Notes from VMworld 2016, Day One

LAS VEGAS -- VMworld returns to Las Vegas for the first time since 2011 (as I wrote about in my "Brief History of VMworld" article). Has it really been five years since VMworld was in the desert?

The show would still be in San Francisco, except its home there, the Moscone Center, is undergoing renovations. But Vegas does have its charms. The venue, at the Mandalay Bay hotel, is terrific (lots of pools here, to offset the inferno outside.)

One advantage of Vegas is that the conference is in the hotel, so there are no shuttles necessary for those of us lucky enough to be staying at Mandalay Bay. Not a big deal, but still nice.

Lots of folks here, as always, but  I don't have an official attendee count yet. I'll update this with the information when it's available.

• The Mandalay Bay is big. Like, really, really big. It takes a long time to get to the conference center, and involves passing lots of slot machines. It's probably a good thing I'm not a gambler.
• Breakfast this morning: some sort of breakfast burrito-type thing. Really, VMworld? Sorry, but for those of us who don't like Mexican, that's just gross – especially on the first day.
• The keynote streamed well on my iPhone 6S. That's a real bonus, since wi-fi is notoriously unreliable at big shows like this.
• CEO Pat Gelsinger delivered a solid opening day keynote, as he always does. The Cloud Foundation stuff wasn't eye-opening; anyone paying attention over the last few months saw this coming. But it is important; bundling software-defined technologies like NSX and VSAN and inserting them into public cloud platforms, extending their management capabilities, is a solid direction. NSX's importance to VMware continues to grow.
• Gelsinger's interview with Michael Dell was a snoozer. I can't imagine that anyone gained any insight into anything during that little chat. Dell said nothing of value, and Gelsinger didn't ask the big question: "When will the acquisition be final?" Now that would have added some interest.
• Nice backpack, as always. Black with blue accents. Plenty of room, and a handy water bottle.

That's all for now. Enjoy the show.

Posted by Keith Ward on 08/29/2016 at 12:36 PM