About 7 weeks ago I wrote a post detailing my frustration at the way in which VMware’s NSX was being trickled out into the market place and the hefty caveats that where involved in getting ones hands on NSX…even for dev and test purposes…The basis of my arguement was that while I understood the general stratagy around the go to market I felt that the NSBU was shooting themselved in the feet by not allowing select and trusted partners with better access to the NSX platform.
That post ended up being well read, well supported and there was a fair bit of noise made in social media circles with people sharing stories of similar frustration. I was encouraged to hear that, for the most…even those within the VMware NSX team where not completely happy with the way in which it’s availability had been restricted. Making things even worse was the increased social media noise about NSX training Sessions and increasing blog content…which only served to tease myself and others.
A couple of weeks after that post my company (ZettaGrid) started negotiations with the local NSBU team to make them try and understand our specific circumstances and requirements to use the NSX platform to enhance our already solid VMware backed Service Provider offerings. As I commented on previously…I felt that through a proven record of innovating and bringing VMware products (like vCloud Director) successfully to market, we could employ those same proven processes and apply them to NSX. That said, there was no need for a paid PoC and we felt we just needed the software and basically start to tear it apart in our labs.
So…after a few weeks of successful negotiations I have gone from a sense of frustration to an extreme sense of privilege. Being careful not to gloat for those that still are fighting to have NSX made more readily available, I understand that ZettaGrid and myself (while not withstanding the facts that there is absolute merit based on the position ZettaGrid holds in the ANZ IaaS space) are in a very good position to have NSX deployed in our labs ready for testing and production.
Again, it’s been an interesting journey to get from disappointment and frustration to where I am now…I don’t for a second take for granted how lucky I am to work for a company that has placed me in a position to be one of the few (relatively speaking) at the moment to have NSX. I would encourage those that are still chasing down a deal with the NSBU to keep on prodding…but understand that there are good reasons for the selective release and you must have the backing and justification to warrant access to the software as well as a proven track record as a trusted VMware Partner with a history of successful delivery.
I must admit that I haven’t felt this excited and raw about a piece of software since I first looked at vCloud Director…and even that to be fair doesn’t compare to the excitement I have already generated from only just scratching the surface of NSX…the potential is unbelievable.
Many thanks to Anthony Burke and the Australian NSBU Team for their support…I will be starting to post a couple of NSX related articles over the next few weeks to compliment the good work already being done out there in the community to educate.
NSX Related Content:
http://networkinferno.net/nsx-compendium
http://wahlnetwork.com/category/deep-dives/working-with-nsx/
