Last night I had the whole VDIworks team on the call. Susannah, Amir, Rick, Barry and Carl. So I spoke to the execs and got a better idea of why did they choose to separate the two activities. a quick look at Rick's profile (Other execs, you can see in the Management section):
Rick Hoffman is president and chief executive officer at VDIworks. Rick will lead the company's product development, marketing, finance, sales, and partner teams as it meets the growing market demand for its virtual desktop infrastructure solutions.
Rick has more than 26 years of experience in both hardware and software development at some of the industry's leading technology organizations. Previously CEO and vice president of product development at ClearCube, he was responsible for the product strategy behind ClearCube's successful expansion from a hardware company into a leading provider of centralized computing solutions.
Prior to joining ClearCube in 2001, Rick spent five years at Dell Computer in a number of strategic roles, including director and general manager of the Linux Systems Group and director of software for the Server Group. During his time at Dell, he was responsible for developing and launching the award-winning Dell OpenManage set of products, and for server operating systems and high-performance computing development. Prior to Dell, Rick spent 15 years at IBM in the RS/6000 division, where he was responsible for hardware, software and solutions development in various middle management positions.
Rick received his BS in Electrical Engineering and his MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He serves on the advisory board of Any Baby Can and a member of the MIS group.
- What is ClearCube announcing?
ClearCube today announced that its software business is being spun-off and launched as an independent new company called VDIworks. Built on five generations of proven success within enterprise production environments, VDIworks delivers one of the most comprehensive, flexible software management platforms for creating, deploying and managing virtual desktop infrastructure. ClearCube, on the other hand, will continue to provide its complete solutions for centralized desktop computing, including end-to-end desktop virtualization. As independent companies, both ClearCube and VDIworks will maximize their business potential and gain the flexibility to meet the rapidly growing demands of their respective target markets.
- What is the lineup? Who heads what?
Rick Hoffman will become the new President and CEO of VDIworks. A seasoned executive management team joins Rick on the VDIworks side, including Chief Technology Officer Amir Husain, Barry Hutt, vice president of professional services and business development, and vice president of Marketing Susannah Kirksey.
ClearCube also announced today that COO Randy Printz has been promoted to president and chief executive officer. His team includes Doug Layne, worldwide vice president of sales and marketing, and Jeana Thomas, senior director of alliances and channels.
- Why did we split the hardware and software LOBs?
There are a number of reasons behind the spin off. First of all, it maximizes the opportunities for both companies especially with its partnerships. Second, it allows both groups to focus on meeting the growing demand from the market with respect to VDI as well as Hosted Desktop Computing. While finally it allows both groups to better serve its customers with independent offerings.
- Won't the software LOB cannibalize the hardware LOB?
On the contrary, the VDIworks company will be able to focus on delivering the most competitive and differentiated products for managing VDI environments. ClearCube through its OEMing of the software will be able to take advantage of the VDIworks leadership and provide even stronger solutions.
- What is your APAC strategy? Do you want to go to this new customer or rely on the customer to find you?
Both ClearCube and VDIworks are global companies with partners around the world. They will continue to build on these partnerships to deliver the products and services needed to enable VDI and Hosted Desktop solutions in the APAC regions.
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