VMware Cloud Index: 88 percent of Thai Respondents Believe Cloud and ‘as-a-Service’ Approaches are Helping Drive IT/Business Improvements.

• Cloud services will have significant impact on Thai organizations over the next
2-3 years
• Need to address rising expectation of customers and improving customer satisfaction
• Improving IT efficiency and responsiveness is a top priority

BANGKOK, November 5, 2013 — VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced the results of the 4th annual VMware Cloud Index in Thailand. The results of VMware Cloud Index 2013 revealed that cloud adoption rates in Thailand are rising. 88 percent of respondents have already adopted cloud solutions or approaches. Among major technology trends that were identified, 78 percent of Thailand respondents believe a software-defined approach to implementing and managing datacenter resources (servers, storage, networks) will have a significant impact on their organizations over the next 2-3 years.

The VMware Cloud Index is commissioned by VMware and conducted by Forrester Consulting. It surveyed 2,785 senior IT and business decision-makers in 10 Asia Pacific countries including 174 Thai respondents. The results of the study were presented at the annual VMware Solutions Symposium (VSS) in Bangkok.

Cloud computing approaches are helping drive IT/Business improvements in Thailand
The VMware Cloud Index 2013 revealed that cloud computing is critical for gaining a competitive business advantage for many Thai companies. Lowering upfront procurement costs for new IT capabilities and resources (74 percent) is the most critical for improving business/IT operations. Respondents also believed that cloud computing has the ability to optimize existing IT efficiency and effectiveness (91 percent) and 88 percent of them think that the use of cloud and ‘as-a-service’ approaches will have an impact on their businesses in the next 2-3 years.

“At VMware, our vision is centered on empowering IT to help organizations become more efficient, leaner and profitable. By embracing the benefits of cloud and enabling IT to build a radically simpler and more efficient IT infrastructure, businesses can maximize their performance and cost savings,” said Dr. Chawapol Jariyawiroj, Country Manager Thailand and Indochina, VMware Thailand.

Thailand respondents rate fast provisioning and zero downtime as the highest priorities for both storage and networking, well ahead of both performance and agility, together with Philippines and Vietnam. The significance of cloud computing in Thailand was highlighted in the flood crisis in end 2011, in which organizations realized the need for risk management with the use of cloud technology for backup and disaster recovery. Thai businesses also recognized that IT has a significant role to play in enabling Thai companies to not just reap the benefits of IT as a service and reducing capital expenditure but also in disaster recovery and business continuity.

Businesses see IT as a change enabler
According to the survey, 82 percent of respondents believe that IT is viewed as a change enabler and source of business value to the organization.

Most respondents (83 percent) also consider the need to address rising expectations of customers and improving customer satisfaction to be a top business priority over the next 12 months – second only to improving the quality and capabilities of their products whilst 88 percent confirm that business units often go around IT in order to source technology or business applications directly. Additionally, more than half of respondents believe the perceived credibility, influence and power of the CIO is increasing while only 6percent believe it is decreasing.

IT organization must more quickly and cost-effectively provision services to the business or risk getting marginalized

While businesses in Thailand recognize the importance of cloud as a business enabler, most Thailand IT and business decision-makers (80 percent) feel that IT is too slow and that their IT organization must provision services more quickly and cost-effectively to the business or risk getting marginalized.

“Only 24 percent of respondents believe their current IT investments are both sufficient and properly aligned, even though most of the respondents (90 percent) believe that the projects they are working on now or expect to work on in 2-3 years will be critical to the ongoing success of their companies,” said Dr. Jariyawiroj. “We believe that IT has the potential to make a significant impact on the Thai economy and want to help businesses reap the benefits of cloud computing.”

About the VMware Cloud Index
VMware Cloud Index 2013 is a study conducted across Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) by Forrester Consulting. This is the fourth annual iteration of research that the VMware communications team in Asia Pacific (AP) has commissioned. This study surveyed 2,785 senior IT and business decision-makers in 10 AP countries/ regions: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Philippines and Vietnam were new to this year’s study.

The focus for 2013 has been extended to include “Next Generation Datacenters”, with a particular focus on:
• The perceived credibility and influence of CIO’s within AP organizations
• Business expectations of IT and the impact on data center strategies
• Approaches and priorities for enabling improved service provisioning

About VMware
VMware is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2011 revenues of $3.77 billion, VMware has more than 400,000 customers and 55,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

VMware and VMworld 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 organizations. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.