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>> Welcome back everyone, to theCUBE's live coverage
in San Francisco for VMware Explore 2022,
formerly VMWorld.
I'm joined by Dave Elias.
Dave, 12 years we've been covering this event,
formerly VMware. >> First time in west.
>> Now it's Explore. >> We've been in north.
We've been in south, we've been in Vegas.
>> Multicloud is now the exploration.
VMware community is coming in.
John Siegel, SVP at Dell,
CUBE alumni, Dave Macraw, VP at VMware.
Guys, thanks for coming back.
Both CUBE alumni.
It's great to see you.
Very senior organizations, senior roles
in the organizations of VMware and Dell.
One year since the split,
great partnership continuing.
I mean, some of the conversations we've been having
over the past few years is that control plane,
the management layer, making everything work together.
It's essentially been the multi-cloud, hybrid cloud story.
What's the update? Was how's the partnership look?
>> Yeah, just to start off, I mean,
I would say, I don't think our partnership's
been, has ever been any better.
If you look at, you mentioned our vision,`
very much a shared vision in terms of the multi-cloud world.
And I don't think we've ever had
more joint innovation projects at one time.
I think we have over 40 now, Dave, that are going on
across multi-cloud, >> That's right.
>> AI, cybersecurity, modern applications.
And here just that at you just VMware Explore,
we have over 30 VMware sessions that are featuring Dell.
And this is, I think, more than we've ever had.
So look, I think there's a lot of momentum there
and we're really looking forward to what's to come.
>> So you guys obviously spent a lot of time together
when VMware was part of Dell, and then you've,
it's been a year since the spin.
And then you codified, I think it was a five year agreement.
So, you had some time to figure that out
and then put it into paper.
So you just kind of quantified some of the stuff
that's going on, but now we're entering yet another phase.
So that agreement's probably more important than ever now.
I mean, at least in terms of
getting it documented in an understanding, right?
>> Yeah, that agreement really defines a framework
for solution development and for go to market.
So, we we've been doing it
and refining it for the last five years.
So now putting it and codifying it
into a written, signed agreement
it basically is instantiating
what we've been doing that we know works.
Where we can drive solution development.
We can drive deep, architectural
co-innovation together as well.
And, as John said, across multiple project
and solution areas.
>> So, we've been talking to years,
to a lot of these start guys, like Matt Baker,
about things like, you know you see AWS do nitro
and then of course Project Monterey.
And I know that you guys have had
a big sort input into that.
And so now, to see it come to fruition, is huge
because, from our view, it's the future
of computing architectures.
How do you handle data rich applications, AI applications?
What are your thoughts on it?
>> Couldn't agree more.
Project Monterey is a great example
of how we're innovating together.
We just talked about.
I mean, first of all, it's all,
so we have VxRail, which let's start there.
And we have over 19,000 joint customers right now.
We continue to innovate more
and more on the VxRail architecture.
Great example of that is our partnership
with Project Monterey and taking
essentially vSphere 8 and running it
for the first time on an HCI system,
directly on the DPU itself, right?
On the DPUs.
The ability now to offload NSX T
from the CPUs to the DPUs.
In the short term, first of all,
great benefits for customers in terms of better performance.
But as you just mentioned, it's game changing
in terms of laying the foundation
for the future architectures that we plan
on, together, helping our customers.
>> Here's one of the dynamic before you go on.
And it's not unique to Dell, but Dell's
the biggest supplier, partner, et cetera.
But you're able to take VMware software
and drive it through your business.
And that enables you to get more subscription revenue
and makes it stickier, and that's a really
important change from 10 years ago.
>> And it's a combination as you know
of Dell software and VMware software together.
Absolutely, and I think,
this is a game changing innovation
that you can run on top of our joint system,
VxRail, if you will.
And now what our customers can expect
is life cycle automation of now the DPUs,
as well as Tanzu, as well as everything else
we layer on top of that core foundation
that we have over 19,000 customers running today.
>> So I mean like that 19,000 number
I want to get back to the VxRail.
And you mentioned vSphere, that big news here this year.
VSphere 8, big release, lot goin' on.
What's the HCIA? You mentioned that.
What's in it for the customer?
What does that mean for the folks here?
'Cause, let's face it, the vSphere8' got everyone
in a, all the vSphere coders are going crazy, right?
Another vSphere release, getting training,
they're at the labs here.
What's it mean for the customers?
What's the value there or that ACI solution with the DPUs?
>> Well, first of all, vSphere 8, as we know
it has a lot of goodies in it.
But what I think to me what's been
most powerful about this is the ability
to run vSphere 8 and specifically on the DPUs.
Now you can run, it has opened up all new possibilities now.
And so, that NSX T that I mentioned
running that on DPUs opens up a whole new
architecture now for our customers going forward.
And now really sets us up for a modern,
distributed architecture for the future.
>> So like Edge?
>> Like Edge.
>> Okay, so.
>> And vSphere 8 brings in Cloud connectivity as well.
So customers can run in a Cloud disconnected mode.
They can run in a Cloud connected mode.
So that's going to bring in the ability
to do specialized things on security,
life cycle management.
There's a whole series of services
that can now be added, as well as leveraging
vCenter management capabilities.
>> So what's happening with the edge?
we had, I think it was Lows on,
at the hotel tech world.
>> Yeah, yeah. >> Right? Okay, good.
Not the other one.
But so, that's got to be exploding now with that, right?
Because it just changes the game
for these stores, there's I mean retail,
manufacturing, maybe you can give us an update on.
>> There's so much happening on the edge side, as you know.
That's where a lot of the innovation's
happening right now is at the edge
in a lot of the companies we talk to.
8X expectation of increase
in edge workloads over the next couple
years. >> And the data challenge too
is huge. >> And the
data challenge is huge.
So, you heard about the innovations with vSphere 8.
In addition to that, we just introduced today as well,
the smallest VxRail for the edge ever.
This thing is, it's like, picture a couple
eight and a half by 11 notebooks.
Not much, maybe a little wider than that, but not much more.
These are stacked on top of each other.
These are, you can rack and stack
and mount these things anywhere.
And it also is the first ACI system
that has a built in hardware witness.
So this helps set it up for environments
that are network bandwidth constrained,
or have high latency, no longer an issue
anymore. >> Those next gen apps
going to want to have a local data server at the edge.
>> Right.
>> And with compute there.
>> Right.
>> High performance.
>> Right, right, so now you got -
>> Across the wire.
>> Yes, you can rack stack a couple of these small things.
I mean they can fit into Clark Kent's briefcase, right?
These things are so small.
>> You want to do the analytics
on site and return responses back.
You don't want to be moving
massive data payloads off the edge.
So, you got to have the right level of compute
to run machine learning algorithms
and do the analytics type work
that you want to do to make local decisions.
>> Yeah, I mean, we had David Liscomb on
who was one of keynote speakers here at the event.
And we've been talking about supercloud
and multicloud, metacloud, all the different
versions of what we see as this next gen.
And this brings up a point of
his advice to young people, learn how multicloud,
learn about system architecture.
Because if you can figure out how to put it together
you're going to have, make more money.
Anyway, this whole edge piece opens up
huge challenges and opportunities around
how do you configure these next gen apps?
What does the AI look like?
What's the data architect?
This is not get some training curriculum online
and get 101 and you're going to have a job.
No, this is more complicated.
But with the hardware, you guys make it easier.
So where's the complexity shift
between having a powerful edge device
like the VxRail with the vSphere.
What's the easy button on that?
How do you guys, what's the vision?
Because this is going to be a major battleground,
this whole edge piece
>> Yeah, sure. >> is going to be huge.
>> Well, I think when you look at
the innovation that Dell is bringing to market,
with technologies like Outlander
and then designing that into VxRail,
and then you combine that with our Tansu capabilities
to manage development and deployment of applications.
This is about heterogeneous deployment and management
at scale of applications with technologies
like Tansu mission control.
Then deploying service mesh, right?
For security.
Being able to use SASE to be able
to secure Cloud security over the wire.
So it's bringing together multiple technologies
to deliver simplicity to the customer.
The ability to go one to many,
in terms of being able to deploy and manage and update,
whether that's a security patch or an application update.
And do that very rapidly at a low cost.
>> So the benefit with this solution now,
just putting this together, is I can ship a box
small and or stack 'em and essentially
it's done remotely, the provisioning issues,
not a truck role as they say,
or professional services enabled.
You can just drop that out there.
>> And this is where customers need to be.
>> Did I get that right? >> Yeah, absolutely.
Exactly that. You don't need the skills.
You don't need the specialized skills.
You don't need a lot of space.
You don't need high network bandwidth.
All these things, right?
All these innovations that we're talking about here
really combine into really enabling a whole new future
here, Fred. >> Is Apex,
are you doing Apex now?
>> Sure, yes I am. >> Is that, I think
it's part of your brand.
>> Okay so, is Apex fitting into the edge?
How does it fit?
>> Yeah, I mean, well first of all,
a lot of what we talk, Apex is really about
a consumption, a way to ensure
there's a common Cloud experience,
wherever the data is and where the applications are.
And so, absolutely edge fits into this as well.
And so we have common ways to consume
our infrastructure today, our joint infrastructure,
whether it's in the data center, at the edge,
or in the Cloud.
>> I was saying to Ragu, when he was on,
I said it was great keynote, loved it.
One of the things that I didn't think
there was enough of was security.
And he is like, yeah, we only had so much time.
But VMware has a very strong security story.
We heard a really strong security story at Dell tech world.
I mean, half the innovations and the new storage products
were security, >> Yep.
>> and the new OSs and it was impressive.
What's, how are you guys working together on security?
Is that one of those - >> Well let me give you
a few key things here.
You know, our teams are working together
at the engineer to engineer level.
Think, reference architectures
for zero trust is an example.
Being able to look, hardware root a trust
up into the application layer, right?
So we're looking at really defense in depth here.
I mentioned what we're doing with SASE, right?
With Cloud security capabilities.
So, you really have to look at this
from the edge to the core.
From a networking perspective, getting the network,
the insights on anomalies that may be
happening on the network.
So using our network insight technology and NSX.
And then being able to, ultimately,
have a secure development pipeline as well.
I mean, we all know about the supply chain
attacks that happen, right?
And so, being able to have a secure pipeline
for development is critical for both
of our companies working together.
>> I think the Tansu, and you mentioned
the developer self-service that experience,
combined with kind of the power of the Dell,
let's face it, the boxes are awesome.
Hardware matters.
And software matters.
So bringing that expertise together,
Michael Dell always used to say, on the CUBE,
better together, in respect
to VMware and Dell. >> Yes.
>> A lot of fruit has been born from that labor, right?
Specifically, around, and now when you
add the Tansu and you got vSphere,
you got the operational excellence,
you got the performance and scale
with the Dell boxes and hardware and software.
And now you got the Tansu.
What's missing?
Or is it all there now?
I mean, how would you guys peg the progress bar?
Is it like it's all rocketing right now, or?
>> I'd say you're never done, first of all.
But I look at some of the innovations
that we've brought to market recently,
where we are combining and stacking
these technologies into a more
defense in depth like solution.
Bringing NSX onto VxRail so that you
can flip a switch easily and
light up firewall. >> With the new plug-in.
>> The new plug-in, yeah,
that's a great example
of that. >> Simple, simple.
>> Carbon black workload, another example,
we're taking carbon black technology
that was typically on endpoints, on PCs,
bringing that into the data center, right?
And leveraging all the analytics and insights
around being able to identify anomalies
and then remediate those anomalies.
So we're seeing very good traction with those
solutions. >> And the Cloud native
developers' containers are, they're all native container.
Working with compute and container storage,
object store in the Cloud.
Kubernetes. >> That's, we've embraced it.
I mean, containers, running containers and VMs
on the same infrastructure, common way to manage it all.
I mean that that's been a big part of it as well.
>> You guys've done that early.
>> Obviously a lot of the focus,
that Dell's bringing here as well,
is an ability to run that stack easily.
>> You heard the announcement on
Tansu for Kubernetes operators, right?
Earlier today, TKO we call it.
That running on VxRail now
is really targeted at the IT operator
and allowing them to easily stand up
a self-service developer, DevOps environment
on VxRail going forward.
>> And then a piece that might be invisible to them
is, back to Monterey, isolation,
>> Right. >> encryption, and data moving.
>> Absolutely. >> The storage,
the security, the compute, right?
The management, right?
That's a complete -
>> And it's about reducing attack services as well,
right? >> Yeah.
>> From the security perspective as well.
If, when you're moving NSX T onto a DPU,
you're doing that as well.
So it takes the little things, right?
At the end of the day.
Security is a mindset, up across both companies
in terms of how we approach our architectures.
And a lot of times it's the little things
as well that we make sure are right.
>> So a shared vision, working at the engineering levels
together for many, many years.
Know that, you guys have been
validating more of that coming.
What's next?
Take us through okay, we're here, 2022.
We got supercloud, multi-cloud, hybrid, full throttle.
Right now, it's hybrid's a steady state,
that's Cloud operations, infrastructure as code
has happened, it's happening.
What's next for you guys in the relationship?
Can you share a little bit that you can,
if you can, what we can expect.
>> I think what you see with Monterey
is the start of a rearchitecting of IT infrastructure.
Not just in the data center, but also at the edge.
These technologies will move out and be pervasive
across I say, edge to Colo, to core data center to Cloud.
And so, that's a starting point.
Now we're looking at memory tiering.
I think we talked last time about capitola
and memory tiering and being able to bring that forward.
Being able to do more with confidential computing
as an example, right?
Secure enclaves and confidential computing.
So, a lot of this is focused around simplicity
and security going forward and ease of management around -
>> Take the heavy lifting away from the customer,
abstract that in, offer the power and performance.
>> That's right, and it's going to come down to
delivering time to value for our customers.
Can we cut that time to value by 25%, 50%,
so they can be in production faster?
>> I think Project Monterey is something
we're going to be building on for a long time.
I mean, this is the start of a major
new future architecture of these companies.
So if you had to pick one, we have 40 initiatives
that are joined together literally.
Project Monterey is one of my favorites for sure,
in terms of what it's going to do, not just for
that common cloud experience, but for the edge.
And we talked a lot about the edge today
and where that's headed. >> You say that's
going to explode up new apps.
>> I really do think so.
>> All right.
>> Well, it's going to put you on a new curve.
>> Yeah absolutely, right.
And operationally, security wise,
from a modern apps perspective,
I mean it checks all the boxes.
And it's going to allow us to help, and take
our existing customers on that journey as well.
>> What's great about this conversation
when we've been following both of you guys
for a long time and your companies
and technology upgrades and the business impact
and the open source and all,
doing all this for the customers.
But the wave that's coming, we're seeing the Expo hall here,
I mean, people are really excited.
They're enthused, they're committed.
>> Yeah.
>> Highly confident that this wave is coming.
They kind of see it, people kind of seeing the fog lift.
They're seeing money making, value creation.
People kind of feeling more comfortable,
but still a little nervous around
what's coming next, 'cause it's still uncertainty.
But pretty good ecosystem, I'd have to say.
It's pretty, pretty interesting.
>> Yeah, a lot of them are excited about
what they can do at the edge
and how they can differentiate their businesses there,
and that's - >> All right.
Well, congratulations guys.
Thanks for coming on The CUBE and sharing the update.
>> Thank you, appreciate it.
>> More innovation's not stopping here at VMware Explore.
Dell and VM are continuing to have
that kind of relationship, joint engineering.
It's all coming together.
And you can mix and match in the stack,
but it's ultimately going to be cloud operations.
Edge is the action, of course hybrid Cloud as well.
It's the CUBE, thanks for watching.
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