EMC Expands VSPEX Ecosystem With Validation Of Noncore Products, Services

EMC has expanded its VSPEX reference architecture to include validation of add-on hardware and software outside the core server, storage, networking and virtualization components normally associated with VSPEX.

The first add-on to be EMC VSPEX Lab Validated is the integrated power management solutions suite from Eaton, said CurtizGangi, director of U.S. channels for Eaton's data center sales segment.

"Power is usually the forgotten son of the data center," Gangi told CRN. "We appreciate that EMC understands this."

[Related: EMC Acquires Server-Side Flash Developer DSSD , Plans 2015 Product Release]

Eaton is one of a number of recently validated add-ons to VSPEX, said Pete Eggimann, director of the VSPEX EcoSystem program at EMC.

Also included is Netformx, the San Jose, Calif.-based provider of technology to streamline the ability to quote and deploy technology like VSPEX. "Working with Netformx, solution providers can prepare a quote within an hour," Eggimann said.

EMC has also validated QualiSystems, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of the CloudShell unified orchestration and workflow automation platform, Eggimann said.

"Once the VSPEX design is set, it goes to the channel," he said. "The order goes to the distributor for racking and stacking. QualiSystems does the provisioning and workflow from bare metal to provisioning the virtual machines."

EMC's VSPEX validation of components from companies like Eaton is important when talking to customers, said David Lane, solutions architect manager at Promedia Technology Services, a Little Falls, N.J.-based solution provider and partner to both EMC and Eaton.

The idea of VSPEX is in many ways a marketing term given that partners have been putting together the key components including EMC storage, Cisco UCS servers and networking, and VMware virtualization technology for years, Lane said.

"But customers like it," he said. "Validating components for VSPEX gives customers confidence in the stack, especially with the new Eaton software. As important as the hardware is, it's the software tools that will make VSPEX successful."

Validating Eaton's power management technology opens a lot of doors for Promedia Technology Services, Lane said.

"We're in New Jersey," he said. "We're still facing the issues related to Superstorm Sandy . There's still a lot of power equipment to replace. Working with VSPEX is an opportunity to bring the new Eaton software in."

Eaton prefers to talk about solutions such as VSPEX, and not about speeds and feeds, Gangi said.

"From a power perspective, we're trying to mitigate risk in VSPEX," Gangi said. "It's not just hardware integration -- cables and so on -- but also from the software perspective. Our software integrates into different software layers. So, for example, if there's an anomaly, we can help migrate virtual machines to other data centers or to the cloud."

Now that Eaton is VSPEX-validated, the company is offering extra incentives to its channel partners, Gangi said.

"We have a program for channel partners that lets them register projects through their distributors while we help validate the project and the bill of material," he said. "And when partners register an Eaton deal tied to a VSPEX, they will get about four times their normal deal registration bonus."

PUBLISHED MAY 30, 2014