Rational Survivability

…is still firewalls and SSL.

It is so tempting to write about VMware‘s overarching strategy of enterprise and cloud domination, but this blog entry really speaks to an important foundational element in their stack of offerings which was released today: Horizon App Manager.

Check out @Scobleizer’s interview with Noel Wasmer (Dir. of Product Management for VMware) on the ins-and-outs of HAM.

Frankly, federated identity and application entitlement is not new.

Connecting and extending identities from inside the enterprise using native directory services to external applications (SaaS or otherwise) is also not new.

What’s “new” with VMware’s Horizon App Manager is that we see the convergence and well-sorted integration of a service-driven federated identity capability that ties together enterprise “web” and “cloud” (*cough*)-based SaaS applications with multi-platform device mobility powered by the underpinnings of freshly-architected virtualization and cloud architecture.  All delivered as a service (SaaS) by VMware for $30 per user/per year.

[Update: @reillyusa and I were tweeting back and forth about the inside -> out versus outside -> in integration capabilities of HAM.  The SAML Assertions/OAuth integration seems to suggest this is possible.  Moreover, as I alluded to above, solutions exist today which integrate classical VPN capabilities with SaaS offers that provide SAML assertions and SaaS identity proxying (access control) to well-known applications like SalesForce.  Here’s one, for example.  I simply don’t have any hands-on experience with HAM or any deeper knowledge than what’s publicly available to comment further — hence the “Quick Ping.”]

Horizon App Manager really is a foundational component that will tie together the various components of  VMware’s stack offers for seamless operation including such products/services as Zimbra, Mozy, SlideRocket, CloudFoundry, View, etc.  I predict even more interesting integration potential with components such as elements of the vShield suite — providing identity-enabled security policies and entitlement at the edge to provision services in vCloud Director deployments, for example (esp. now that they’ve acquired NeoAccel for SSL VPN integration with Edge.)

“Securely extending the enterprise to the Cloud” (and vice versa) is a theme we’ll hear more and more from VMware.  Whether this thin client, virtual machines, SaaS applications, PaaS capabilities, etc., fundamentally what we all know is that for the enterprise to be able to assert control to enable “security” and compliance, we need entitlement.

I think VMware — as a trusted component in most enterprises — has the traction to encourage the growth of their supported applications in their catalog ecosystem which will in turn make the enterprise excited about using it.

This may not seem like it’s huge — especially to vendors in the IAM space or even Microsoft — but given the footprint VMware has in the enterprise and where they want to go in the cloud, it’s going to be big.

/Hoff

(P.S. It *is* interesting to note that this is a SaaS offer with an enterprise virtual appliance connector.  It’s rumored this came from the TriCipher acquisition.  I’ll leave that little nugget as a tickle…)

(P.P.S. You know what I want? I want a consumer version of this service so I can use it in conjunction with or in lieu of 1Password. Please.  Don’t need AD integration, clearly)

Related articles

• VMware boots up Horizon cloudy app manager (go.theregister.com)
• VMware Is The New Microsoft, Just Without an OS (gigaom.com)
• Cloud Computing, Open* and the Integrator’s Dilemma (rationalsurvivability.com)

• VMware Is The New Microsoft, Just Without an OS (gigaom.com)
• Cloud Computing, Open* and the Integrator’s Dilemma (rationalsurvivability.com)

Whilst at CloudConnect I filmed some comments with Intel, RSA, Terremark and HyTrust on Intel’s Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) and its implications in the Cloud Computing space specific to “trusted cloud” and using the underlying TPM present in many of today’s compute platforms.

The 30 minute session got cut down into more consumable sound bites, but combined with the other speakers, it does a good job setting the stage for more discussions regarding this important technology.

I’ve written previously on cloud and TXT with respect to measured launch environments and work done by RSA, Intel and VMware: More On High Assurance (via TPM) Cloud Environments. Hopefully we’ll see more adoption soon.

Related articles

• Video: Intel’s Cloud Computing Vision (insidehpc.com)

OK, that’s not really a question, it’s a bit of a giddy, self-referential, fanboi-ish anouncement.

In the April 2011 “How It Works” issue of Popular Science, a magazine I’ve loved since I was a kid, Marie Pacella wrote a great story on security and cloud computing.

I was thrilled to be included in several sections and for once I’m not bashful about tooting my own horn — this is so cool to me personally!

The sections that went through editing got cut down quite bit, but originally the drafts included some heavier details on the mechanics and some more meaty sections on technical elements (and theoretical stuff,) but I think Marie and the editors did a great job.  The graphics were awesome, also.

At any rate, if you subscribe to the magazine or better yet have the iPad application (which is awesome,) you can check it out.

Don’t have an iPad or the magazine?  Read the story here