Bangkok--21 Jan--PR One Net
Evolving role of the CIO, Software-Defined Datacenter, and mobile computing to transform the IT and business
VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, expects 2013 to be a year of transformation for businesses in Thailand.
“Companies are increasingly recognizing the strategic role that cloud computing can play in enabling them to be more productive, stay competitive, and enter new markets,” said Dr. Chawapol Jariyawiroj, country manager of Thailand and IndoChina, VMware. “We expect the adaptability of CIOs, virtualization of business critical applications, emergence of the Software-Defined Datacenter, mobility, and lastly SMB uptake to drive cloud adoption at scale and make 2013 a year of transformation for IT and businesses.”
Strong Cloud Adoption Curve Lies Ahead for Thailand
Investing in cloud computing in Thailand is seen as a means to enhancing their ability and gaining competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging macro-economic environment. Specifically, Thai respondents agreed that cloud computing will enable their organization to compete more effectively in the marketplace (83%), and that if their company does not pursue cloud initiatives, they risk falling behind their competitors (68%).
The VMware Cloud Index 2012 indicates clear progress and a new era of IT transformation in Thailand as more than half of Thai respondents planning to adopt cloud computing are projected to do so within the next 18 months. When the top reasons for implementing cloud computing in Thailand, respondents strongly rated the need to empower the business by simplifying access to IT resources (80%); the ability to optimize their existing IT management and automation capabilities (78%); and the desire only pay for the IT the business actually uses (76%). A summary of the study is available for download at www.vmware.com/ap/cloudindex.
Shifting CIO Priorities Require IT to Run as a Business
The role of the CIO is evolving as companies require them to be IT leaders who drive substantive change throughout the entire organization. This means departments can no longer operate simple as cost centers. Instead, IT leaders must now also employ service-based IT thinking to impact positively on a company’s bottom line by way of shared services. Consolidating back office systems through cloud solutions helps create a more agile, more adaptable entity where staff are able to be more productive and where resources are maximized.
“One of the goals of cloud computing is to provide self-service for corporate users and IT-as-a-service. This means that IT will no longer be a cost center for a company, but will instead have to pay for itself through the services it ‘sells’ to its corporate users. Thus IT really will have to be its own business, understanding its costs and charging back to the business lines appropriately, all while maintaining SLAs and other service qualities that any ‘paying’ customer of a business would expect,” said Dr. Jariyawiroj.
More Virtualizing Business Critical Applications
Virtualization can improve IT efficiency, flexibility, and availability, transforming service delivery while reducing costs. The inclusion of business critical applications (BCA) such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, SAP, and Oracle can deliver the most significant value to a business. However, many companies are cautious to include BCAs in their virtualization roadmap because they lack specific in-house expertise to virtualize the infrastructure for BCA or the perception of risk associated with these projects.
“We are seeing more customers in Thailand leveraging VMware’s stable, secure, and robust infrastructure platform to implement, and subsequently operate, their virtualized business critical applications with confidence. In fact, 71% of respondents for the VMware Cloud Index 2012 said they would consider virtualizing the top 10 most critical business applications in their organization,” added Dr. Jariyawiroj.
Companies can Leapfrog with the Software-Defined Datacenter
Today’s IT requires organizations to take a holistic approach to planning, building and operating their infrastructure, especially as we move into this new era of cloud computing. Virtualization has dramatically reduced IT costs while greatly improving efficiency. Now business units need rapid access to IT resources to support faster time-to-market for projects. IT, in turn, needs to deliver this while ensuring that the datacenter is fully managed and secured.
VMware believes that a Software-Defined approach towards datacenter computing can enable companies to leapfrog these constraints and change the way all datacenter services are delivered.
According to Dr. Jariyawiroj: “A software-defined datacenter is where all infrastructure is virtualized and delivered as a service, and the control of this datacenter is entirely automated by software. Delivered via the VMware vCloud Suite, VMware’s vision of the Software-Defined Datacenter not only helps organizations address concerns about integration, hybrid management and security, but also allows business leaders to leverage cloud computing to closely align with their business needs.”
Desktop Virtualization to Drive Mobility, Branch Office Expansion and Windows Migration Strategy
VMware further predicts that 2013 will see mainstream recognition that computing is no longer primarily done on one or more client systems like a PC. Instead, the bulk of important computational processing will be performed in the cloud. With support for Windows XP coming to an end in 2013, companies will also be looking for the easier ways to upgrade their operating systems while causing minimal disruption to the business.
Organizations can simplify IT by transforming end-user assets—such as desktops, applications and data—from computing silos into centralized IT managed services. VMware View 5.1, for example, builds on the groundbreaking acquisition of Wanova and subsequent launch of VMware Mirage. The combination of VMware View and Mirage is an industry first pairing that will dramatically redefine the desktop virtualization (VDI) market—no longer is the market restricted to virtual desktops, but central image management operational benefits can be extended to more types of client end point systems—including physical, virtual, tethered desktops and roaming laptops (Mac and PC).
Small and Midsize Business
The core demands on modern IT — keeping business up and running, balancing IT supply with IT demand, and being able to respond quickly to business needs — are the same regardless of the size of a business.
Virtualization is becoming more mainstream amongst SMBs in Thailand, with companies increasingly focused on extending the benefits of virtualization to improve IT availability and backup / recovery. While virtualization is very much a necessary first step—but by no means is it the end. In fact, it is just the beginning—of a new foundation, a new way of thinking, and new opportunities for SMBs. By taking advantage of cloud computing services, SMBs can worry less about how to build and maintain IT to provide employees with access to company data and applications securely.
“VMware’s SMB solutions make enterprise-class business continuity and management accessible to smaller IT teams and single practitioners by reducing the complexity of deploying, operating and securing these systems,” said Dr. Jariyawiroj.
About VMware
VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2011 revenues of $3.77 billion, VMware has more than 400,000 customers and 55,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.
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