUBE’s dedicated page and YouTube channel. (* Disclosure below.)

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch the live coverage of VMworld 2020 digital event, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE during the VMworld 2020 digital event

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE during the VMworld 2020 digital event include VMware executives Pat Gelsinger, CEO; Sanjay Poonen, COO; Krish Prasad, senior VP and GM of the Cloud Platform Business Unit; and Sumit Dhawan, chief customer officer.

Also joining theCUBE will be Manuvir Das, head of enterprise computing at Nvidia Corp.; Denis Kennelly, general manager of storage at IBM; Eric Herzog, CMO and VP of global storage channels at IBM; and Deepak Mohan, executive VP of products at Veritas Technologies LLC. 

TheCUBE will also talk with Efri Nattel-Shay, director of product management at Dell Technologies; Jill Stelfox, chairman and CEO of Panzura Inc.; and Vaughn Stewart, vice president of technology alliance partners at Pure Storage Inc.

For a complete list of guests, click here.

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the VMworld 2020 digital event. Neither VMware, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE