Dell Technologies Inc. subsidiary Dell EMC today flexed its muscles in information technology management, stitching its “hyperconverged” infrastructure platform with compute, storage and networking services from VMware Inc. to offer an easier way for companies to manage their hybrid cloud deployments.

The launch of Dell Technologies Cloud comes at a time when enterprises are increasingly betting on so-called “multicloud” or “hybrid cloud” environments, in which computing workloads are spread across a range of public and private cloud infrastructures

A report published today by Forrester Research Inc., commissioned by Dell company Virtustream, shows that a whopping 97% of large enterprises have adopted multicloud strategies, with 90% planning to maintain or increase these investments in the next three years. But 61% of organizations also admit they struggle when it comes to managing these deployments, the study found.

The report clearly demonstrates that running multiple clouds is tough to do, but most enterprises aren’t in any mood to stop this because the ability to mix and match various cloud platforms provides agility and flexibility benefits that are simply too useful to ignore.

It’s a reality that provides a golden opportunity for Dell, which has ambitions to become nothing less than the world’s leading IT infrastructure company. At its Dell Technologies World conference this week, the company has seized upon the chance to leverage its expertise in managing various types of infrastructures in order to lend a hand to those kinds of customers. Simply put, Dell says it wants to help its customers piece together numerous cloud assets and make them easier to access whenever the situation demands.

Central to the new Dell Technologies Cloud offering is the new VMware Cloud on Dell EMC service, also announced today. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC is essentially a subscription-based, Data Center-as-a-Service offering that bundles VMware’s compute, storage and networking software powered by vSphere and vSAN, and enables organizations to consume different kinds of cloud infrastructures from within their own data centers.

The Dell Technologies Cloud service runs atop of Dell’s VxRail Hyperconverged Infrastructure servers, and provides a connection from companies’ data centers to a host of public cloud services, thereby enabling simplified application and data portability via a hybrid cloud control plane.

Dell is touting numerous benefits to be had for companies that let it manage their hybrid cloud infrastructure, including greater agility through the use of familiar VMware tools to provision and manage apps across various cloud platforms. The company reckons its new service also helps customers to save costs by eliminating unnecessary application re-platforming, and eliminate the risk of data breaches due to its built-in security tools.

“The biggest Dell Technologies cloud announcement today is its ‘pay as you go service’ for VMware Cloud on Dell EMC infrastructure,” said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. “While final details weren’t shared, it’s a good move for Dell to throw their hat into the ring as many enterprises are looking for a fully managed cloud service across private, edge and public clouds.”

Whether or not Dell Technologies Cloud is a true “hybrid cloud” platform is open to question, however. Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said the platform is more of a “remote cloud management service” than a real multicloud platform such as CloudFoundry or Google Anthos, which allow users to build applications once and deploy them to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform or whatever their preferred cloud may be.

“That by itself is enough value for Dell and VMware customers, as it allows them to run their next-generation applications more efficiently and locally, with no hands onsite,” Mueller said.

VMware Cloud on Dell EMC is currently is available in beta deployments with limited customer availability planned for the second half of 2019.

Taking the hassle out of device management

Besides hybrid cloud management, Dell thinks it can be just as helpful when it comes to assisting companies in managing the hundreds of devices their employees use on a day-to-day basis. Just like multicloud environments, device management is no picnic either, as tasks such as PC deployment, help desk requests, monitoring and troubleshooting add up to hours of time that IT teams could better spend on promoting initiatives such as digital transformation, Dell says.

The new Dell Technologies Unified Workspace service, which is based on VMware’s Workspace ONE offering, basically offloads these tasks to Dell’s experts, providing a unified endpoint management capability the company says is far superior to traditional PC lifecycle management.

“Once a device is deployed, unified endpoint management capabilities from Workspace ONE make it possible for customers to move beyond traditional PCLM with cloud policy management, streamlined application delivery, automated patching and improved device health monitoring and diagnostics,” the company said.

The service also extends to choosing the right kind of device for each company worker, based on insights that assess how each one uses the PC. Considerations include battery consumption, storage use, mobility requirements and most frequently used applications. Once the most appropriate device is selected, Dell preconfigures it for each employee, taking into account customer’s security and access policies, then ships it directly to the customer so employees can get to work as soon as it boots up.

Mueller said the Unified Workspace offering finally delivers on the synergies of Dell’s acquisition of VMware, which fell under its umbrella when it bought out its parent company EMC Corp. four years ago.

“Specifically this means the ability to deliver virtual desktop and desktop-as-a-service capabilities that leverage the Dell tech stack from its silicon-based security to user clicks in an app managed from an approved application catalog,” Mueller said. “Synergies like these should be welcomed by executives who are looking for ways to become more agile. Virtual desktop and DaaS has long been overpromised and underdelivered, but that may change with this new Dell Technology offering.”

In addition, Moorhead said, “Dell Technologies Unified Workspace should be considered for enterprises looking for a turnkey ‘easy-button’ solution for PC, smartphone and tablet deployments, security, management, and support. Many IT shops are looking to spend less people time on end devices and more on revenue generating activities and Dell’s Unified Workspace could help do that.”

Dell Technologies Unified Workspace is available now.

Photo: Dell/livestream