VMware, the cloud infrastructure and virtualisation vendor, has announced that it will be delivering a range of new edge computing products.
The company is partnering with Swedish surveillance camera manufacturer Axis Communications and IT services provider Wipro, among others. Use cases for the new product range will include asset management and smart surveillance in remote locations, it said.
The company added that it was also working with financial services firms to develop ‘the modern bank of the future’ using these tools.
What’s in the box?
VMware, which is rumoured to be on the verge of a reverse merger deal with Dell, announced these latest IoT products at Mobile World Congress (#MWC18) in Barcelona.
The new range will feature VMware vSAN hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) software, VMware vSphere and VMware Pulse IoT Center, and will be developed in collaboration with its new partners.
The company said that edge computing will make it easier for businesses to exploit data created by IoT networks securely and effectively.
“Building an edge computing solution today is a time-intensive exercise that most enterprises can’t afford,” said Ray O’Farrell, VMware executive VP and CTO.
“VMware unveils hyper-converged edge computing solutions that are cost-effective and will enable customers to build and scale secure, use case-specific IoT solutions that work for them from the edge all the way to the cloud.
“Together with ecosystem partners Axis, Wipro Limited, and Dell EMC, we’re excited to deliver the first of many tailored solutions to meet the unique IoT needs of our enterprise customers,”
IoT out in the open
Initially, VMware will focus on specific use cases, including remote oil well optimisation, utility grids, smart city deployments – where devices or sensors may be in rugged, outdoor containers – and remote locations, where network connectivity and power may be poor or inconsistent.
Closed networks in factories, plants or shops, and in-store applications that require unique space or power requirements are other potential applications of the new range.
As part of its initial rollout, VMware said it would be collaborating with its partners on an IoT product for the surveillance industry. This will feature IP cameras, 4G/LTE routers, and VMware’s Pulse IoT Center system.
The offering will be available on a choice of Dell EMC servers and include the option of Dell Edge Gateways.
Asset management
VMware is also teaming up with majority owner Dell and Wipro on an IoT product for manufacturers and asset management specialists.
The idea is to combine Wipro’s IoT offerings, including its Looking Glass asset management platform and services capability, with VMware’s Pulse IoT Center.
By integrating multiple IoT platforms in this way, and by connecting customers’ IoT environments to their data centres, users will benefit from deeper analytics and machine learning, said the company.
Plus: VMware Q4 results
VMware, in which Dell owns an 80 percent stake, released its fourth-quarter results yesterday, beating Wall Street forecasts. Licensing revenue rose 20 percent to $1.07 billion. There was a 13.8 percent jump in year-on-year revenue growth, and its services revenue, which accounts for more than half of its total revenue, rose 8.4 percent to $1.24 billion.
Internet of Business says
The edge space is hotting up, and it’s exciting to see so many new products, services, and industry partners announced already in 2018. #MWC18 has put the IoT in all its forms centre stage and, as analysts – and Dell EMC itself – have predicted, the edge and the distributed core are where much of the action is.
Read more: Dell reverse merger with VMware: rumours mount of April deal
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Read more: Exclusive Q&A: Dell sets out new IoT strategy
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