Vendorwag Reloaded: Liquidware Labs
It’s back – Vendorwag! So why the 3-year hiatus? Well, I felt whilst I was working with VMware that spending precious time working with other vendors wasn’t really very ethical. VMware employed me to promote VMware, not other vendors after all. Additionally, my first role at VMware was in the competition team – helping VMware folks handle competitive situations. It seemed a bit hypocritical in my day job, helping to defeat the competition whilst at the same time being all lovey-dovey with the same competitors here on my personal blog. Anyway, now I’m in my Adult Gap Year and a free-agent again, I felt it was finally OK to crank-up the Vendorwag. Plus I see it as a good way to keep in touch with the wider industry whilst I’m off being creative.
For those of you have been round the block for a while in the virtualization space like me, Liquidware Labs has an interesting pedigree. One of the co-founders is David Bieneman – who came to my attention when he found the VizionCore company (it went on to be acquired by Quest, and then Dell). I’ve had the pleasure of meeting David at the London VMUG – and that was in the previous decade. Yes. We are really getting that old…
Liquidware Labs positions themselves as a desktop transformation company (hence Transforming the Desktop!), and see themselves as solving the thorny problems of profile management (ProfileUnity), Application Layering (FlexApp), Monitoring and Diagnostics (Stratusphere) of existing environments in pre-transformation assessments, as well as diagnosing typical problems once the desktop transformation has gone live to users. The technology works for physical, virtual or cloud hosted desktops – as well as being compatible with the popular VMware and Citrix EUC suites.
The Vendorwag is slipping comfortably back into its original format – with an Elevator Pitch, Product Lowdown and Techknowledgy Demo strands. Each video is really intended for a different audience or character.
You can watch the videos embedded here on my blog, alternatively if you prefer you can subscribe to the Chinwag/Vendorwag podcast. If your specifically interested in the vendorwag I would recommend the videos – because they help complement the audio element substantially, and of course a demo without being able to see the screen – will stretch your powers of imagination!
Podcast Version Links:
The Elevator Pitch
The Elevator Pitch is a high-level overview of Liquidware Labs value proposition. It’s some elevator because the video runs to 30mins! That would be some skyscraper! You can see the Elevator Pitch as the kind of video discussion you point your senior management at – for those people who aren’t concerned how the product works or indeed what it even looks like – just what it can do for the business.
J.Tyler “T. Rex” Rohrer is one of Liquidware Labs Co-Founders with a focus on strategic Alliances. Tyler Rohrer helped co-found Liquidware Labs after leaving a key role within VMware’s Enterprise Desktop Team. Previously, he was a partner at FOEDUS, which was acquired by VMware. Tyler heads up the Strategic Alliance program and is engaged in managing the company’s relationships with major platform and storage partners.
[Note: To see us in glorious TechnoColour and Panovision – make the video full-screen and make sure HD quality is selected]
The Product Lowdown
For the more ‘technically” mind the Product Lowdown talks about the product – what they can do and what their capabilities are. This video will be of interest to those who will eventually press buttons and knobs in the software, or the kind of person manages a team who will do that for them. Increasingly people are delegating tasks to others, but that can lead quickly to a “de-skilling” – or what I sometimes paraphrase as “I spend so much time doing high-level architecting, I don’t know how stuff works anymore!!!”. You know that anxiety we all have as we get older and “mature”, that our technical skills aren’t sharp as they once were. Hopefully this video will help you understand the technical challenges, advantages and disadvantages – and leave you being able to talk the talk (and be credible), even if you through with walking the walk.
Jason E. Smith, VP, Product Marketing. Previously an owner of Entrigue Systems, which was acquired by Liquidware Labs after its founding in 2009, Jason E. Smith currently heads the company’s Product Marketing team. In this role, he works strategically with Product Management, and focuses on go-to-market strategies for the company. Jason’s previous experience includes external strategic product and marketing consulting for Citrix, Red Hat, Scriptlogic, UltraBac Software, Internet Security Systems, and RES Software. Jason is a frequent speaker on technology trends in desktop computing. Recent speaker engagements include Citrix Synergy, VMworld, and VMware Partner Exchange, as well as numerous local CUGC and VMUG events.
[Note: To see us in glorious TechnoColour and Panovision – make the video full-screen and make sure HD quality is selected]
The Techknowledgey Demo
Like me you’re probably fine with a little theory, but all theory and no practical – can after while make you feel like you’re loosing grip with the real world. I don’t know about you – but once I have got the first principles of what technology does and how it works – I need to see it in action. That’s where the Techknowledgey Demo comes in. See the technology in action on screen, often visually illustrating the theoretical principals outlined in the Product Lowdown.
Jason Mattox, CTO is well-known in the virtualization community for his world-class knowledge and leadership in end user computing. In his role as CTO, Jason actively drives product development and product roadmaps for the company. What I personally love is the fact that Liquidware Labs selected their CTO to deliver the demo. How often does that happen now in our industry? Nowadays most C-class executives of software are so far removed from the coal-face of technology they would have to get one of their “minions” (the SE who actually does know how the product works!) to do it for them.
[Note: To see us in glorious TechnoColour and Panovision – make the video full-screen and make sure HD quality is selected]