EMC, VMware spin off PaaS entity

Virtualisation company VMware and enterprise storage provider EMC plan to set up a virtual organisation focused on big data and cloud application platforms, using staff, technology and programs sourced from both companies.

Named the Pivotal Initiative, the virtual organisation will be led by EMC chief strategy officer Paul Maritz and have united resources by second quarter of next year. Its operating structure is yet to be determined.

Employees from EMC's Greenplum and Pivotal Labs groups will join the initiative, together with VMware's vFabric (including Spring, Gemfire, Cloud Foundry and Cetas). All in all, 600 workers from VMware and 800 from EMC will be part of the Pivotal Initiative.

VMware hopes the Pivotal Initiative will provide focus on delivering the software defined data centre as well as end-user computing, two areas in which it sees opportunity for growth.

Solutions from the project will be optmised for VMware's vCloud suite.

Likewise, EMC wants the Pivotal Initiative to maximise its investment in businesses and technologies aimed at big data and analytics, cloud application services or PaaS, as well as the software defined data centre.

The joint project is subject to regulatory approval in the European Union and elsewhere.

The two companies promised no interruptions for existing products and services during the alignment period.

Further updates on the project are to be provided in the first quarter of next year.