VMware IT Performance Annual Report 2022–The Evolution of Innovation: Our Digital Journey Continues, Part One of Six 

The first in a six-part overview of the VMware IT Performance Annual Report 2022 (VMware.com/go/IT-report-2022), this blog closely examines our evolving innovation and continuing digital transformation journey.

If you're familiar with IT, you've undoubtedly encountered the often-repeated misconception about the work: IT just "keeps the lights on."

Keeping the lights on (KTLO) relates to the daily operational tasks necessary to keep enterprise tools up and running so that the business can generate revenue. While nobody would dismiss the importance of KTLO, there is a commonly held belief that-although KTLO requires attention to detail and tech-savviness-it does not require the creative mindset needed to generate innovative solutions that further accelerate the enterprise.

KTLO is traditionally synonymous with maintaining the status quo and doing everything possible not to disrupt the tried-and-true ways work gets done. But what happens when the status quo is no longer effective? That's when new and innovative approaches to resolving network issues, reconfiguring databases and building new software are needed to address the shortcomings in business as usual.

In 2020, the world experienced a global health emergency, which serves as an example of a business not being able to function as it once did. Organizations were forced to develop innovative solutions quickly-and implement them just as fast. During this chaotic and confusing time, VMware IT was our first line of defense. We developed solutions to support a distributed, remote workforce and enhanced security measures as a team. But, more importantly, we reinvented better ways to work. While these challenges varied in size and scope, all our solutions maintained the VMware customer-first philosophy.

Like most organizations worldwide, our IT team was initially caught off guard. But ultimately, the pandemic served to accelerate our ongoing digital transformation journey.

Team members worked together to rethink how colleagues work and collaborate, how to protect our data best and how to deliver superior value to our customers. It was not a drill or simulation-it was all hands on deck requiring innovative solutions immediately.

VMware IT resoundingly demonstrated it was up for the challenge. We created new ways to connect people, processes, data, policies, systems and sustainability. IT deployed a world-class platform that empowers customers and colleagues to build, run and manage the self-service, mission-critical applications that drive business success. IT also developed advanced solutions via our security team to safeguard our virtual and physical enterprise ecosystems-yet allow a primarily distributed workforce to collaborate with the tools needed to do their jobs.

There was not a lack of innovation needed to address these problems, there was simply a lack of visibility into the innovation regularly achieved by VMware IT.

Annual Report 2022

The VMware IT Performance Annual Report 2022 (VMware.com/go/IT-report-2022) showcases and celebrates the exceptional work all team members accomplished this year in many categories:

• Modern apps innovation
• SaaS innovation
• Security innovation
• Sustainability innovation
• Workspace innovation

The saying goes that one constant in life is change. As VMware continues to pursue its SaaS transformation, more changes are on the horizon. But VMware IT is ready for the challenge. Teams continue to build upon accomplishments and successes stemming from our digital innovations as our journey leads us to the next chapter of our r/evolution.

Part Two of this series will explore our modern app innovation.

VMware on VMware blogs are written by IT subject matter experts sharing stories about our digital transformation using VMware products and services in a global production environment. To learn more, visit the VMware on VMwaremicrosite, read ourblogs and follow us onTwitter.