With the EMEA edition of Omnissa ONE behind us, it took me a couple of days to fully absorb everything to be able to reflect on the event. The reason it took me a couple of days is simple: those two days (more on that later) were intense!
This is not because of all the "level 300" sessions that were given, with technical deep dives, demos, and t-shirt cannons, because those weren't there but were undoubtedly missed by some attendees. But because of the amount of information that was presented and shared.
As a Dutch citizen, it felt strange to stay in the country instead of flying to Barcelona. But a famous Dutch soccer player once said, "Every disadvantage has an advantage." In this case, it was great to see many familiar faces from both customers and the community, which I surely would've missed in a venue as large as the Fira Barcelona Gran Via.
Day 1 - Customer/Partner Technical Advisory Board
My highlight of VMware Explore was always the two days before the event, during which VMware organized its Customer Technical Advisory Board (CTAB). During CTAB, customers (and some partners) could interact with product managers about their experiences with the current state of the products, gain insights on the short—and long-term roadmaps, and provide direct feedback on that roadmap.
One change that Omnissa made was to officially open it to customers and partners simultaneously by introducing the partner technical advisory board (PTAB).
The day started early, at 08:00, with the first session, and the packed schedule required us even to fill up our plates for lunch and return to our seats for an interesting session about the reorganization of Omnissa's support organization.
This session featured full transparency regarding the activities taking place and how success is being measured, which aids in building trust.
Another change was made to how feedback was gathered during the different sessions. Asking open- and closed-ended questions relevant to the topic leads to a new and refreshing form of interaction.
Day 2 - Omnissa ONE main event
The official main event started with the general session by Omnissa's CEO, Shankar Iyer. During this session, he looked back at Omnissa's roots but primarily focused on its future.
One of the highlights during the general session was the announcement of the partnership between Omnissa and CrowdStrike. When discussing (virtual) endpoints, security is always a topic that is touched upon. By partnering with a company with a proven track record in the industry and integrating both solutions, a new level of visibility and prevention can be achieved.
Another highlight is the official introduction of Omni, a virtual assistant powered by AI that is deeply integrated into the Omnissa platform. Initially, interactions with Omni will be based on chat, but future capabilities will allow Omni to take on the role of trusted advisor, providing you with actionable recommendations to ultimately become a member of the team and following up on those very recommendations by itself.
While this might sound like a way to join in on the latest trend, it actually makes perfect sense when considering the autonomous workspace vision shared a few years ago.
Wrapping up
While some will look back at their memories of VMworld or VMware Explore and feel like they missed out on those deep technical sessions, their 10.000 steps a day, or tapas.
Omnissa's choice to develop a new identity is good, as it retains some of the things that "worked" while incorporating new elements in what we now know as Omnissa ONE.
Omnissa had one job during the event: to give customers, partners, and tech enthusiasts a better sense of the company's direction and how this (potentially) affects everyone's favorite products while regaining their trust, which might have been negatively affected by the acquisition of VMware and the events that followed.
Based on my own experiences and what I heard from other attendees during the event, Omnissa did just that. As a company still under development, what they managed to achieve on such short notice is impressive, and it leaves me excited for the next edition of Omnissa ONE!
While the event may be over, we at ITQ aren't done yet! We are still releasing video footage recorded during the event. In addition, we will post more articles regarding the different announcements and how we believe they will impact customers.
