In the end of this month, VMware’s first edition of VMware Explore (the event formerly known as VMworld) will take place in the Moscone event center in San Francisco. It’s going to be the first large in-person VMware in years and I’m beyond excited to go overseas and learn new things, meet up with the international VMware community again, and first and foremost, present a couple of sessions about VMware Anywhere Workspace, SASE, Zero Trust, Employee Experience, and VMware Horizon. In this post, I would like to share some information about my sessions, and other sessions and gatherings I am looking forward to.
End-user computing in today’s world is more than just delivery of an application or desktop. It’s more than just the management of a device or identity. Focussing on the delivery of an entire digital workplace, means that you need to broaden the focus on the entire digital aspect of your employee’s workplace. This also includes the security aspect, managing and monitoring the employee sentiment, self-service, onboarding, teaming with HR, and much, much more. When VMware announced the Anywhere Workspace in 2020, a large number of organizations had already shifted to a hybrid work model. Working from anywhere became the norm and being able to fully support that with a solution like the Anywhere Workspace is essential. Since the hybrid workforce is here to stay, VMware strongly focuses on this topic with a dedicated track at VMware Explore called Secure and Empower the Hybrid Workforce. The track contains keynotes, sessions with new tech that will be shown for the first time, and a lot of partner or customer-led sessions. I am really looking forward to the following sessions:
Setting the North Star for a Hybrid Work World [EUSK2299US]
Session Abstract:
The journey to hybrid has not been easy, and although it is now the default, it will take work. Join Shankar Iyer, SVP and GM of End-User Computing at VMware, as he discusses the ever-evolving hybrid model and how technology can be used to rebuild culture, address employee experience gaps, and optimize security. Hear how data science and automation are also at the forefront in enabling the new paradigm of hybrid. Understand from key customers how they are adopting and adjusting technologies in the quest for a more secure medium to connect, engage and build a culture of resilience.
My take:
This session is also known as the solution keynote, but I think it will bring more than just a couple announcements. Looking at the speaker list, customers will probably also talk about their shift to the hybrid world, next to Shawn Bass talking us through a couple of demos. Will be an essential EUC session!
What’s New in Anywhere Workspace [EUSB2295US]
Session abstract:
Join Shawn Bass, CTO of End-User Computing at VMware, and additional product leaders for a fast-paced, comprehensive overview of the newest innovations in VMware Anywhere Workspace, our solution that includes VMware Workspace ONE and VMware Horizon, as well as key solutions from VMware SASE and VMware Carbon Black. This session will cover digital employee experience, security, unified endpoint management, frontline solutions, desktop virtualization and desktop as a service (DaaS), remote access, cloud web security, as well as our unified administration, analytics, automation, workflow, and identity services. For EUC pros, this session is a can’t miss.
My take:
This is a must-see session as Shawn and his team will probably overload us with new features in Anywhere Workspace. We all know that Shawn has trained himself to put 120 minutes of content into a 60-minute session, so be prepared to drink from a firehose.
See the Value of a Complete Anywhere Workspace at the EUC Nerdfest 2022 [EUSB2289US]
Session abstract:
After two years of showing the art of the possible of the VMware end-user computing (EUC) space—such as VDI platforms running AI/machine learning, Day 0/1 onboarding, and running VR workloads in VMware Horizon—it’s time for a third edition of this high-energy, demo-packed, real-world showcase session. This year, Johan van Amersfoort will focus on what’s possible when combining VMware Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub with AI, security solutions, and VMware Horizon integration. This session will contain unique demos and show what employee experience, Zero Trust and self-service mean from a VMware perspective.
My take:
I will be as unbiased as can be about my own session. The timing is perfect of this session, as I will be presenting how we designed and implemented some of the awesome features of the Anywhere Workspace one hour after Shawn’s EUSB2295US session. What he will show from a product-perspective, I will explain from a customer/use case perspective. Expect a nice mixture of storytelling, slick demo’s and some humor along the way.
Legacy VPNs – Friend or Foe? [EUSB2259US]
Session abstract:
VPNs are dead. Hopefully, that is not news, but what are the alternatives? Join this session to hear how companies can choose solutions that are more secure and efficient for handling a large remote workforce.
My take:
This is another session which I am looking forward to, and not only because of me being part of it. Every organization has some kind of VPN solution. But, VPN is virtually pointless now. There are different ways of working remotely, and which one to choose depends on your own situation. In this interactive session, we would like to share some details about the options and why we believe that the journey towards a secure enterprise can both be challenging but might also have some low-hanging fruit.
The Future Is Bright: Why VMware Horizon Is the Best Alternative to Citrix [EUSB2159US]
Session abstract:
Citrix is in the midst of some significant changes, and for many customers these disruptions are happening at a time when they are under increased pressure to modernize their EUC platforms to support an increasingly distributed workforce. In this session, you’ll learn how VMware Horizon can meet the demands placed on your environment by this evolving workplace. You’ll see for yourself how you can leverage VMware vSphere to access unique capabilities that can only be delivered by VMware Horizon, and how the technical gap between Citrix and VMware has been overcome. You’ll hear how this fits into VMware’s broad, industry-leading EUC vision that includes VMware Workspace ONE. Most of all, you’ll see how VMware offers the modern EUC platform with the bright future that you need to accomplish your goals.
My take:
I got the opportunity of presenting this session alongside industry legend Gabe Knuth. VDI is where my heart lies and in this session Gabe and I are going to talk about the features in Horizon that made one of the customers I worked with in the last 2 years move from Citrix to VMware. We will be talking about some nice use cases and best practices/lessons learned. A must-see session if you ask me 🙂
Riding a Cloud to Elevate the User Experience with Workspace ONE [EUSB1580US]
Session abstract:
Winner of the VMware Explore People’s Choice Awards. Companies are striving to reduce TCO. Top Workspace ONE evangelist Mobile Jon shows how he built a full cloud Workspace ONE environment supporting Win10, MacOS, iOS and android while delivering a seamless user experience that rivals most on-premise environments.
My take:
This is definitely a session I’m going to check out. Besides the fact it won the People’s Choice Award, I think that Jon Towles is a person who deserves to be on a large stage sharing his experiences on a regular basis. He has a shit ton of knowledge about Workspace ONE and the ecosystem around it, and I’m pretty sure that this session will contain stuff you didn’t know were possible with these solutions.
VMware Horizon Cloud Service – next-gen: Intro and Architecture Deep Dive with Demos [EUST2158US]
Session abstract:
The next generation of the VMware Horizon Cloud platform is here. This session will give an overview of the new VMware Horizon Cloud Service – next-gen platform. Get the lowdown on the technical architecture and service details, along with details on integrations with other VMware products. This session will include demos to show the new user interface, a walk-through of the initial deployment, how to add capacity, and how to build out user resources, such as desktops and applications. We will cover results from initial customer deployments with insights toward building a successful implementation of the newest VMware desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) platform.
My take:
Last year during VMworld, the next-gen Horizon Cloud architecture was announced. A new step in multi-cloud VDI. The delivery of a new VDI platform, but also the management and extensibility to cloud have been re-architected and are mostly cloud-native. I’m looking forward getting some more in-depth knowledge about the new architecture.
Gatherings, parties and other stuff
It has been a while since most of us met each other. VMware Explore is probably the best place to catch up. Although I’m probably not going to attend every single party there is, I do want to check out the party organized by VMUG at SPIN. During the last VMworld, that party was a lot of fun.
One gathering I will surely attend is the vExpert EUC gathering. Before it was called the vExpert EUC sub program, I was part of the VMware EUC Champions (which was merged into the program). One of the coolest things about those programs is that since I was part of it, was the EUC Champion/vExpert EUC meet up. 4 hours of tech deep dives, NDA sessions, roadmap stuff, an appearance of Shawn Bass and Shankar Iyer. And it’s of course a lot of fun to meet with like-minded EUC people from the VMware community.
One place you will probably find me of the time, is at the hangspace / VMvillage / whatever-they-will-call-it-this-year. I love meeting new people and catching up with old friends, and this is probably the best place to do that.
Finally, my latest book (The VDI Design Guide Part 2) will be sold at the book store at the venue. It’s always a proud moment to see a stack of the books in the shelfs, so that’s a personal thing I really look forward to.
Follow me on twitter to see what I’m up to and send me a DM if you would like to meet up. You can still register for the event. I’m looking forward seeing everyone there!
- VMware Explore 2023: Back to Vegas Baby! - July 11, 2023
- My session picks for VMware Explore 2022 in Barcelona - September 27, 2022
- VMware Explore 2022 EUC Recap - September 26, 2022
