After a two-year hiatus from in-person events, it finally happened again from November 7th to 10th: VMware Explore 2022 in Barcelona.
How high would the turnout be after two years of COVID? That was the big question before VMware's largest European event kicked off. However, all expectations were exceeded: the turnout was better than anticipated. In this article, Larik-Jan shares the topics that stood out to him during VMware Explore.
Larik-Jan: “Beyond the fact that VMware Explore is an incredibly interesting and informative event, the social aspect shouldn't be underestimated. At the conference, you can not only chat with your suppliers but also approach VMware staff to ask about the development status of certain products. It’s an accessible way to get a look behind the scenes of VMware’s roadmap. I also really enjoyed seeing the large Dutch contingent present (there were no fewer than 1,000 Dutch attendees) and that industry peers are open to talking with one another—a great trait of the Dutch community.”
“In addition to the social side of VMware Explore, I was there to gather information. A recurring theme during the keynotes was ‘Cloud chaos.’ We all moved to the Cloud very quickly, especially during the pandemic. But now, we’re starting to ask questions like: how is this actually managed? Was there ever a well-thought-out plan for moving to the Cloud? The practical reality is that some chaos has emerged. VMware’s strategy is focused on bringing structure back to that chaos by creating awareness about exactly where data resides. The discussion should no longer be about ‘which Cloud am I working in,’ but about the importance of data, security, and continuity. A key part of this is, of course, the sovereign Cloud, which was the focus of the Sovereign Cloud Summit on Monday afternoon. This summit zoomed in on questions like: what does a sovereign Cloud actually mean? I realized it all comes down to data control: where is the data running and what legislation applies to it? It’s great to see this is such a hot topic and that Fundaments, as the first VMware Sovereign Cloud provider, is already doing everything to guarantee that data sovereignty.”
“I’m taking several insights from VMware Explore back to the Netherlands. First, I want to make the data sovereignty we offer our clients more concrete. What can our clients do with this? And how exactly do we handle it? Second, I want more focus on security products and their application in our services. While we already offer Disaster Recovery as a Service, we need to add a specific Ransomware Recovery variant. We sometimes see disaster recovery services being used for ransomware ‘disasters,’ but that only provides part of the solution. We must continue to strengthen our Cloud to stay ahead of every potential vulnerability. Finally, we will focus on further securing the data center components of the modern workplace, while also applying this to our hosting expertise: offering a platform for modern applications with Kubernetes ensures that application development can also be realized from a sovereign Cloud, without sacrificing the speed of innovation required by the rapidly changing needs of developers.
How do we fulfill this journey to data sovereignty and top-tier security for our clients? Next week, Larik-Jan will publish an article specifically addressing the Fundaments sovereign Cloud.
