VMware Unveils Pivotal Container Service, Workspace One Update

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VMWARE VMWORLD — In collaboration with Google Cloud, VMware and Pivotal Software on Tuesday announced Pivotal Container Service (PKS), which enables enterprises and service providers to deliver production-ready Kubernetes on VMware vSphere and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with Google Container Engine (GKE) compatibility.

PKS is a commercial release of the open-source Kubo technology. Kubernetes automates deployment, scaling and management of containerized applications. It groups containers that make up an application into logical units for easy management and discovery, the company said.

VMware noted that PKS will help operations teams deliver a hardened, maintainable container platform, while giving developers on-demand access to a production-ready environment featuring high availability, security and multi-tenancy across private and public clouds.

The initial release of PKS will feature Kubernetes via BOSH, VMware NSX, and a jointly developed version of Open Services Broker API that allows easy integration of GCP services into PKS applications. PKS will feature cross-cloud security and network connectivity including container network interface (CNI)-compatible services powered by NSX. PKS will be seamlessly integrated with VMware vSphere, enabling customers to use VMware’s unified SDDC infrastructure for containers and VMs.

A critical benefit for enterprise customers will be PKS’ constant compatibility to GKE, which is continuously powered by the latest Kubernetes release and features a fully managed experience backed by Google SRE (Site Reliability Engineering). As a result, PKS’ constant compatibility with GKE will bring users the latest container-native innovations in a secure and consistent environment. With PKS and GKE, users will gain the workload portability, operational simplicity and agility to speed business outcomes.

Fully supported by Pivotal and VMware, PKS will be best suited for large-to-midsize enterprises as well as service providers. Pivotal and VMware will both sell the product directly, via their respective channels, and via the VMware Cloud Provider partner program. PKS will also be brought to market by Dell EMC on VxRail Appliances and VxRack Systems.

The vendor expects this new offering to be available in the fourth quarter, and ship as a standalone product able to integrate with Pivotal Cloud Foundry (PCF) and VMware’s software-defined data center (SDDC) infrastructure.

Also from VMworld, VMware said its Workspace One customers can use it as a single solution to enable unified endpoint management (UEM) and to unify the end-user experience across all endpoint platforms including Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, iOS, and Android. Additionally, APIs from major endpoint platform providers will integrate with …

… Workspace ONE, the vendor said.

VMware’s Sumit Dhawan

“The modern workforce is stretching the limits of IT as employees embrace cloud and mobile technologies to perform work throughout the day using a growing variety of endpoints and platforms,” said Sumit Dhawan, senior vice president and general manager, end-user computing, VMware. “Partnering with major endpoint-platform providers gives us the ability to deliver a modern unified solution that enables our customers to break free from siloed management stacks and user experiences. Workspace One will give businesses the agility and security that is critical to digital transformation initiatives,” he added.

Workspace One integrates AirWatch, and also extends the same experience and security to traditional Windows environments with VMware Horizon virtual application and desktop technology.

Horizon 7 integrated with VMware Cloud Foundation and Dell EMC VDI Complete with Horizon Apps makes infrastructure elastic and integrates compute, storage, networking, and infrastructure management together. Together with Horizon Cloud, customers will now have options for elastic infrastructure for on-premises or cloud. Additionally, management of Windows desktops and applications can be automated with the VMware Just in Time Management Platform (JMP) and a technology preview that integrates JMP platform technologies (Instant Clone, VMware App Volumes, and User Environment Manager) into a console for simpler management, the vendor said.

Updates to Workspace One – in addition to Horizon 7 with Cloud Foundation and Dell EMC VDI Complete with Horizon Apps – are expected to be generally available in next year’s third quarter. General availability for Workspace One Intelligence is expected the following quarter.