Cisco edges away from VMware, tries Red Hat on for size From co-operation to co-op-etition and then competition: it's happening in front of our eyes with EMC and Cisco. The choreography involves Cisco working more and more with Red Hat and its KVM server hypervisor and less with EMC subsidiary VMware's ESX. Red Hat is joining in with Cisco and working with its OpFlex protocol in …
Always thought that Red Hat would be in Ciscos sights for either a significant partnership or acquisition.
1. An alternative vendors SDN on Cisco hardware is never going work for Cisco.
2. RHEL is already the default OS for Cisco apps.
3. Cisco need to counter the MS desktop ownership to keep driving UC.
Not controlling the hypervisor and losing control of the SDN element is a hard enough for Cisco, but it goes further than that. In the Desktop/UC space a significant driver for Lync adoption is 'because it comes with our subscription' (whatever form that subscription that might be) . The only effective way to counter that it with an alternative business application stack, and that starts with the OS and office suite. Ok, there is so much legacy in Windows that it won't be an option for a lot of people, but just look how fast the application space is moving. It's phenomenal. I think significant numbers of people will find themselves able to move away from Windows if one of the top players providing an 'easy' to use cheap alternative.
Most of the alternatives apps are good enough for most people, what's missing is a single office suite with the core MS Office has. Currently the major missing component is the integrated calendar + email in a single package. I know there are alternatives and it's possible to DIY, but most people don't want to have to spend all the time and effort. A single installation and integrated package is what people want.
If Cisco (or anyone else) can bring that 'base business stack' together, I think Microsoft have got problems (bigger problems!).
"In the Desktop/UC space a significant driver for Lync adoption is 'because it comes with our subscription'"
It really isn't - and it doesnt. The main driver is that it's a much better stack and is far better integrated when you already use Office, Exchange and Unified Messaging - like many corporates already do. And it has a significantly lower TCO.
"I think significant numbers of people will find themselves able to move away from Windows "
No signs of that whatsoever in the corporate space so far. Microsoft's growth in sales is far higher than migrations to alternate stacks.
'It really isn't - and it doesn't' - It may or it may not come as part of the subscription. It depends on what you sign up to. Office 365?
'Much better stack' - matter of opinion, and not really the point.
'Better integrated' - Well you'd hope so wouldn't you, but then the differences in user experience are tiny (if you've got it set up right).
'No signs of that whatsoever in the corporate space so far.' - Agreed, but because there isn't a viable alternative single stack, which is what I was trying to get at. The components are all out there in one form or another, someone just needs to bring it together. Cisco, Oracle, HP or whoever. Cisco does seem to be moving that way.
I'm usually quite impressed with your articles - but this one is the exception. I think you took a major leap by implying that a Cisco/Red Hat alliance is a play toward a converged solution.
First of all, VCE has been in the game for a while now and has a major lead in the market - with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Even if Cisco wanted to partake, they wouldn't dare do anything to slow down VCE - one of the biggest contributors to Cisco's UCS sales & adoption over the past 3 years.
Second of all, KVM adoption rates are extremely low - especially in the enterprise where converged infrastructure makes the most sense. KVM has a long way to go to make any ground up here - and even if Cisco were to back them, it would still be met in the industry with extreme resistance as hordes of successful VMWare system engineers push back heavily.
Thirdly, EMC is and has been THE leader in storage for a long long time now. They have focused on this industry intentionally, their business continues to grow year after year, and there is no reason to change direction now - certainly not because of a Cisco/Red Hat alliance. The main reason they bought VMWare, in my opinion, was to keep it open to multiple vendors and encourage more shared storage usage. Worst thing that could have happened there would have been for Dell to buy them and lock out EMC.
Lastly - why the hell would anyone choose a whitebox server solution to be part of a new converged offering? Do you have any idea how much work it took for CISCO to penetrate the server market with UCS? And they have a well known name! Talk to me about Lenovo maybe....but not whitebox.
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