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EMC Federation leads African companies onto third platform [ITWeb](ITWeb Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The federated model that defines the structure of EMC will provide enterprises across Africa with the capabilities they require to embrace the new IT agenda of mobile, cloud computing and big data. This is the view of Bernard Baker, Vice-President of EMC's Global Executive Briefing Programme. Baker explained that EMC Information Infrastructure (II), Pivotal, RSA and VMware form the EMC Federation: strategically aligned businesses, each focused and free to execute individually or together. The EMC Federation was one of the primary sponsors of MyWorld of Tomorrow, a platform for interaction and knowledge sharing in the technology innovation space hosted by Business Connexion at the Sandton Convention Centre from 16 to 18 October. "The new IT agenda is the reason EMC created the Federation," Baker said. "EMC, VMware, Pivotal and RSA each have a specific mission, but are strategically aligned to deliver solutions based on the new IT agenda. Through this innovative model, we provide best-of-breed solutions for the new IT agenda and customer choice, with no lock-in." Through external acquisitions and internal investment, Baker explained that within the Federation of companies, "all the pieces are now assembled, and already helping clients across the continent to transform their businesses". EMC's definition of the modern era of enterprise computing follows that of analyst house IDC – linking together concepts like big data, mobility, social media, cloud, the Internet of everything and smart devices. Known as the 'third platform', it recognises how industries and companies are being radically redefined – as organisations now need to store and analyse new forms of data, and build mobile applications and connected devices for potentially billions of users. The third platform follows the first computing paradigm of mainframes (first platform), which gave way to client/server computing (the second platform). "Markets in the EMEA region are experiencing massive structural changes, perhaps more so than in many developed world regions. In Africa, there are fewer legacy challenges and a hugely innovative spirit that is pushing business into the future," Baker said. The EMC Federation addresses these opportunities with best-of-breed information infrastructure, software-defined data centre architecture, and a new platform for next-generation applications. "As consumers, we now expect more frequent iterations of everything. So, with VMWare, we are taking a software-defined approach to everything, to make this happen." Baker referred to the example of Tesla – a manifestation of 'the Internet of everything' – where the car manufacturer can centrally push updates to its users' cars in the same way that Apple would push app updates to iPhones. In line with this trend, the EMC Federation seeks to apply the principles of mobility, cloud, social and data analytics to every aspect of clients' operations – unlocking new value and transforming products and services. "As a combined set of companies, we leverage the benefits of the VMWare stack with EMC's dominant position in storage. Together, we present a very broad portfolio that equates to $2.3 billion in annualresearch and development investment, coupled with dynamic M&A activity," Baker said. The scale of the Federation and its research and development gives clients confidence that when they 'buy into' the EMC vision, they will remain a step ahead of the rest of the market, and always receive the latest innovations first. While the third platform is indisputably the future, second platform architectures will continue to be the foundation of the enterprise data centre for some years, added Baker. By adopting a federated model, EMC's strategy is to lead customers on their journey to the third platform. "The Federation of EMC companies is working extensively to bring advanced solutions to every business in every industry; allowing organisations to capitalise on the new era of application, information and technology innovation," Baker said. "New companies will emerge to challenge the traditional, new applications will be created to transform the user experience, and new value will be created from information and infrastructure to address the speed and simplicity of tomorrow's consumer." (c) 2014 ITWeb Limited. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |