Your effective implementation of virtualization can absolutely save your organization a massive amount of resources. You can simulate various hardware configurations without ever having to buy additional hardware nor would you need to allocate any additional human resources to assemble or configure them.

Once you've fully understood and appreciated the value proposition behind a successful virtual computing competency, you'll likely be ready to hire some VMware specialists, or -- better yet -- to train your workforce in it.

VMware? Virtual computers? What's it all about?

VMware is a provider of software suites that create and manage virtual machines. They were first-to-market with their VMware Virtual Platform back in 1999 and they've been industry leaders in the virtual computing space ever since.

A virtual computer or virtual machine (as they are sometimes known) is a computer running within a computer. It runs as any other program on your computer, but it's actually an emulation of an entirely separate hardware implementation, yet entirely virtual.

So, as an example, you might run a virtual machine with a Windows 7 OS installation on a server running Windows 10, because you want to QA test a piece of software across multiple operating systems. There are a variety of other use-cases for virtual computing environments.

What are the various types of VMware certification you might have your employees complete?

There are a variety of VMware tools now available and they all serve distinct functions. You'll want to get at least a basic understanding of the various types of VMware applications available prior to investing in employee certification in any one particular subset.

• VMware vSphere: This is the core. The platform where all of your organization's virtual machine instances will be deployed, configured, and managed is the vSphere. It's a must if you're planning on equipping your company for virtual machine implementation. This is also where powerful data center visualization functions are performed.
• VMware View & Horizon View: The Horizon View platform is designed with end-users in mind. It has a simple user-interface and limited functionality-- perfect for accessing and interfacing with your organization's virtual machines.
• VMware vCloud: Used alongside the included vRealize suite, vCloud is designed for today's modern hybrid cloud. It serves as an integrated platform that brings together functions of vSphere and vRealize suite.
• VMware NSX: The NSX platform is designed with networking, security, and network visualization use-cases in mind.

VMware certification runs the gamut from beginner to advanced levels

The VMware ecosystem is vast and it seems it's always expanding. You'll want to select a logical jumping-off point for your staff now just getting their first introduction to the various VMware tools.

vSphere and VMware Horizon View are the two most important and user-friendly tools on which you want to get your employees started. The vSphere, as you already know, is the 'central hub' for all of your VMware virtual machine instances. Therefore, it is the administrative tool your senior IT staff will interact with the most.

VMWare Horizon View, on the other hand, is going to be the end-user, front-end that the rest of your organization will be using to interact with all of your virtual machines, whether local or in the cloud. So, you'll absolutely want your support staff fully trained on it, so they'll be prepared to configure, train, and troubleshoot its use with the rest of your staff.

For each of these applications, you'll want to put your staff through a training program that allows them to get a firm handle on the installation, configuration, and management of these critical VMware tools. Once the VSphere and Horizon View knowledge is under their belt, supplementary courses on the remaining tool and advanced operation training will come far easier to them.

Instructor-Led, E-Learning, and Virtual Training options are all available.

If you think a VMware training path may be beneficial to your organization, Infotec has a variety of in-person and online VMWare training courses available. Contact Infotec for more information about the variety of certification programs available.

For more information about Infotec or any of our programs click here: http://www.infotectraining.com/ or https://ops.infotecpro.com/course_schedule/course_schedule.cfm.