VMworld 2021 digital.  Will you be in attendance?  Make sure you check out ControlUp!

VMworld, the world's largest virtualization and cloud computing event hosted every year by VMware, is back again for 2021 in a digital setting.  And one of the show sponsors this year is a company called ControlUp.

ControlUp’s Digital Employee Experience management platform gives IT increased visibility and control over employees’ digital experience, no matter where they work—in the office, from home or on the road—or the type of workspace they use: virtual, physical or cloud.  ControlUp analytics harnesses anonymous operational metadata from thousands of organizations to help IT and help desk teams make informative, data-driven decisions.

Are you gearing up for VMworld 2021?  Get started now by reading this exclusive interview with Yoni Avital, CPO & Co-Founder of ControlUp, to learn more, and start getting excited for what's to come!

VMblog:  Your company is sponsoring this year's VMworld 2021 digital event.  Can you talk about what that sponsorship looks like?

Yoni Avital:  Yes! We're really excited about it. We all have to face the fact that the world-and the way we work in that world-is forever changed. Solutions that manage the digital employee experience are going to be key in facilitating productivity for the hybrid and remote workforce. ControlUp has added technologies that enable Horizon users to manage employees' digital experience, so that everyone can breathe easy and work without frustration. As a Gold-level sponsor, we'll have our virtual booth where you can learn about all the ways ControlUp can help you deliver a great digital experience (and you can meet "Todd, from IT"!) and save you lots of money, too. We can't wait!

VMblog:  What type of things will people be able to do and find at your virtual booth this year? 

Avital:  There will be lots going on! There will be demos of all ControlUp can do-including ControlUp Remote DX, which allows IT to spot problems with employees' home networks, such as network latency, Wi-Fi strength and speed, and so on. We'll also be showcasing ControlUp Scoutbees, our proactive synthetic testing application, which alerts IT of any problems there might be with your EUC virtual apps and desktops, and also tests important network resources. We'll also have Tom Fenton and Trentent Tye, two of our chief technologists, on hand to present "The Top 5 EUC Challenges & How ControlUp Helps Solve Them" which attendees can watch, on-demand, at any time during the event. Their presentations are always great and informative (and I'm told there will be pyrotechnics of some sort; we'll all just have to tune in and see, won't we?)

VMblog:  And do you have any speaking sessions during the event?  If so, can you give us the details?

Avital:  Yep! We've got "The Top 5 EUC Challenges & How ControlUp Can Help You Solve Them," featuring Tom Fenton and Trentent Tye. As you know, VMware Horizon is made up of many interrelated components. If any of these components fails or behaves sub-optimally, the end-user experience may be impacted. In their session, Tom and Trentent will present a comprehensive view of a Horizon environment and show how ControlUp allows administrators to quickly identify problems, regardless of which component is causing the issue.

VMblog:  Are you giving away any prizes at your virtual booth or participating in any prize giveaways?

Avital:  Of course! No ControlUp event would be complete without a little swag. We'll be giving away a $500 Amazon gift card each day, so be sure to "stop by" the booth and check everything out!

VMblog:  Many attendees are champing at the bit to get back to a physical VMworld event.  Is your company ready for the same?

Avital:  Of course we all miss seeing our community members and the hustle and bustle of VMworld (not to mention all the parties!) But keeping everyone safe is far more important. We'll get back there one day, but for now, keeping our team members safe and healthy is our top priority.

VMblog:  What are you personally most interested in seeing or learning at VMworld 2021 digital?

Avital:  Over the past year and a half, with the world shifting to an almost all-remote work model, it's only natural that there's been an increased focus on user experience. I'm really excited about the love that end-user computing is getting and can't wait to see what everyone is bringing to the table.

VMblog:  Can you give us the high-level rundown of your company's technology offerings? What kind of message would a virtual attendee hear from you?

Avital:  Put simply, ControlUp makes life for your IT team-and your employees-easier. We give IT the tools they need to deliver a great digital employee experience, so everyone, IT included, can stay productive and frustration-free. Our solutions run the gamut from monitoring IT infrastructure, end to end, to ensuring employees' can work in an environment that runs as smoothly as when they're in the office. ControlUp is low cost, easy to deploy, and you can be up and running in less time than it takes to order a pizza.

VMblog:  Talking about your product solutions, can you give readers a few examples of how your offerings are unique?  What are your differentiators?

Avital:  For one thing, ControlUp monitors Horizon environments in real time. And when we say "real time," that is exactly what we mean: our metrics are updated every three seconds, so you always get an exact picture of what's happening at any given moment (other solutions, regardless of what they say, don't do this). ControlUp also offers Remote DX, which gives unique insights into end-users' home networks and enables IT to spot problems that might be affecting their digital experience. When combined with ControlUp Scoutbees, which proactively monitors and tests applications, desktops, and network resources, ControlUp makes it possible for IT to effectively manage the digital employee experience, and also do it inexpensively.

VMblog:  Normally, VMworld is the time of year that people in this industry announce a new product or product update.  Do you have anything new that you've recently announced or plan to announce?  Can you give us the details?

Avital:  We've definitely got some big news on the horizon (no pun intended), but for now, mum's the word (the cat will be out of the bag soon enough)!

VMblog:  How does your company work with VMware?  Where do you fit within the VMware ecosystem?

Avital:  ControlUp works seamlessly with VMware Horizon, enabling IT to quickly spot anomalies in their environments and fix them, so their end-users will feel little to no impact.

We've been partnering with VMware for about a year and a half now, with the company offering ControlUp solutions to Horizon users directly. The partnership has been fruitful for both companies, and we can't wait to see what we'll be able to accomplish together in the future. 

VMblog:  VMware may be covering things in their keynote, but what big changes or trends do you see taking shape in the industry for 2021 and heading into 2022?

Avital:  I've touched on it several times here, but heading into 2022 and beyond, Digital Employee Experience management (DEX) tools are going to be increasingly important. The fact is that we may never return to traditional office environments (at least not for a long time). Making sure that employees are able to work productively and without frustration-so IT teams aren't under so much pressure-is going to be the name of the game. And ControlUp can do exactly that.

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