VCE uncertainty has fuelled Flexpod enquiries, says ANS

Flexpod partner ANS says Dell-EMC deal is driving VCE customers into its arms

Uncertainty over the future of VCE is driving customers into the arms of rival converged infrastructure outfit Flexpod, according to one of Flexpod's partners.

Paul Sweeney, chief executive of ANS (pictured), claimed his firm had seen a spike in inbound enquiries for Flexpod since Dell announced its proposed acquisition of VCE parent EMC last month.

Although EMC and Cisco's respective CEOs swiftly released a joint statement saying the two companies are "completely committed to VCE", some customers harbour doubts over Cisco's long-term stance on the alliance, Sweeney said.

"We've had inbound enquiries from people who were looking at [VCE brand] Vblock and have thought ‘hang on, we better look at Flexpod'," Sweeney said.

"They're nervous about the future of that relationship long term. If they're starting on a five-year strategy, after two years, will Dell replace the Cisco compute component? It's that uncertainty that is leading people pick up the phone."

In the summer, ANS launched a private cloud solution, RAPID, built on Flexpod, an integrated computing, networking and storage solution developed by Cisco and NetApp. RAPID is designed to compete head to head with VCE in the enterprise space.

"[The Dell acquisition] is a perfect opportunity for our sales team to go out and start knocking on doors and creating demand for Flexpod," Sweeney said.

Cisco last year cut its stake in VCE to 10 per cent but chief executive Chuck Robbins pledged his commitment to the alliance in a joint statement to customers and partners with EMC boss David Goulden in the wake of the Dell takeover.

"VCE will be a very important part of the new combined company and EMC and Cisco are committed to working together to ensure that we continue to deliver the industry's best Converged Infrastructure customer experience," the joint statement read.

The duo added: "Vblock will remain exclusively based on Cisco UCS servers, Nexus networking and ACI technology. EMC remains committed to utilising Cisco networking and the ACI architecture throughout the VCE offering portfolio."