Pros and Cons of Vmware Research Paper

Vmware

Pros and Cons of VM Ware

Over the last several years, the marketplace for servers and virtual machines has become an avenue many technology firms are focusing on. This is because these large devices are used to store tremendous amounts of data for cloud computing. One of the biggest companies is VMware. Founded in 1988, they have transformed how various products and services are delivered to cliental utilizing their computers, platforms and applications. (Standard and Poor's, 2013) (Kerravala, 2013)

However, other organizations are entering the sector in order to become dominate and take market share away from VMware. The most notable is Microsoft. They see the tremendous amounts of opportunity and the ability to become a major player by offering alternative choices. This is from VM being unable to offer solutions which can be horizontally integrated with other platforms. The result is that earnings have become very volatile and executives are warning about potential challenges ahead. (Standard and Poor's, 2013) (Kerravala, 2013)

Evidence of this can be seen by looking at earnings for 2013. They went from $.74 to $1.04. For the upcoming quarter, analysts are expecting these numbers to come in at $.80. This is illustrating the fundamental challenges the company faces. In demonstrating, how they are different from competing products on the marketplace. ("VMware," 2014) (Standard and Poor's, 2013) (Kerravala, 2013)

These shifts are indicating a change in attitudes among cliental who are becoming more fickle. To fully understand what is occurring requires examining the company closely by looking at the benefits and drawbacks. Together, these elements will illustrate the opportunities and challenges the firm faces in the future.

Research Questions

To understand what is taking place at VMware requires creating different research questions. This will focus on specific advantages the company has available and it will enable everyone to evaluate critical weaknesses. These elements will illustrate how the firm is making these adjustments and the long-term impacts it will have on the organization. The different questions that will be examined include:

What are the primary advantages of VMware solutions in comparison with other products on the marketplace?

How is the company adjusting to changes in demand from cliental and the emergence of new competitors?

What are the critical weaknesses with the firm's merchandise, solutions and customer services?

What areas are competitors taking advantage of these weaknesses, in order to capitalize off of them at the expense of VMware?

These different questions will focus the research and allow actuaries to objectively analyze what is happening with the firm. When this takes place, they can see the effects of these shifts and determine specific steps the company must take to deal with them. It is at this point, when accurate insights can be provided in the form of a working strategy for helping the organization to understand and evolve with them. (Creswell, 2013)

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study is to comprehend specific factors that will have an impact on the ability of the firm to compete inside the marketplace. This will occur through carefully examining them in conjunction with each other and how these changes are affecting the firm. Once this takes place, is when specific insights will be provided which are highlighting how different variables will influence the strategies used by the organization in the long-term. The findings will help to create a working protocol for addressing these problems and making the company more responsive to the needs of stakeholders. This is when they will be able to regain their dominance and integrate new ideas as a part of their business model. (Creswell, 2013)

As a result, the knowledge that is obtained during the process will help everyone to adjust to changes in the marketplace by creating a working foundation of recommendations for the management to embrace. Once this takes place, is the point they can begin implementing these conclusions to understand and deal with critical threats. In many ways, one could argue that this is the key all firms must follow in order to adapt and evolve with a host of challenges. (Creswell, 2013)

A good example of this can be seen with ideas from Deming (2009). He determined that no company is safe in any industry. This is because the marketplace is continually evolving based upon changes in demands from customers. Those organizations which can understand and address them will become the most dominant inside their sector.These insights were used by Toyota to go from an obscure company after the end of World War II to one that is the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the world. (Deming, 2009)

The lessons that can be learned from this, is that VMware must understand and address these issues. Otherwise, there is the possibility they will find themselves at the bottom wondering why they have fallen so far. This study will seek to understand these changes and offer specific insights to help the company make these transformations. When this happens, they will be capable of adapting to new competitors and the changing needs of cliental. This is the way they will maintain their lead and can continually build upon it.

Literature Review

To fully understand the possible opportunities and challenges impacting VMware requires examining other sources. This will be accomplished utilizing the qualitative method and comparative analysis. The qualitative approach is looking at different sources to understand specific factors impacting the firm and their strengths. This will identify key trends and determine critical weaknesses impacting the organization. (Spitzlinger, 2010)

To corroborate the different types of information, comparative analysis will be utilized. This is when various facts will be contrasted with each other and then placed into a general category. Anything that cannot be confirmed will be disregarded as an anomaly. While the findings, which are supporting each other will help to identify key trends and determine the various strengths / weaknesses of the organization. (Spitzlinger, 2010)

These insights will enable the research to take a more objective approach. Once this takes place, is the point these findings can be utilized to support different patterns and effectively determine how VMware can adjust with the challenges it is facing. This is when the information will be a valuable tool. That is supporting the conclusions and enabling management to see the most effective approaches for addressing key challenges in the future. (Spitzlinger, 2010)

Strengths of VMware

VMware's greatest strength is the kinds of solutions it offers to cliental. According to the company (in the source titled the Advantage of VMware) (2014) there are number of advantages they offer to customers over other providers. Some of the most notable include: security / reliability, convenience, hardware independence and manageability. ("Advantages of Using VMware," 2014)

In the case of security / reliability, there are a variety of benefits this provides to cliental to include: backups, restricted access to sensitive data and high amounts of uptime. As far as convenience is concerned, the protocol can be adjusted to the Adobe Flex solution. This enables customers to create their own personalized dashboard and other features for the specific needs of their organization. ("Advantages of Using VMware," 2014)

Hardware independence allows firms to utilize an open operating system. This can be accessed through specific desktops and mobile devices. The basic idea is to enable companies to use the information stored on the servers in a platform that makes the most sense for them. Manageability is when the firm does not have to install any hardware and they can easily create a solution that is simple and user friendly. ("Advantages of Using VMware," 2014)

These features are important, as they allow cliental to have a variety of protocols available for dealing with a variety of challenges. When this happens, they are able to adjust and evolve to the various issues they will face inside the marketplace. The result is that over 500 thousand customers are running these solutions as a part of their basic IT requirements. This means that VMware has an advantage over competitors by offering them with something more. That is embracing state of the art solutions. This is demonstrating how the company is able to adapt to the needs of cliental by offering them with superior quality. ("Advantages of Using VMware," 2014)

Moreover, Standard and Poor's (2013) found that the company has been aggressively acquiring smaller firms over the last several years. A few of the different ones include: B- Hive Networks, Trango Virtual Partners, Zimbra, Spring Source, Gem Stone, Slide Rocket, Dynamic Ops and Desktone. Each one of these companies has specific patents and technology that will help VMware to understand and offer cliental with innovative solutions. In the future, this enables them to know the marketplace better and make adjustments to changes quicker. ("Standard and Poor's," 2013)

These acquisitions have enabled VMware to provide cliental with solutions to.....