Proving that unity is key towards effective future, enterprise software innovator VMware, Inc., has shocked the digital world when it has forged a partnership with their long-time competitor Amazon Web Services (AWS).
During the 2019 VMware CIO Forum, VMware outlined its strategy for empowering organizations across Southeast Asia and Korea to build the best digital foundation in order to grow alongside Asia’s rapidly digitalizing economy. Attended by more than 100 C-level executives from the region, the capstone event delved deep into the myriad new business opportunities, from the development of Industry 4.0, to how cloud, mobility and security underpin the success of organizations looking to ride the region’s new wave of growth.
On a multi-cloud journey, many organizations are challenged by increased complexities associated with diverse infrastructures, management tools, and processes. To address this, VMware introduced advancements to VMware Cloud, including enhancements to VMware Cloud Foundation, VMware vCloud Director, CloudHealth by VMware, increased access to Cloud Foundation-based services via new VMware Cloud on AWS in Singapore and more VMware Cloud Verified partners globally. With the portfolio update, VMware customers now have the flexibility and choice to leverage cloud to build, deploy and deliver the applications that drive their businesses. United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) is the first organization in Southeast Asia to deploy VMware Cloud on AWS to support the Bank’s digital innovation journey.
According to Gartner’s 2019 CIO Survey, the survey results show that digital business has reached a tipping point. Forty-seven percent of Asia Pacific CIOs report their enterprises have already changed their business models or are in the process of changing them. Thirty-one percent of Asia Pacific CIOs are also scaling up their digital transformation efforts to capitalize on the region’s growth – ASEAN’s digital economy is projected to hit US$5.1 trillion by 2025 alone, up from US$200 billion in 2018. While businesses in the region appear ready for the next chapter of their growth, lack of organizational agility and slow pace of change remain key obstacles to their digital transformation journeys.
“There is no question that businesses need to transform themselves to stay relevant in Asia’s new economic paradigm. The question is how can they support innovation and business growth in the coming decades,” said Sanjay K. Deshmukh, vice president and managing director, Southeast Asia and Korea, VMware. “With VMware’s end to end portfolio of innovative solutions, we are laying out a blueprint for digital transformation success, so our customers can grow alongside the region’s burgeoning digital economy.”
Adhunik Chug, Head of Group Shared Infrastructure Services, Group Technology and Operations, UOB said, “VMware Cloud on AWS enables us to build our innovation platform on the cloud while maintaining our robust security standards. We are pleased to be the first company in Southeast Asia to use this integrated solution to power our innovation drive.”
The recent announcements of VMware Cloud on Dell EMC and Microsoft Azure VMware solutions further extend VMware’s innovations to a wider range of customers to accelerate digital transformation in the region. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC will combine public cloud simplicity, agility and economics with the security, control and performance of on-premises infrastructure while Azure VMware Solutions will give customers the power to seamlessly migrate, extend and run existing VMware workloads from on- premises environments to Azure. VMware’s expanded partnership with Dell Technologies and Microsoft gives businesses even more value and flexibility to accelerate their hybrid multi-cloud journey as they transform to meet the evolving needs of their customers.
As businesses move towards a multi-cloud environment, the nature of workplaces has also evolved rapidly from traditional desktops to resources and applications across multiple clouds. To support the new reality of work, VMware Workspace ONE customers will now have the ability to manage and secure the powerful productivity features of Office 365 across devices via cloud-based integration with Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory. This helps businesses get the most out of their digital workspace across device platforms while maximizing existing and future investments.
VMware plans to extend the capabilities of Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop to enable customers to further accelerate their cloud initiatives, leveraging VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure. The expanded partnership represents a significant step forward for businesses through the provision of end user simplicity and enterprise security across their multi-device digital transformation journeys.
With cybersecurity fast becoming the key to success for any organizations’ digital transformation efforts, VMware recently outlined a new security approach that focuses on applications more than infrastructure to shrink the attack surface and making security intrinsic to organizations. Through the introduction of the industry-first Service-defined Firewall and new Workspace ONE security capabilities, VMware leverages the unique properties of the virtual and mobile infrastructure to deliver unprecedented visibility into applications to secure data centers, clouds and the digital workspace, safeguarding organizations’ digital transformation journeys.
“Organizations in Asia are in a unique point in time where they are at the forefront of the global shift towards the innovation economy. To this end, VMware’s focus on delivering innovations around Cloud, Mobility and Security will support our customers, as they embrace digital transformation to leapfrog into the next chapter of their growth journeys,” added Deshmukh.