VMworld 2017 - it is all about networking

VMworld is all about networking.

And we did a lot of that! Certainly, there are the tech sessions, labs, keynotes. But year after year I realized that the most valuable thing VMworld brings is networking. The human contact. Smart people meeting face to face, sharing information, ideas and experience (often over a drink or two).

I didn't want to make this yet another long VMworld recap. It can take pages to describe this intensive experience with all the people we met and all the announcements that were made. So I will try to keep it short and focus on the interaction we had with everyone we met there.

Traditionally, we sponsor both VMworld US and Europe. I was pleasantly surprised by both the number of participants (I heard Barcelona had a record number of over 11k) and the number of people who spent time on the Solutions Exchange floor. Running 5 demos at a time was challenging, but luckily our booth staff was way bigger than previous years. I am proud to say that, regardless our growth, a lot of the booth staff still consists of founders, vExperts and true techies. So, if you want to meet us, just pop by the Runecast booth next time.

We cherish your feedback and valuable discussions that are shaping our roadmap. This year we were happy to introduce some exciting new features with Runecast Analyzer 1.6.

The DISA STIG 6 Security Compliance checks were particularly popular, especially with Federal Agencies’ representatives. The development of those was technically challenging, so I was happy to see the awesome reaction of people seeing it for the first time and realizing how much time it would save them. When we deliver on customer requests, the job satisfaction is amazing when we see their reaction in person!

The Web Client plugin for vCenter received some great reviews too. It works with both the new HTML5 and the old Flash Web Clients. It appears that Runecast is one of the few to go on the certification path for an HTML5 Web Client plugin. Considering we followed all best practices set by the VMware Web Client team, we were able to develop a plugin that delivers seamless experience directly to a central vCenter interface. Just click on any inventory object and you will see a Runecast analysis summary on the summary page and detailed list of associated issues in the Monitoring tab.

The vRO plugin was the “cherry on the cake” we published for VMworld Barcelona. As it enabled admins to consume the full Runecast REST API easily, it opened nice opportunities for additional automation around Runecast and great interest from the people who visited our booth. I was actually surprised that some people asked if we have a vRO plugin before we even mentioned it. There are indeed a bigger number of people who use vRO than we originally anticipated.

I promised this won't be a long article, so I'd better wrap it up. Let me first send a shout out to some of the many, many awesome people we met these 2 VMworlds.

Thanks to Alan Renouf for the great support and for the nice feedback on the Runecast API and Web Client plugin. His keynote VR demo with Pat was unforgettable.

Always great to see Frank Denneman and discuss VMware on AWS - thanks for stopping by the Runecast booth despite the long queue waiting to get a signed copy of your book.

Cheers to our partner Xiologix and their CTO Christopher Kusek who organized again the best party of VMworld Las Vegas! Runecast was one of the sponsors, just like last year.

Thanks to our friend Anthony Spiteri for organizing vGolf in Vegas. We were happy to sponsor it and I promise, by next year, I will learn how to play and will join.

Kudos to all the early birds who joined the vBreakfast in Barcelona, perfectly organized by Andreas Lesslhumer and proudly sponsored by Runecast.

It was a pleasure meeting you all despite the rain and the hangover. One of the vExperts there was Vladan Seget who came by our booth afterwards for a chat about current and future Runecast Analyzer features.

My admirations go to John Arrasjid, VCDX #1, who surprised me with a signed copy of his book: "IT ARCHITECT: Foundation in the Art of Infrastructure Design". That's a great guide I wish existed years ago when I was making my first steps into VMware design.

Speaking of this book - great seeing Chris McCain, one of the contributors. Old friend of the Brno VMware community and a fellow VCI and VCDX. I like his NSX Mindset movement - a motivating approach to embracing change and growth.

And finally - thanks to all of you who came to our booth and kept us busy for 2 of the greatest VMworlds ever. Bring on VMworld 2018!!