VMware Optimizes Software Delivery and Distribution with Virtual Appliance Solutions

New Offerings Include Enhanced Partner Program and Marketplace, VMware Studio Authoring Tool, and New Functionalities for Running and Operating Virtual Appliances

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, September 15, 2008— Today at VMworld 2008, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter, announced a robust set of offerings optimizing the development, deployment, and management of virtual appliances. These offerings, targeted at VMware customers, hardware appliance vendors, and software vendors, provide:

VMware Studio for virtual appliance authoring and packaging
VMware Ready Program for virtual appliance validation
VMware Infrastructure integration for virtual appliance updating and management

Virtual appliances are pre-built software solutions composed of one or more virtual machines that are packaged, maintained, updated, and managed as a unit. Using virtual appliances lowers development and distribution costs, accelerates time to market, and expands customer reach, providing an easy-to-use, more secure software delivery system – all while leveraging the Virtual Datacenter Operating System (VDC-OS) from VMware, VMware Infrastructure.

“VMware has created a set of virtual appliance offerings that will improve and simplify how IT professionals can manage their applications and IT infrastructure,” said Brian Byun, vice president, global partners and solutions, VMware. “This set of offerings provides tools for authoring, distributing, deploying, managing, and updating virtual appliances, while enhancing user experiences and guaranteeing service levels.”

“IBM and VMware have been working closely on developing VMware Ready virtual appliance solutions for Information On Demand,” said Arvind Krishna, vice president, data management and worldwide information management development, IBM. “IBM is making the Information On Demand Analytics solution, which includes Cognos 8 Business Intelligence Reporting and the InfoSphere Warehouse, available as a production virtual appliance. This allows our mutual customers to leverage virtualization to more efficiently unlock the business value from their information. VMware Ready virtual appliances are a building block for IBM solutions and services that target the small and medium business (SMB) market segment and emerging 'cloud' platforms."

Hardware appliance and software vendors that use virtual appliances can reduce development and testing time by selecting the optimal operating system (OS) for their software instead of developing software to be compatible with multiple OSes. They can also remove unneeded OS components for a thinner, more secure OS. Because virtual appliances are packaged as a single unit, customers can download the virtual appliance, and with one click, get a demonstration, evaluation, or fully-licensed application up and running without lengthy installations and configurations.

To read about vendor support of these new virtual appliance offerings, please visit: http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/va_vmworld_partner.html

“Virtual appliances have the potential to revolutionize the way customers will consume applications by simplifying deployment and management,” said Brett Waldman, research analyst, systems software at IDC. “With the launch of the VMware Ready Program for virtual appliances, VMware Studio, an upgraded Virtual Appliance Marketplace, and integration with VMware Infrastructure, VMware has broadened the path for creating, distributing, deploying and managing appliances. VMware Ready virtual appliances represent a potentially attractive approach to enforcing consistency to appliances, and if successful, give IT organizations a way to gauge the readiness of virtual appliances."

Virtual Appliance Authoring with VMware Studio
To assist in the creation of VMware Ready Virtual Appliances, VMware is launching a new authoring and management tool called VMware Studio that is available online as a free download. VMware Studio enables hardware appliance and software vendors to build customized virtual appliances that can be shipped in industry standard Open Virtualization Format (OVF), a format developed by VMware and other leaders in the virtualization field to enable efficient, flexible, and secure distribution of enterprise software, facilitating the mobility of virtual machines. VMware Studio provides a web-based console with quick-start templates to streamline the authoring process of virtual appliances. A command-line interface enables the automation of management tasks, and empowers VMware Studio to act as an extension of appliance vendors’ existing build and source control systems. VMware Studio also enables virtual appliance vendors to periodically publish updates directly to the deployed appliances, reducing the cost of on-going maintenance and providing customers with higher quality software. For more information about VMware Studio, please visit http://www.vmware.com/go/studio/.

VMware Ready Virtual Appliances
The VMware Ready Program for virtual appliances enables partners to validate virtual appliances that follow best practices and are optimized for VMware Infrastructure. By purchasing a VMware Ready virtual appliance, customers know they are obtaining a solution that is reliable, secure and ready-to-run in production. The VMware Ready virtual appliance ecosystem includes Operating System Vendors (OSVs) and virtual appliance authoring toolkit vendors. For more information on the VMware Ready Program for virtual appliances, please visit http://www.vmware.com/appliances/partners/.

“Virtual appliances simplify life for the end user by neatly packaging and integrating the application, middleware and operating system,” said Roger Levy, senior vice president and general manager, Open Platform Solutions at Novell. “When ISVs build an appliance through VMware Studio using SUSE Linux Enterprise, they can deliver the peace of mind that comes from a proven enterprise-class, fully supported operating system optimized for VMware virtualization. The VMware Ready program gives customers confidence that they are getting a reliable, secure and production-ready appliance. Customers who deploy VMware Ready virtual appliances powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise will realize the benefits of a simplified deployment, easier management and greater security while lowering their development costs.”

“As the industry's most widely deployed virtualization platform, today's launch of the VMware Ready Program will accelerate the adoption of virtual appliances across enterprise data centers,” said Billy Marshall, chief executive officer, rPath. “And in support of this initiative, rPath's rBuilder will allow application providers to develop and deploy VMware Ready virtual appliances.”

VMware Infrastructure Integration
VMware Ready virtual appliances seamlessly integrate into the industry’s most widely deployed virtualization platform, VMware Infrastructure. The first level of virtual appliance integration occurs through VMware Update Manager, which enables VMware Infrastructure to automatically update and manage virtual appliances individually or in groups, reducing administration time and complexity. Virtual appliances then leverage the advanced functionality of VMware Infrastructure, including simplified backup, high availability, disaster recovery, and VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), which can provide load balancing for more efficient utilization of hardware resources.

With more than 900 virtual appliances, the Virtual Appliance Marketplace represents a continuously growing ecosystem of virtual appliances that spans the areas of security, content and collaboration, infrastructure, database management, and networking.

About VMworld 2008
VMworld 2008, now in its fifth year, with more than 14,000 attendees and 206 sponsors and exhibitors, is the must-attend event for IT professionals looking for actionable ideas, innovative products and best practices for virtualizing the enterprise – from the desktop to the datacenter. Under the theme, "Virtually Anything is Possible," VMworld celebrates what is happening today and what the future of virtualization holds. Keynotes are being given by Platinum Sponsors Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, NEC, NetApp, Symantec and VMware. VMworld features more than 285 breakout sessions and hands-on labs, led by VMware and industry professionals, and is being held September 15-18 at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

About VMware
VMware (NYSE: VMW) is the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter. Customers of all sizes rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2007 revenues of $1.3 billion, more than 120,000 customers and nearly 18,000 partners, VMware is one of the fastest growing public software companies. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is majority-owned by EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) and on the web at www.vmware.com.

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VMware and VMware Ready are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release which are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate, but are not limited, to new product and technology initiatives, introduction of new virtualization products, market adoption and deployment of VMware products and architecture, levels of demand for VMware products including market size and leadership, ongoing development and delivery of innovative new products and applications and capabilities of VMware products and technologies. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in consumer or information technology spending; (iii) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures, industry consolidation, entry of new competitors into the virtualization market, and new product and marketing initiatives by our competitors; (iv) our customers’ ability to develop, and to transition to, new products, (v) the uncertainty of customer acceptance of emerging technology; (vi) rapid technological and market changes in virtualization software; (vii) uncertainties in product development timelines; (viii) our ability to resolve technical challenges; (ix) VMware’s relationship with EMC Corporation, and EMC’s ability to control matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of VMware’s board members; (x) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (xi) our ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; and (xii) the impact of fluctuating currency exchange rates. These forward looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect as well as other risks detailed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. VMware disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

The information on this press release is intended to outline our general product direction and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The information on this press release is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion.