VMware's Exec Hirings Won't Close Up EUC Gaps

I'm a fan of VMware, but I must confess that I have been frustrated with their End-User Computing strategy and execution. The only moves I see VMware making in this space are either the wrong ones or "not enough" ones. VMware has hired away a ton of Citrix employees and executives to tighten up the EUC offerings. Having the right team is crucial, but it is far from being enough and far from being drastically effective if the technology they will be in charge of is limited.

VMware has obviously embraced and strongly believes in the end-to-end EUC vision of allowing people to work anywhere, on any device. It has taken steps in completing this vision, but it is still lacking some crucial components. So instead of focusing on how to fill these gaps, VMware goes out and acquires a DaaS company.

Don't get me wrong, DaaS is important, but it is not that important and it is not on any company's radar in any serious way. I am pretty sure that VMware realizes that there really isn't an opportunity for DaaS in the enterprise YET and that most of what's going on today is hype and it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.

After the recent Citrix acquisition of Framehawk, VMware definitely needs to make acquisitions to reinforce its position and vision and capabilities for enterprise customers that are looking for end-to-end solutions that can:

• Unify all resource access from an enterprise app store (Windows, Mobile, SaaS, Data, etc.).
• Deliver Windows apps and desktops to any form factor device.
• Manage or govern mobile devices, especially in the wake of imminent security threats to mobile devices.
• Address the Dropbox problem in the enterprise.

These are just a subset of what enterprises are looking for and VMware needs to plug the gaps in the portfolio and here's what I suggest for starters:

Acquire an MDM/MAM company. I've said this a thousand times here and on my other blogs hosted on InformationWeek, and I've been saying it for years. VMware, some good picks are MobileIron or AirWatch, or look at OpenPeak. Look at the latter if you don't care about existing customer base, as the technology is solid. Stop fiddling around with this and make an acquisition.

Yes, MDM is still very relevant because enterprises like Home Depot, United Airlines, American, Belly Card and many others are deploying income-generating enterprise applications on company-issued devices that need to be managed. These are not BYOD scenarios and this segment will continue to grow. What exactly are you waiting for? You also need a way to manage Windows Phone, iOS, and Android in a bit more uniform way as opposed to two differing strategies.

I am not sure what happened to AppBlast, but after the Citrix acquisition of Framehawk, I suggest that you acquire Mainframe2 and bring AppBlast to life--please! You need a way to deliver seamless applications to devices. The idea that everyone is going to get a desktop is happening less so now, so let's move on and plug the devices gap. Pick up Mainframe2 or a similar company.

How much longer will your solution rely on PCoIP and you don't own the intellectual property for this protocol yet?! Really, why would you not pick this up and consolidate it? Why the hesitance? PCoIP also has a connection to RDSH, so you at least have RemoteApplications as well. I would love an answer for this one.

Please, please take EMC's Syncplicity product and consolidate it with Horizon Data to reinforce the product's capabilities, so you don't compete in that area. I know the products are not the same, but that product belongs in the VMware portfolio anyway.

So, minting your team with executives is not enough. You need to make some serious acquisitions and rearrangements in the EUC business unit in order to position the company to address the needs and requirements of the enterprise. Maybe after you tackle all these gaps, the market will then be primed for DaaS.

I sincerely hope the DaaS move was not a knee-jerk reaction to Amazon entering the DaaS space. VMware and Amazon are very different and cater to different customers. Sure, they intersect in some places, but for the most part, you belong in the enterprise and Amazon is looking in from the consumer side and trying to break into the enterprise.

Posted by Elias Khnaser on 01/13/2014 at 3:35 PM