VMware (NYSE: VMW) has unveiled an extended edge computing strategy, supported by new IoT offerings.
This week at VMworld, VMware has articulated its approach to Edge Computing. VMware is developing a framework that extends the VMware hybrid and multi-cloud environments to the edge. As the world of edge computing and IoT becomes more distributed, billions of connected devices require increasing levels of compute at the edge, which needs to be secured, managed and automated. VMware will help customers by providing local intelligence and compute from the data center to the cloud to edge building on VMware’s network edge investments.
VMware simplifies edge and IoT infrastructure complexity, security, and scale, to enable customers to focus on building applications for their business rather than the infrastructure beneath it. VMware accomplishes this in three ways:
- Control and Simplify Customers’ Edge Strategy: enables customers to extend their hybrid cloud digital foundation to the edge, run their apps anywhere on a variety of platforms
- Better Secure, Connect, and Manage Customers’ Edge Compute: enables customers to better secure, scale and manage edge compute and IoT endpoints
- Accelerate and Scale Customers’ Innovation: enables customers to accelerate and scale, speeding delivery and adoption of edge and IoT applications and solutions
VMware’s broad portfolio of hybrid cloud, multi-cloud and native cloud technologies, combined with a focused effort on new edge technologies, aims to bring customers—including operations, IT or developers—the power of the cloud with critical capabilities for the edge, enabled with VMware NSX SD-WAN powered by VeloCloud. Additionally, Project Dimension, a VMware technology preview unveiled in Monday’s General Session, will extend VMware Cloud to the data center and edge. Project Dimension will combine VMware Cloud Foundation, in a hyperconverged form factor, with a cloud control plane to deliver a Software-Defined Data Center infrastructure as an end-to-end service, operated by VMware. Project Dimension will dramatically simplify operational complexity and cost at data center and edge and offers built-in security and isolation, allowing customers to focus on innovation and differentiating their businesses.
Dell Technologies and VMware have a shared vision to help mutual customers navigate and optimize across edge computing and IoT. The two companies now each have a single business focus to accelerate edge and IoT solutions collectively and deliver purpose-built IoT solutions together and with partners, to support customers from the edge, to the core, to the cloud.
Dell Technologies IoT Solution for Surveillance
In related news, Dell Technologies announced today the Dell Technologies IoT Solution for Surveillance, designed to speed time to realize return on investment with flexibility and customization. The result of IoT innovation by Dell Technologies as a whole, as well as by VMware, this bundled solution includes VMware Pulse IoT Center and VMware Software-Defined Data Center to gather and analyze data at the edge.
VMware Pulse IoT Center 2.0—Management for the Device Edge
VMware Pulse IoT Center 2.0, VMware’s IoT infrastructure management solution, will offer updated capabilities designed to provide customers with broader management, more intelligent operations, faster innovation and better protection. Taken together, these new capabilities will support larger IoT deployments—hundreds of thousands of IoT devices—with SaaS support and additional security features.
Customers will be able to consume VMware Pulse IoT Center as an on-premises or SaaS solution depending on their needs. SaaS services will be hosted by VMware and VCPP partners. Additionally, RESTful APIs will be available for functionalities for customer and partner integration, improving extensibility. Finally, customers will be able to leverage role-based user access and multi-tenancy restrict access for different organizations and use cases.
Additional features focus on ease of use, simplified management, and heightened control:
- Low-touch, more secure enrollment: Low-touch enrollment and configuration capabilities
- Deeper edge system management:†Ability to perform Gateway configuration through the action framework (sshd, turn on/off port, IP address table, etc.) as well as provide complete firmware and BIOS updates for selected gateways
- Enhanced alerts and notifications:†New and improved alert system on individual managed object or group of managed objects notifications on alerts can now be received via email and SMS integration, or API into a third-party system
- Enhanced over-the-air (OTA) updates:†Customers can have more granular control over OTA scheduling, activation, progress status, package type and failure handling
“Our customers are ultimately working to achieve a next-generation infrastructure foundation for the digital enterprise. IoT and edge computing are critical components of digital transformation, and VMware’s continued momentum in this space is the result of two decades of software innovation and a dedication to stay on the leading edge of technology,” said Mimi Spier, vice president, Internet of Things, VMware. “VMware Pulse IoT Center 2.0 was designed to help customers harness their data at the edge while providing the vital infrastructure and operations needed for consistent, more secure and open digital foundation for innovation.”
Customer and Partner Momentum
VMware Pulse IoT Center is enabling customers in healthcare, supply chain, manufacturing, parks & resorts, transportation and financial services to effectively manage their IoT deployments. VMware has also created a healthy IoT partner ecosystem to support customers’ IoT deployments. VMware will be hosting twelve of these partners in the IoT booth, #2625, at VMworld 2018 this week. Those partners include Axis Communications, Cloudleaf, Crystal Group, Dell Technologies, Eurotech, IBS, Inc., GE Research, Honeywell, Microsoft, Nightingale Security, Sorba-IoT, and Zingbox.†
“Ordinary things are a lot less ordinary when you live with a disabling chronic disease. Something simple like picking up a pen from the floor or even breathing normally is more complicated than you think. Technology can do something about this,” said Jorrit Ebben, chief strategy & innovation officer, Siza. “As a healthcare organization providing services to these patients, Siza needs to be able to trust the multiple IoT technologies that empower them at home. VMware Pulse IoT Center gives us a reliable, more secure and easy to manage IoT platform that makes the lives of both healthcare providers and patients easier, more comfortable, more fun and freer.”
