#VMworld 2016 Day 1: Cross-Cloud Services & the New Cross-Cloud Architecture

It’s the first day of VMworld 2016 and VMware is continuing to execute on its SDDC and hybrid cloud vision with the announcement of its new Cross-Cloud Architecture. As Pat Gelsinger, the VMware’s CEO, put it during the keynote address, it’s a way for VMware to offer more freedom and control when working across multiple, different clouds—both private and public. The new offering has two key elements: the VMware Cloud Foundation and the Cross-Cloud Services.

The VMware Cloud Foundation is about ease of use, helping customers stand-up private clouds, and it now has a software as a service component as well. Through a partnership with IBM, VMware is also delivering the Cloud Foundation as a service. Cross-Cloud Services, now available through a tech preview, are about extending the ability to manage, control and secure applications running across private and public clouds.
“Cross-Cloud Services are truly a breakthrough innovation,” said Pat Gelsinger, addressing 23,000 VMworld attendees in a packed conference hall. The offering is meant to centralize and streamline the management and operations of a multi-cloud environment, including the networking, security and storage components.

Guido Appenzeller, the CTSO of VMware who ran through several demos of the new product during the keynote called Cross-Cloud Services the “complete SDDC experience on-prem and in the cloud.” He went on to explain that these multi-, mega-cloud environments are a tremendous opportunity for organizations that want to leverage the cloud and that VMware’s new solution is able to address the key challenges that are preventing businesses from realizing this potential. Things like security and compliance are on top of many lists, but administration and legacy support also play a big role, as do cost management and visibility.

Security is still a critical issue and a major consideration for organizations when implementing any cloud services. There are multiple layers that include compliance, data governance, authorization and a whole lot more. Networking is the next big issue as many organizations are wrangling network silos when moving applications and workloads to the cloud.

Appenzeller demonstrated some of the powerful networking and security functionality. Cross-cloud services includes a SaaS version of NSX, and the management platform allows you to onboard other workloads in the cloud through NSX. You can setup network virtualization, microsegmentation and network encryption for public cloud workloads all through the same interface, then use security analytics to verify if the network has been set up correctly.

“There’s nothing to install on-prem. You log in, you can see all of the services, and you can use them individually or in conjunction,” Appenzeller explained.
There are still many questions on how all of this works and how the different pieces are integrated, but the new Cross-Cloud Services and Cross-Cloud Architecture show a lot of promise for organizations wanting to leverage multiple private and public clouds in a simple, efficient, effective and secure way.