by
Michael Keen
I'm sure that we are all in agreement that we live in a time of profound and accelerating change. I've said it before and I'm saying it again right here that, "
with almost perfect certainty, over the next decade your company will be challenged to change in a way that you may never have thought of and for which there is no precedent." Well I think "the change" is here don't you? With these topsy-turvy times we find ourselves in, what do you think the technology leaders in our industry are doing to ensure their longevity? I can tell you again with almost perfect certainty that they have a new strategy to reshape this industry and the competitive landscape.
We got a glimpse of one of these new strategies a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. We have had enough time since then to digest this information and I can tell you (if you haven't figured it out by now) that VMware is pretty much "betting the farm" on cloud. They are pushing this initiative ahead and it's picking up steam. Now no matter how you all feel (marketing bs, ASP redux, blah blah blah) about "cloud computing" it's here and it's not going anywhere. VMware, and Citrix are taking this and running with it. What makes these new strategies even more powerful is the enabling infrastructures which will strengthen each company's hand going forward.
It's curious to see how each company views where the industry is going and how each will try to capitalize on it. The first thing that I'm sure both VMW and CTXS are looking at is how do they change the way the other players perceive market opportunities. The leader in this industry, whomever we deem it to be I guess, has the ability to materially alter the way that other players look at the incentives to play in this space. The overall view from the leaders is very high level and not very detailed, basically leaving room for fine tuning. But it is clear enough to make the other players in this space make some tough decisions in the short term on whether to get on board or get left behind. I think the best example I can give you here is with Bill Gates back in the early 80s when there was a ton of uncertainty in the computer industry. But what Gates did was give corporate executives enough of a 'warm and fuzzy feeling' that he had a very compelling view of the industry's direction. So coming back to today, we saw this compelling view from Paul Maritz at VMWorld and so I'm curious if we'll see the same speech "from the mount" in a couple of weeks from Mark T and company at Citrix Partner Summit or maybe more at Synergy in May in Vegas.
The questions I keep asking myself (and hopefully I can ask Paul and Mark personally) around what Paul Maritz and Mark Templeton are thinking are:
- Does the VMW and CTXS view express a perspective on the long-term direction of the industry/market and how it will change? Answer: Yes. I heard Paul deliver his views during press briefings, partner sessions, and during the keynote. I would love to talk to Mark Templeton about his take as well. I'll be reaching out soon Mark...
- Does Paul Maritz's and Mark Templeton's view clearly identify attractive business opportunities for the industry eco-systems? Answer: Yes. Just one look around the Solutions Exchange floor at VMWorld proved this beyond the shadow of a doubt. Let's see what the vendor floor looks like at Synergy next May.
- Do both views tie these opportunities explicitly to broader economic and technological forces at work on the business landscape? Answer: Yes for both companies. I heard it from Paul Maritz that from the VDC-OS perspective and I have read some broad strokes from Citrix. As companies out there demand more flexibility, speed and efficiency it makes sense in certain respects that bursting out to the cloud to meet these requirements will be the way to go in the future. Both companies see the future, I'd just like more details on this question from Citrix.
- Are their views at a sufficiently high enough level to allow for some unplanned developments? Answer: Yes Is it still specific enough to help customers and other industry players direct and focus their thinking around their difficult decisions? Answer: Yes, pretty much. But I'm still waiting for some more details on both offerings.
I'm going to be doing some more investigating into this new strategy from both companies and how each company along with other ancillary players in the industry see this playing out. Stay tuned for more on that. I guess I have a few phone calls to make and emails to send out to Mark T and others.
What are your thoughts on my questions above?
Cheers
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