Tom Gillis
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Tom Gillis
VMware Announces Intent to Acquire Lastline
By Tom Gillis, SVP and GM, Networking and Security Business Unit, VMware
EDITORIAL UPDATE: On June 18, 2020 VMware officially closed its acquisition of Lastline. The blog post below has been amended to reflect that announcement.
VMware announced its intent to acquire Lastline, a pioneer in anti-malware research and AI-powered network detection and response, and on June 18, 2020 the acquisition closed. This is an important step forward for VMware’s vision of Intrinsic Security, as it allows us to further take advantage of the intrinsic attributes of our virtualization platform to yield innovative security capabilities. Our aim is not to replicate that which exists today, but rather to build security solutions that we can uniquely deliver, spanning from the heart of the data center to users in a branch office and all the way to mobile users at home or on the road.
In the security industry, the nature of threats changes so rapidly that security technology is constantly being re-invented. In this context, it is not the algorithms per se that matter; it is the people that make the algorithms. Great people build great products, and great products build great companies. And that’s why we are so Continue reading
Announcing VMware NSX Distributed IDS/IPS
Six years ago, VMware pioneered the concept of micro-segmentation to stop the internal, lateral spread of malware. We then launched the NSX Service-defined Firewall, an internal firewall that’s built into the hypervisor, distributed, and application aware. Shortly thereafter we introduced NSX Intelligence to automate security rule recommendations, streamlining the deployment of micro-segmentation.
Now we are announcing that we will be taking internal security to the next level by introducing optional Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDS/IPS) for our Service-defined Firewall. Built on the same philosophy, the new NSX Distributed IDS/IPS will allow enterprises to fortify applications across private and public clouds.
VMware’s Security Is Intrinsic. Here’s What That Means.
Intrinsic Security is security that’s built in, not bolted on. And that makes it better.
When security is bolted on, it’s never as good as built-in security. Imagine an apartment building where you add the alarm system, the security cameras, and the fire escape after the fact. It looks awkward and doesn’t work that well, either.
But when you design those things in upfront, the effect is completely different. Everything just works better, as parts of a whole system. The same thing is true for security.
More importantly, when you build in Continue reading
Avi Networks Now Part of VMware
By Tom Gillis, SVP/GM of Networking and Security BU
When we first announced our intent to acquire Avi Networks, the excitement within our customer base, with industry watchers and within our own business was overwhelming. IDC analysts wrote, “In announcing its intent to acquire software ADC vendor Avi Networks, VMware both enters the ADC market and transforms its NSX datacenter and multicloud network-virtualization overlay (NVO) into a Layer 2-7 full-stack SDN fabric (1).”
Avi possesses exceptional alignment with VMware’s view of where the network is going, and how data centers must evolve to operate like public clouds to help organizations reach their full digital potential. It’s for these reasons that I am happy to announce VMware has closed the acquisition of Avi Networks and they are now officially part of the VMware family going forward.
I’ve heard Pat Gelsinger say many times that VMware wants to aggressively “automate everything.” With Avi, we’re one step closer to meeting this objective. The VMware and Avi Networks teams will work together to advance our Virtual Cloud Network vision, build out our full stack L2-7 services, and deliver the public cloud experience for on-prem environments. We will introduce the Avi platform Continue reading
VMware Announces Intent to Acquire Avi Networks to Deliver Software-Defined ADC for the Multi-Cloud Era
By Tom Gillis, SVP/GM of Networking and Security BU
Today I’m excited to announce that VMware has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Avi Networks, a leader of software-defined application delivery services for the multicloud era.
Our vision at VMware is to deliver the “public cloud experience” to developers regardless of what underlying infrastructure they are running. What does this mean? Agility. The ability to quickly deploy new workloads, to try new ideas, and to iterate. Modern infrastructure needs to provide this agility wherever it executes – on premises, in hybrid cloud deployments, or in native public clouds, using VM’s, containers or a combination of the two. VMware is uniquely suited to deliver this, with a complete set of software-defined infrastructure that runs on every cloud, even yours.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) are a critical pillar of a software-defined data center. Many workloads cannot be deployed without one. For many customers, this means writing their application to bespoke and proprietary APIs that are tied to expensive hardware appliances. The Avi Networks team saw this problem and solved it in the right way. They built a software architecture that is truly scale-out, with a centralized controller. This controller manages not Continue reading
The Ultimate Guide to Networking & Security Sessions & Activities at VMworld Europe
At VMworld 2017, we took the NSX show on the road and demonstrated our expanded capabilities and support for new use cases, locations, and clouds.
But a lot has changed in a year.
Earlier in 2018, we announced the expansion of the NSX family of products to include NSX Data Center (formerly NSX), NSX Cloud, AppDefense, NSX SD-WAN by VeloCloud, and NSX Hybrid Connect. With the new portfolio, we’ve delivered on the Virtual Cloud Network vision of connecting and protecting applications and data, regardless of where they sit – from the data center, to the cloud, and the edge.
To help you learn about this vision, and the products that underpin it, we have a huge VMworld 2018 in store for you. There are over 50 dedicated networking and security sessions covering everything from the basics to super-technical deep dives.
Be sure to attend the showcase sessions:
- The NSX Keynote: Building the Network of the Future with the Virtual Cloud Network
- Transforming Security in a Cloud and Mobile World
As a bonus, you can hear from real customers about their experiences in the Customer Panel on NSX Data Center.
Below is a guide to all things Networking and Security at Continue reading
Top 10 Networking and Security Sessions at VMworld US 2018
Although it was before my time at VMware running the Networking and Security Business Unit, at VMworld 2017 we demonstrated our expanded NSX network virtualization capabilities in the data center, and the start of our journey to bring NSX to the cloud.
A lot has changed in a year.
Earlier in 2018, we announced the expansion of the NSX family of products to include NSX Data Center (formerly NSX), NSX Cloud, AppDefense, NSX SD-WAN by VeloCloud, and NSX Hybrid Connect.
With the new portfolio, we’ve delivered on the Virtual Cloud Network vision of connecting and protecting applications and data, regardless of where they sit – from the data center to the cloud, and the edge.
To help you learn about this vision and the advancements we’ve made in the products that underpin it, we have a huge VMworld 2018 in store for you. With over 70 dedicated networking and security sessions, we’ll cover everything from the basics to super-technical deep dives.
Below is my curated list of can’t-miss networking and security sessions. Make sure you jump onto the content catalog on VMworld.com to reserve your spot before they fill up.
I’m looking forward to joining all of you Continue reading