VMware Introduces VMware Go
 

VMware, Inc., a provider of virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter and to the cloud, today announced the availability of VMware Go, a web-based service that allows small or medium businesses (SMBs) to virtualize servers and create running virtual machines. The company states that VMware Go provides SMBs with an easy on-ramp to virtualizing their applications by automating the installation and configuration of the industry-leading hypervisor, VMware ESXi.

It further states that VMware Go has already successfully created over three-thousand virtual machines for over one-thousand beta testers. VMware Go together with VMware ESXi provides companies with a quick way to reduce overhead and simplify business operations by running multiple operating systems and applications on a single server - spending less money on hardware, power and cooling, and server administration.

The company avers that VMware Go simplifies and accelerates virtualization In three steps:

1. Initial ESXi server setup

• Unique web-browser interface and intuitive wizard guides and accelerates installation and setup process
• Built in hardware compatibility check automates the process of selecting physical server environments

2. Virtual machine creation

• Leverage existing physical server configuration, install a prebuilt virtual appliance, or start with a new, clean virtual machine

3. Manage ESXi servers and virtual machines

• Centralized management interface simplifies changes to a virtual environment
• Monitor virtual machines for basic performance and resource utilization
• Scan and update virtual machines from a central console

"With VMware Go, we are eliminating the skill barrier for getting started with virtualization, so companies who are concerned about not having the IT resources or expertise, especially SMBs,  can now more quickly and easily enjoy the many benefits of virtualization," said Dan Chu, Vice President of Emerging Products and Markets, VMware. "Both VMware Go and VMware ESXi are free offerings that can provide instant cost-savings with improved server utilization, reduced energy use and centralized management of the datacenter so IT can focus more on innovation and less on maintenance."

"As I talk to IT Admins in the SMB market, what I have learned is that as their business grows, IT  maintenance and the need for more servers grows even faster," said David Davis, vExpert, VCP, and VMware video training author at computer training provider Train Signal. "With VMware Go and VMware ESXi, these same SMB IT centers can handle large influxes of server growth or perform virtual consolidation while saving time, money and resources in the process."

One of the major barriers of SMB adoption of virtualization has always been a lack of confidence that the implementation process will work right the first time," said Tim Cox, Principal at Cox Technical Services. "As such, I welcome VMware Go because it opens virtualization to a large market of SMBs who didn't think they had the knowledge to virtualize their servers. It is an awesome tool to introduce people to virtualization or reintroduce them if they've been away from it for awhile."