Cisco, EMC, VMware Restructure Their Alliance

The restructuring is supposed to simplify the way the coalition does business but evidently the old structure didn't work

Cisco, EMC and VMware have abandoned the clumsy and confusing bifurcated structure that has marked their formal alliance since it got off the ground in November of 2009 in favor of a single cloud-chasing company, the Virtual Computing Environment Company - VCE.

The restructuring is supposed to simplify the way the coalition does business but anyway you look at it the old structure didn't work. The streamlined entity, however a work in progress, is supposed to correct its failing, shushing reseller complaints about Acadian competition and getting a fire lit in accordance with sales.

VCE will nevertheless do all product development, integration, pre-sales and support. It will move Acadia's pre-configured Vblock Infrastructure Platforms, concocted out of Cisco's Intel-based servers and networking, EMC's storage and security and VMware virtualization, through the 120 resellers the coalition has reportedly assembled and to all appearances through the Cisco, EMC and VMware sales machines. It will need to wrestle with the implicit channel conflicts.

The most read research reporter for the past 20 years

Maureen O'Gara the most read research reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected research reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara