VMware vSphere 6.5 Web Client and vSphere Client – VMware Does the Right Thing

More of What’s New in VMware vSphere 6.5

VMware faced the same issue that Unitrends did in terms of its user interface when they launched VMware vSphere 6.5: its most commonly used user interface leveraged an Adobe Flex-based platform and required an Adobe Flash plugin in the browser to use.  The world is moving away from Adobe Flash – it began with Steve Jobs refusal to support Adobe Flash and has continued to date with Microsoft adding Flash Blocking features in Windows 10.  The choices VMware had to make was to rip and replace its Flex and Flash-based older user interface with a new HTML5-based user interface, or to allow some type of co-existence.  Rip and replace lowers the cost to a vendor when upgrading user interface technology – but it is customer unfriendly and forces the user upgrading to a new release to stop and learn a new user interface in order to use the new release.

VMware has taken the approach that Unitrends did – to offer both user interfaces during a transition period (note: there is a third user interface, implemented in C#, which VMware is no longer shipping or supporting as of VMware vSphere 6.5.)  It’s the right choice by VMware (and in my opinion, by Unitrends) because it puts customer choice first and foremost.  VMware notes that the HTML5 user interface doesn’t yet have full feature parity (Unitrends HTML5 “Satori” user interface now has feature parity with its older Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash based user interface), so there are ways to access both concurrently.

Get a detailed look at the Unitrends Backup HTML5 user interface.

 

There are a lot of new features in the HTML5 VMware vSphere Client, but what I like best about vSphere Client is that VMware took the more costly and yet more customer friendly approach to creating and transitioning customers to a new user interface (and new user interface technology.)  I’ve been critical of VMware in the past for some of their business and technical decisions (most notably, the fact that VMware Free ESXi doesn’t include access to the VADP (VMware API for Data Protection) interface so that backup and continuity products can protect VMware Free ESXi at the HOS (Host Operating System) level) – so I think it’s only fair to note when they do a great job focusing on customers and customer benefits.

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