EMC and VMware have announced plans to unify their cloud businesses under the single banner of the Virtustream brand.
The move comes just a week after the announcement that Dell is to buy EMC for $67 billion, when it was also stated that VMware would remain a separate, publicly traded company.
Virtustream - which EMC itself acquired for $1.2 billion in May - will incorporate Virtustream's existing cloud offerings, EMC Information Infrastructure and VMWare services such as vCloud Air and VCE Cloud Managed Services into what the companies claim will be "the industry's most comprehensive hybrid cloud portfolio".
The new business will be jointly owned on a 50:50 basis by VMWare and EMC (which, confusingly, also part owns VMware) and led by Virtustream's current CEO, Rodney Rogers. Virtustream's financial statements will be rolled into those of VMware going forward.
VMware will also establish a Cloud Provider Software business unit, led by VMware senior vice president Ajay Patel, incorporating existing VMware cloud management offerings and Virtustream's software assets.
David Goulden, CEO of EMC Information Infrastructure, said: "This is an exciting time for the EMC Federation of businesses, and today's news is central to our strategy to help customers move all of their applications to the cloud. The new Virtustream business will enable customers to implement a hybrid cloud-based IT environment that incorporates the best of both public and private cloud quickly, and from one source."
VMware chief Pat Gelsinger added: "The new Virtustream business will feature the industry's broadest portfolio of hybrid cloud offerings, enabling customers to move all their applications to cloud-based IT environments and seamlessly manage their on-premises and off-premises environments. We see tremendous growth opportunities for VMware and EMC with the new Virtustream business, building on the strong momentum of vCloud Air."
The move may come as a surprise given Dell's acquisition of EMC - a fact that hasn't been mentioned at all by the companies involved when announcing the move.
It also leads to a potentially even more complex structure than before: Virtustream will be owned by VMware and EMC, however VMware is also part-owned by EMC, and EMC will, soon, be wholly owned by Dell.
Michael Dell will officially open Dell World 2015 at 3.00pm BST on Wednesday 21 October, where more explanations may be forthcoming. Follow our senior writer Jane McCallion for live coverage from the event.
