IT as a service, cloud computing, and virtualization security will dominate as major themes around this year’s VMworld as vendors, channel partners and customers converge on San Francisco’s Moscone Center for VMware’s big conference starting August 30, 2010.
VMware CEO Paul Maritz is expected to expand upon the idea of the business proposition of IT organizations moving more of their capital expenditures to operating expenditures during his keynote address about IT as a Service on Tues., Aug. 31. He will be joined by VMware CTO Steve Herrod during a presentation and demonstration of new virtualization and cloud computing technologies for tomorrow’s business.
But while VMware still holds the dominant position in server virtualization, its VMworld event also serves as a venue for more than just VMware technologies, and plenty of vendors will be joining the virtualization giant with announcements of their own during the show.
Here’s a look at some of the expected announcements.
HP and the private cloud
HP is unveiling a Private Cloud Readiness Program that will consist of self-assessment tools. HP has designed a scorecard that will help businesses rank and rate the key factors in determining their private cloud readiness. Elements on the scorecard range from knowledge of cloud concepts to cloud security capabilities. The scorecard can be found online at www.hp.com/go/cloudassessment.
Clearswift and the new role of security
Clearswift will be on hand to discuss the ever-evolving role of security in IT. According to the company, new technologies have changed the role of security in IT. With the changing climate of security threats, especially as they're related to social media use on virtualized and mobile devices, Clearswift says security will become central to IT operations.
F5 product updates
F5 Networks jumped the gun on VMworld announcements to get the news out about two new product enhancements. F5’s BIG-IP Management Plug-In for VMware vSphere is being distributed as a free, software add-on for administering BIG-IP LTM. According to F5, it simplifies common administrative tasks in a vSphere environment, which reduces the risk of error and enables basic automation. F5’s BIG-IP LTM VE and F5’s FirePass SSL VPN have both been validated by VMware as VMware-Ready virtual appliances.
EMC's support of VMware products
EMC is expected to make several announcements next week related to its support for VMware products and infrastructure management. A pre-announcement suggests the two companies will be focused quite heavily on the private cloud. EMC will be offering the ability to get practical guidance from its vExperts, see real-time private cloud demonstrations and develop important skills in a hands-on lab. EMC (with VMware) will host more than 20 sessions related to private cloud computing infrastructures.
Nimbula to preview Nimbula Director
Nimbula will be previewing its upcoming Nimbula Director product. Nimbula Director, which is currently in beta testing, has been designed to provide Amazon EC2-like services behind the firewall. According to Nimbula, the services will enable customers to efficiently manage on- and off-premise resources. It can turn under-used private data centers into easily configurable compute capacity while also supporting controlled access to off-premise clouds.
Wanova desktop virtualization solution
Wanova will be launching new features for Wanova Mirage, its desktop virtualization and management software product. It will be announcing support for migrations from Windows XP to Windows 7, new storage capabilities and easier management of multiple base images.
NetApp/Syncsort data protection
NetApp and Syncsort will be providing details at VMworld on a new joint data protection solution that will be sold 100 percent through the channel via two of NetApp's biggest partners. According to NetApp, this yet-to-be-announced solution will be NetApp's answer to technology provided by one of its biggest competitors.
newScale, rPath and Eucalyptus Systems on enterprise cloud computing
The companies will demonstrate their newly-announced integrated technology platform that will provide an on-ramp to private and hybrid cloud computing in the enterprise.
Virtualization 
