Cloud Insiders

Tech Focus - Through 2020 and 2021 businesses have had to adapt at pace which has left some gaps in performance, usability and security. However VMware are at hand to make sure businesses can close up these gaps quickly and easily.VMware Anywhere Workspace is a combination of three powerful, pre-existing VMware tools: VMware Workspace ONE, Carbon Black and VMware SASE - together they create the most secure and unified experience to the end user, freeing up IT teams and simplifying processes.We caught up with Xtravirt Lead Consultant and VMware vExpert EUC Curtis Brown to find out all about this latest offering and how it can help from the user and businesses perspectives. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As an enabler of remote working, the digital workspace was the saviour of business in 2020 allowing businesses to keep operating and employees working. As the dust settles and organisations look forward to a world of flexible working, how can the digital workspace help them achieve their goals and succeed in the ‘new’ modern workplace?In this podcast we catch up with Xtravirt Lead Consultant and Digital Workspace expert Curtis Brown to discuss how organisations can address the quick fixes implemented in 2020, what they need to do to embrace the digital workspace in 2021 and how leading VMware solutions such as Horizon and Workspace ONE are enabling the future-ready workforce. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Secure to the Core with Menlo Security - Menlo Securitys Tom McVey explains what he believes to be the greatest security risks to organisations right now, how best to resolve them and how Xtravirt and Menlo’s partnership together can deliver best in class business outcomes. 2020 has been a challenging year for businesses and the global Covid crisis has highlighted for many the importance of a having a cloud first IT strategy. In this podcast, Menlo Security speak to Xtravirt about how the accelerated adoption of cloud solutions through the crisis, has exposed new security vulnerabilities that are putting businesses and their staff at risk. With the average cost of a data breach estimated to cost a business $4m to clean up, it’s widely expected that shoring up web and email security will take priority in 2021.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Actionable Insights for VMware and AWS - Every day software patches are released, new security risks are identified and vendor recommendations are updated with the expectation that business and IT stay on top of all these changes. But how do you ensure that you are identifying, managing and remediating to effectively control the risks in your on-premises and cloud environments?We've put this question and more to our guests Kev Johnson, Systems Engineer at Runecast and Robin Gardner, Strategic Services Director at Xtravirt in our latest podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lifecycle management is an area that all businesses need to think about and plan for, and knowing what you manage and who manages it, structuring your plans to assign responsibility and achieving continuous development and improvement is extremely important. But is it any different in the cloud era?  For this podcast we are once again joined by Xtravirt Strategic Services Director Robin Gardner to discuss this wide reaching topic.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this very topical and timely podcast we are joined by Xtravirt Strategic Services Director, Robin Gardner. As an experienced CTO in change management and instrumental in a number of large scale infrastructure and virtualisation programmes, Robin was the obvious choice when it came to discussing the impact of the global pandemic on IT and organisational culture.We discuss the changes and challenges businesses have had to face over the past few months, how IT have had to respond and Robin provides us with his views on what these mean for how organisations operate and their employees.Listen the podcast to understand more about:The main challenges businesses have had to overcome to enable remote working and keep businesses runningCan the changes organisations have had to make be sustained in the longer term and the impact on compliance issues?What will be different in how organisations were working, are now working and where they need to get to?How do we support the changing profile of the workspace, the workf

For this episode of Cloud Insiders we are returning to the rich world of VMware Cloud on AWS but this time we are looking at this cloud solution from an Amazon Web Services (AWS) point of view. We are joined by Chris Porter, a Specialist Solutions Architect at AWS specialising in VMware technologies and Andy Hine, Technical Pre-Sales Consultant at Xtravirt.We look at how easy it is to get started with VMware Cloud on AWS, who is using it and how, and take a look at how you can use AWS’ catalogue of over 175 services to supercharge the already powerful VMware Cloud on AWS.Enter a pairing of endless possibilities and find out how utilising AWS’ services to boost VMware Cloud on AWS can enhance how you work today and improve productivity and processes in the future.2:29 – Amazon Web Services in a nutshell and how to get started3:52 – A quick run down of VMware Cloud on AWS and the AWS services that it uses5:57 – What are the real world applications of VMware Cloud on AWS?9:50 – The native AWS services Xtravirt h

Driving Innovative Employee Experiences - In this podcast from Cloud Insiders, VMware’s Workspace ONE is put under the spotlight. Digital workspace and EUC expert Curtis Brown provides answers to questions such as:What is VMware Workspace ONE?Why are applications so important to employee experience?What are some of the key considerations and planning steps to take if you’re about to embark on a journey to the digital workspace?What are the key business challenges that can be solved by a move to the digital workspace?What is VMware Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub and how is it supporting all use cases including bring your own device (BYOD) and corporate owned device?How is VMware addressing security needs in the digital workspace? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are living in an age of increasing pressures on the environment and numerous social and economic challenges. Everyone is talking about sustainability, reducing emissions, recycling, re-using and becoming carbon neutral. But what does all this mean in the world of IT and the tech sector?We caught up with Joe Baguley, VMware CTO and Andy Gomarsall MBE, Director at N2S (and former England rugby international) to discuss the environmental impact and sustainability in IT.Listen to the podcast to find out more about:What sustainability means in the world of IT and from the point of view of software and hardwareThe impact of cloud computing and virtualisation on the environmentThe savings and environmental impact of re-using, recycling and re-purposing hardware and componentsHow to find efficiencies in data centresThe issues around re-use versus recycling for hardwareVMware’s commitment and sustainability initiativesWhy we should be celebrating sustainability and key tips for getting started on this journey See a

This podcast takes a closer look at VMware Cloud on AWS from a consultants point of view. Having rolled up his sleeves and got under the bonnet of VMware Cloud on AWS, Xtravirt consultant, James Kilby, explains how his own views and opinions of VMware Cloud on AWS have changed since it first emerged on the hybrid cloud scene. Take a listen if you are keen to:Learn more about possible use cases for VMware Cloud on AWS (from being a popular choice for businesses looking to meet temporary bursts in demand, to its more obscure disaster avoidance as-a-service capabilities)Understand the true cost of VMware Cloud on AWS and decide for yourself whether it’s expensive or a great investmentGet an independent point of view on the speed of deploying VMware Cloud on AWSKnow more about VMware Cloud on AWS pricing – the pricing options available and how to make them work for your businessLearn more about some of the native AWS services and benefits they can bring, e.g. Amazon Route 53, Amazon Elastic Beanstalk an

Application transformation, containers, Docker, Kubernetes – how are these enabling busineses?In this episode, Elton Stoneman (Docker architect, Pluralsight author, Microsoft MVP) takes us on a journey of understanding on what application transformation and containers are, how Docker is enabling containerisation. the key use cases and tips on getting started.Special OfferWant to learn more about Docker? Elton is the author of ‘Learn Docker in a Month of Lunches’ published by Manning Publications under the Manning Early Access Program (MEAP). Cloud Insiders listeners can get a 40% on the book by using the discount code PODCLINS19. Click here to purchase the book.Handy resourcesBook: Learn Docker in a Month of LunchesPodcast: Tech Focus on DockerBlog: Introduction to ContainersBlog: Containers: The death of Virtual Machines? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Automation has come a long way from the days of pen and paper, flowcharts, code and scripts, and now with the release of VMware vRealize Automation (vRA) 8 it’s moved to another level. Easy to deploy, streamlined, user friendly and faster – in this podcast, Xtravirt Cloud Automation consultant Sam Perrin discusses what vRA 8 is all about and why it’s re-ignited his excitement and passion for automation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In February 2019 at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, VMware announced the launch of a new solution based on VMware’s NSX and AppDefense products called “VMware Service-Defined Firewall”. We’re joined in this podcast by Xtravirt Lead Consultant, Steve Wood, to discuss Software-Defined Firewall and the challenges it is addressing. Steve also explains the 7 layers of networking and how Service-Defined Firewall is boosting the power of micro-segmentation and protecting the network. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The networking and security challenges of the modern enterprise are evolving fast, but are enterprises keeping on top of the threats? How can solutions like VMware NSX help enterprises to protect their networks? Looking ahead, what do those at the forefront of the IT industry think the future has in store for networking and security?  These points and more are covered in this podcast, featuring Xtravirt CEO Gavin Jolliffe and VMware Director of Sales, Networking and Security (UK&I) Ian Jenkins.01:33 - The VMware NSX journey03:33 - Challenges and opportunities of NSX05:20 - How are businesses adapting to new security tools?07:58 - Understanding the perimeter09:00 - Hardening the interior – hotel or castle?11:28 - The move from NSX-V to NSX-T14:18 - Is NSX the universal ubiquitous aggregator?15:25 - Balancing progress with the traditional16:54 - Adapting the organisational structure19:00 - Where next for NSX?22:04 - Impact of NSX on cloud-native applications24:10 - Market adoption of NSX

Break out of the data centre and into the cloud with VMware's latest Network Virtualisation offering NSX-T. Also known as VMware NSX Data Center, NSX-T delivers virtualised networking and security entirely in software making it a key pillar of the SDDC. In this Tech Focus episode, Cloud Insiders host Stuart Robinson and Xtravirt Senior Consultant Graham Smith discuss what NSX-T is, the key use cases and what it means for the future of the data centre. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Data back up and protection is essential to an organisation and ensures data is always available and managed. But once backed up, how confident are you that it can be restored?In this episode we talk to Xtravirt Senior Consultant and Veeam Vanguard James Kilby about the importance of data back-up, protection and availability, why it should be high on the agenda, data legislation (GDPR) and what Veeam offer in the marketplace. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

IT has become an essential part of business and driving business success. In order to ensure effective IT operations and management, IT teams need to keep their finger on the pulse - this is where monitoring comes in. In this episode, Aylin Sali, CTO and Co-founder of Runecast and Xtravirt senior consultant, Simon Eady discuss why monitoring is a fundamental aspect of IT, the use cases and share tips for getting started  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you know if your infrastructure is working if you’re not monitoring it?This podcast is a Tech Focus on VMware vRealize® Operations™ - VMware’s operations management and monitoring product. In this episode, Xtravirt Senior Consultant Simon Eady. chats to Cloud Insiders host Stuart Robinson about IT infrastructure management and monitoring and why organisations shouldn’t underestimate it’s importance, after all it could save your bacon. Simon also talks to us about VMware vROps, what it is and how it works and how it can make a difference to effective monitoring.Links:https://vrealize.vmware.com/sample-exchange/https://marketplace.vmware.com/vsx/https://docs.vmware.com/https://labs.hol.vmware.com/HOL/catalogs/catalog/1212https://www.youtube.com/user/vmwaretv/videosRead more about the importance of IT infrastructure monitoring in Simon's blog See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This podcast features a report on VMworld Europe 2018 from Gavin Jolliffe, CEO, Xtravirt. Xtravirt are VMware’s Global Services Partner of the Year and Gavin joined VMware on the VMworld stage for the General Partner Session. Hear how VMware are working with it’s network of trusted partners to enable the rapid adoption of their market leading technologies and ensure end customers get maximum value from their IT investments. Learn how Xtravirt’s consultancy services are helping organisations to accelerate and de-risk their digital transformations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this Cloud Insiders episode, a Tech Focus on Docker - a tool designed to make it easier to create, deploy and run applications by using containers.  Find out what containers are, why organisations are using them and why Docker is the most popular platform for developers, with Cloud Insiders host Stuart Robinson and Xtravirt Senior Consultant Paul Kennard . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.