A Change In Role

I enjoy watching the great people in our community evolve into to new roles and new responsibilities.  Every day, there's someone on Twitter announcing their latest change, with plenty of well-wishing all around. 

By comparison, I've been astoundingly stable -- almost boring: same company for 18 years, same role for several years, etc. 

It's been absolutely fabulous, but nothing lasts forever ...

As of today, I'm now an employee of VMware -- with a new role and a tantalizing set of new challenges and opportunities.

And I couldn't be more excited.

At the beginning of this year, VMware started to implement a BU (business unit) strategy.  One of the new business units -- led by Charles Fan -- is dubbed SAS: storage and application services.  I've known Charles for many years, and like him a lot.

When I learned what he'd be working on, I found the opportunity irresistible.

The SAS unit has a neat set of topics to go work on: software-defined storage, availability and data protection, application services for newer cloud-style apps, big data infrastructure, and more.  My title is necessarily vague ("Chief Strategist") as I want the flexibility to move around from topic to topic as needed.

Most of what I'm getting involved in isn't exactly public -- yet!

Why The Move?

I take it as an article of faith that software-defined data centers are quickly becoming a reality. If this part of the IT industry is going to transition, which company is best positioned?  VMware.

Also being a storage guy, I can't deny that storage and related disciplines will move to a software-defined model before too long.  It's inevitable from where I sit.

But what really attracted me was the broader VMware context and strategy. 

Storage -- whether software-defined or not -- doesn't live on an island: it touches and integrates with other forms of infrastructure, consumption models, use cases, applications, etc. 

Just about all of that can be found in the VMware portfolio and strategy, and more.

But, at the same time, there's a lot of relevant context I've picked up in my years at EMC: storage technology, use cases, customer segments, ecosystem, etc. -- all that stuff I've been deeply immersed in for so many years.  I'm hopeful that I can bring a lot of that deep context to the team as a foundation for future innovation and disruption.

It's early days, but the picture keeps getting brighter and brighter.

Why Now?

I was involved in new product development and helping to start a business unit many, many years ago - and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  When Charles and I started to talk, it was clear things were at a formative stage, which greatly appealed to me. 

There are some powerful ideas in play, and having the opportunity to help refine them and apply them is hard to resist!

So You're Leaving EMC?

Yes and no.  As most people know, EMC is the majority shareholder of VMware.  VMware operates independently (thanks to Joe Tucci!) but it's a key part of the broader EMC ecosystem that includes Pivotal, RSA, et. al.  And I've got hundreds of friends and colleagues here -- at one level, it's sort of all in the family.

But -- mentally -- yes, I'm leaving.  Make no mistake, now that I'm a VMware employee, there's a completely different set of perspectives and priorities in play as compared to my previous vantage point at EMC.  VMware necessarily looks at the world quite differently than EMC, and I find that appealing. 

I do have to admit, it's taken me a while to get my head wrapped around that viewpoint, but it's getting better.

So What's The Experience So Far?

In a word -- refreshing. 

VMware is chock-full of insanely bright, passionate people.  They are acutely aware of relevant technological trends, industry evolution and their customers and partners needs.  Like any successful, fast-growing tech company there is an ample supply of growing pains -- the usual sorts of things that are being addressed. 

But -- at its core -- VMware has a powerful vision about the future of IT, and is executing very well against it.  Remember that the next time you read the next bit of negative link-bait press.

What About Your Blog?

My blog will soldier on -- it's been great for me, my audience and my employer. 

Going forward, the topics will inevitably reflect what I'm working on, so expect an extended technology detour into software-defined storage, availability, application services, enterprise cloud models and big data infrastructure. 

But as you've probably deduced, I can never stay on topic, so you'll see a lot of the typical mix as well.

Maybe I'll change the blog's visual branding from EMC to VMware at some point -- not really a priority to me right now.

Will You Be At VMworld?

Of course!  I'm not quite sure of all my obligations yet, but I'll be around. 

I hope to see you there!

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