VMware Announces Future Ready Workforce Solutions to Address the Needs of the Distributed Workforce

This week at VMworld 2020, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is announcing VMware Future Ready Workforce solutions to provide exceptional workforce experiences, end-to-end Zero Trust security controls, and simplified management. The Future Ready Workforce solutions combine VMware Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Digital Workspace and Endpoint Security capabilities to help IT manage and optimize more secure access to any app, on any cloud, from any device while providing a simple, high performant, and a safer user experience for the distributed workforce.

"Organizations are navigating one of the most significant disruptions of our generation. These challenges will accelerate a shift to cloud-centric strategies, like SASE, that address the requirements of enabling people to work from anywhere," said Rajiv Ramaswami, chief operating officer, products and cloud services, VMware. "The VMware Future Ready Workforce solutions help businesses enable their people to work from anywhere with intrinsic security, delightful end-user experiences and lower operational complexity."

SASE: An Emerging Architecture for Unifying Networking and Security in the Cloud

Legacy networking and security approaches lack the automation, cloud scale and intrinsic security needed to connect and protect apps, data, and users across a globally distributed business fabric. The VMware SASE Platform converges cloud networking, cloud security and Zero Trust network access with best-in-class web security to deliver flexibility, agility, and scalability for enterprises of all sizes. It is a cloud-first offering that delivers application quality assurance, intrinsic security, and operational simplicity, and is ideal for organizations that are supporting a work-from-anywhere workforce.

• Industry-leading SD-WAN ? VMware has been positioned as a leader in the Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure three consecutive years for its SD-WAN solution⁽¹⁾. The VMware SD-WAN global network has now been expanded to more than 2,700 cloud service nodes across 130 points of presence (POPs). The new VMware Edge Network Intelligence gives IT teams added visibility and telemetry into the end-user experience as applications are accessed from anywhere, and application traffic traverses many different networks. The Dell EMC SD-WAN Solution powered by VMware has also been expanded to include built-in LTE to support mobile clinics / temporary sites as well as higher reliability for work from home.
• Industry-Leading Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) ? VMware Secure Access is a ZTNA service that combines VMware Workspace ONE and VMware SD-WAN into a single, cloud-hosted offering that enables more secure, optimized, and high-performance access for remote and mobile users. VMware has been positioned as a leader in the Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management three consecutive years for its Workspace ONE solution⁽²⁾.
• Best-in-Class Cloud & Web Security ? VMware is partnering with leading companies to provide customers flexibility and choice in meeting their cloud and web security requirements.
  • The new VMware Cloud Web Security service will integrate Menlo Security's best-in-class secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access service broker (CASB), Data Loss Prevention, sandbox, and remote browser isolation capabilities natively into the VMware SASE solution. VMware Cloud Web Security will be sold and supported by VMware, with a single management interface and integrated back end operations, offering customers of all sizes an easy to deploy and ready to use solution.
  • VMware and Zscaler announced an expanded strategic relationship to enable enterprises to combine VMware SD-WAN and VMware Secure Access with Zscaler Internet Access into a best of breed SASE solution. VMware and Zscaler will join forces to support the needs of the world's most demanding enterprise organizations.
• Integrated Next-Gen Firewall as a Service ? The VMware NSX Firewall is a stateful Layer 7 firewall that will be integrated into the VMware SASE Platform for cloud-delivered firewall as a service in both single-tenanted and multi-tenanted deployment options. This will complement the firewall capabilities of the existing VMware SD-WAN solution today. Forrester Research recently categorized VMware as one of five "large" firewall vendors in their report, Now Tech: Enterprise Firewalls, Q1 2020⁽³⁾.

"The pandemic created market dynamics that require organizations to transform their IT infrastructure to meet the business needs of the new normal. Having an adaptable and flexible approach to connecting and securing access to corporate resources can be the difference between success and failure," said Jay Chaudhry, chairman and CEO of Zscaler. "Zscaler and VMware have a longstanding partnership of delivering best-in-class networking and security solutions for large global enterprises. We are extending this relationship to combine our proven, industry-leading solutions so customers can accelerate adoption of SASE and not have to compromise on networking or security."

"With the transition to remote work, and an accelerating migration to SaaS, the traditional corporate network perimeter has evaporated. The Internet is the new corporate network and the new branch is an employees' home or mobile device. Networks and security are being totally reimagined and rearchitected as the future of work is being transformed," said Amir Ben-Efraim, CEO, Menlo Security. "That's why we're teaming with VMware to build the Menlo's Cloud Secure Web Gateway Platform into the VMware Cloud Web Security service. We are bringing together our leading-edge secure cloud security platform, built on our unique Isolation Coretm technology with the VMware SASE platform to better protect customers against the most sophisticated and prevalent attacks such as phishing, ransomware and malicious content."

A Vision for the Future of Work with a Focus on Security and Employee Experience

The global pandemic has changed the future of work forever. According to VMware research, 42% of global employees surveyed say the ability to work remotely is a prerequisite to their job, not just a perk. 90% say that it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure employees have appropriate access to digital tools to enable remote work⁽⁴⁾. However, enabling a distributed workforce is fraught with challenges ranging from remote employee on-boarding, visibility and compliance, security, employee safety, and more.

To address these challenges, VMware Workspace Security combines industry-leading unified endpoint management and endpoint security platform to enable customers to leverage the power of big data to provide comprehensive endpoint visibility as well as actionable insights in conjunction with data-driven prevention technology through a single dashboard. Today, VMware announces additional Workspace ONE and Workspace Security offerings available to effectively and efficiently better secure devices, and are easy to deploy, manage, and scale including:

• VMware Workspace Security Remote ? Combines industry-leading unified endpoint management (UEM), endpoint security, and remote IT support into an integrated solution to better manage and protect Mac and Windows 10 devices. While InfoSec teams focus on preventing, detecting, and responding to threats, IT teams enable broader compliance and help to operationalize security updates. Workspace Security Remote brings the two teams, technologies, and consoles closer together to enhance overall device health, provide Zero Trust access and efficiently automate threat response.
• VMware Workspace Security VDI ? Integrates VMware Horizon and VMware Carbon Black Cloud into a single unified solution that helps security and IT teams deliver highly secure virtual desktops and applications. Workspace Security VDI goes beyond legacy solutions as it uniquely integrates Carbon Black technology directly into the VMware vSphere Hypervisor and VMtools to deliver an agentless approach with improved anti-tamper capabilities, audit, and remediation, and uses behavioral detection to protect against ransomware and file less malware.

Customer Commentary

Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance Services is a full-service medical transportation provider of air ambulance, ground ambulance and commercial medical escort for critically ill and injured patients. "Now more than ever, patients across the country need safe medical flights for specialty care. Our air ambulances provide a safe, clean environment to transport patients to the right level of care," said Paul Green, chief development officer at Angel MedFlight. "The sudden shift to an all-remote work world would have been challenging without Workspace ONE. It allowed us to transition quickly, as every employee was simply able to take home their Apple Mac mini and immediately keep working, with highly secure access to all the apps they need to help transport our patients. Workspace ONE helps us completely change the way IT works in the office. And ultimately that makes it easier for the flight crews who are caring for patients."

Dow is a global leader in material science with plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings, and silicones businesses that deliver a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers. "During the DowDuPont merger in 2017, we chose VMware's VDI solutions to provide temporary system access to employees until we could spin out into three separate companies: Dow, DuPont, and Corteva. Given the complexity of the merger, reliability of system access across the companies was critical going from a baseline usage of 4k users and quickly scaling to 18k users," said Paul Kline, IT global director at Dow. "I'm pleased to say that VMware consistently met our performance and reliability expectations. While site separations were still underway, COVID-19 exploded, and all three companies shifted non-essential workers to working from home. VMware's VDI solutions were instrumental in enabling continued system access as transitioning employees shifted to working from home practically overnight."

Lumen enables enterprises to acquire, analyze and act on data, adopt emerging technologies, and take advantage of the opportunities of the 4th Industrial Revolution. "Lumen helps enterprises modernize their networks and strengthen security to reduce the complexity and risks of digital transformation. Our customers look to us to deliver solutions that help them adapt and thrive in virtually any business condition," said Paul Savill, senior vice president, enterprise products and services at Lumen Technologies. "Working with VMware, we further expand our portfolio of networking and security capabilities that can help enterprises protect and empower employees working from anywhere. With the new VMware SASE platform our customers will have access to a cloud-delivered solution to more securely access applications that is optimized for branch, home and work-from-anywhere users."

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is the world's leading comprehensive cancer treatment and research center. "In today's world, patient care does not stop at the front door of the clinic or the hospital," said Emil Patel, Director, IT Engineering at MD Anderson. "VMware SD-WAN enabled us to upgrade to a modern, cloud-based network that optimizes more highly secure access to all the resources needed by our physicians, students, and staff to deliver continuous care regardless of where they are located. As we continue to evolve our IT strategy, we believe the VMware SASE platform will enable us to unify policies and deliver comprehensive network and security services policies for remote and home workers."

Availability
VMware Workspace Security Remote and VMware Workspace Security VDI are available today. VMware Edge Network Intelligence is expected to be available in VMware's Fiscal Q3 FY21, which ends on October 30, 2020. VMware Cloud Web Security is expected to be available in VMware's Fiscal Q1 FY22, and NSX Firewall as a Service for the VMware SASE Platform is expected to be available in FY22.

1-Gartner, Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure, September 2020
2-Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management, August 2020
3-Source: VMware is 1 of 5 "large" firewall vendors (with greater than $500m in annual revenue) in the Forrester Research report, Now Tech: Enterprise Firewalls, Q1 2020, March 2020
4-Source: "The New Remote Work Era: Trends in the Distributed Workforce," Vanson Bourne and commissioned by VMware and Dell, June?July 2020.

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News at VMworld 2020
Read a summary of today's news from Chris Wolf: VMworld 2020: Innovating with the Expectation of Change

• VMware Delivers Intrinsic Security to the World's Digital Infrastructure
• VMware Empowers Customers to Build their Multi-Cloud Future
• VMware Expands Tanzu Portfolio and Partnerships to Accelerate Customers' Infrastructure and Application Modernization Efforts
• VMware Unveils Project Monterey: Re-Imagining Hybrid Cloud Architecture to Support Next-Generation Applications
• VMware Delivers the Next Wave of Virtual Cloud Network Innovation to Connect and Protect Today's Distributed, Multi-Cloud Enterprise
• For information on all news announcements at VMworld 2020, view the online media kit

About VMware
VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html.

VMware, VMworld, VMware Future Ready Workforce, VMware Edge Network Intelligence, Workspace ONE, NSX Firewall, Carbon Black, vSphere are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites. The information in this blog post is for informational purposes only and may not be incorporated into any contract.