Thread regarding VMware layoffs

Azure, GCP, AWS - are they going to eat our lunch?

I’m not a business strategist or anything, just a regular Joe working at VMW.

I understand the VMW play to democratize the cloud providers (CP) by 1) providing an easy way to build hybrid deployments and 2) allow customers to become multi-cloud consumers. In the short term, this sounds great but in the long term, will the CP’s eventually move customers into their own virtualization and container management platform? I figure the CP’s have discount structures that would make the cost of competing technologies favorable for the CP. I also noticed CP’s have a data center (a hardware rack) solution that extends a CP’s infra to a private DC. This would eliminate the need to buy, oh let’s say, VMW. I can foresee an erosion of VMW’s customer base for those technologies we overlap in. The kicker in all this, if customers want to keep VMW, the ideal situation for CP customers to buy third-party software is through their marketplace stores, in which the CP’s take a percentage of that transaction.

To me, it’s a win-win for the CP’s in the long run but what about VMW? Well I’m hoping there are some smarter people out there that can help me better understand the bigger picture.

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| 3302 views | | 10 replies (last April 1, 2021) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+19Ra8aTm

10 replies (most recent on top)

What would be alternative here instead of working with Cloud providers force all customers with only one option to work with only On Prem workloads? Is that reasonable?

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Post ID: @ipps+19Ra8aTm

Was let go last year, read this page to see how things are going still, thrilled to not be with Vmware anymore. Company is going to hell more every year.

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Post ID: @4ldr+19Ra8aTm

Simply put - yes, go work for the CP's when you get the chance. They are bigger, faster, smarter, and (most importantly) winning. Hybrid technologies like VMC are merely a stopping point until the customers go cloud-native. To make an analogy, VMware is the best CD-ROM maker in the CD-ROM business; only problem is, the customers are rapidly moving away from wanting CD-ROM's. (Side note - Nutanix is taking over the CD-ROM business).

PS - VMW has never really been that good at EUC or VDI, and has always had a very splintered approach. Citrix and MSFT have been and will continue to eat their lunch in one way or the other. VMW might actually improve its margins by dumping the EUC business altogether, but that would require eating too much Humble Pie.

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Post ID: @4iod+19Ra8aTm

I think the OP is spot on

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Post ID: @2igi+19Ra8aTm

Correction - Vmware is the hooli of silicon valley

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Post ID: @2ywn+19Ra8aTm

The pivotal acquisition was the strategy, followed by acquisitions like Wavefront - all rebranded under Tanzu.

VMware is spreading themselves thin, trying to be a master of everything, but expert in nothing relevant.

What's left of on-prem, Nutanix is eating away at marketshare in hyperconverged.

Pure-plays like Okta, Ping, Splunk & Datadog are going to continue to offer best in class products in specific categories.

Cloud providers are going to continue to be faster to market, and creating a talent pool that dwarfs VMware. E.g. - VMware hands on labs are disposable and walled off. Cloud providers are so anxious to get you skilled up on their platforms, they provide always-free tiers of services. There is no such thing as a Tanzu/vrealize cloud always free tier. Who is actually learning these products anymore, unless forced by employer?

It doesn't help when products like vSAN are downright uncompetitive.

EUC strategy is to go after SCCM mgmt for platforms like windows 10, but are at the mercy of Microsoft in countless ways. Microsoft doesn't cut off management capabilities more than they already have to avoid anti-trust case.

Contractors have taken over VMware. It's so bad, they send managers reminders constantly that contractors cannot manage or supervise VMware staff. When you can't appease wall street with growth, you go for margins. Simply put, no one has a vested stake in the success of VMware anymore.

There is no R&D, this is Symantec 2.0. Products are acquired with the hope of bolting on growth, while the staff are laid off, and product development and management is done almost entirely offshore. Implementation and customer management is done by contractors and overseas staff who are hired/fired as projects come & go. Support is all overseas.

It is all very sad. There just isn't any momentum in VMware product lineup.

Dell will cut their stake in VMware to pay down debt. When valuation drops to an affordable price point. IBM will acquire VMware. IBM is selling their managed services division for half of the valuation of VMware (yes...a managed services division is so profitable and big that it is worth half of VMware). IBM is paying down debt, and creating free cash flow to purchase a company like VMware.

Very fitting acquisition target. In the data center, next to the AS/400 iSeries and DB2 legacy tech, IBM will own the patents to everything running legacy VMware hypervisors. The only way VMware doesn't go to IBM, is if Dell steps up and acquires VMware - but emc purchase has them drowning in debt and unable to make a move. This is why VMware have a weird marriage with IBM Softlayer as one of their first cloud partnership. Don't forget Broadcom acquired Symantec; making the wildcard prediction that a company like Qualcomm acquires VMware.

VMware is the pied piper of silicon valley.

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Post ID: @2rjo+19Ra8aTm
Is there a plan to address this? No need to explain the plan here, a yes or no
would suffice for privacy reasons of course.

No plan has been communicated.
The inmates are firmly in charge of the asylum.

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Post ID: @1ltg+19Ra8aTm

Yes Joe, inevitable shift to CPs has already started. VMW VPs and above getting huge $$ to turn a blind eye on this. Be it AWS VMW solution, or azure's AVS or gcp's GVE - all are vying for your lunch. Once they move to CPs, marketing advantages listed shall play out themselves. Wise thing todo for us - move before our customers.

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Post ID: @1xxu+19Ra8aTm

Is there a plan to address this? No need to explain the plan here, a yes or no would suffice for privacy reasons of course.

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Post ID: @1swu+19Ra8aTm

You are not the only person to come to that conclusion.

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Post ID: @ekb+19Ra8aTm

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