The verdict is finally out, according to Wikibon senior analyst Stu Miniman:  VCE is more than just short term project for EMC.

The converged infrastructure vendor sells Vblocks, end-to-end systems that feature solutions from its parent companies: EMC storage, Cisco servers and switches, and VMware’s hypervisor.  Up until recently VCE only bundled these components together and shipped them off, but that changed with the launch of its first homegrown product late last month.

Miniman says that the Vision Intelligent Operations platform, which allows the user to manage their infrastructure at the rack level, is a sign that EMC is in it for the long run. It’s also an indication that VCE is getting more serious about targeting the top paying enterprise players that are making the transition into hyperscale, a market where abstraction is king.

Miniman says that “converged infrastructure holds promise for finally moving the needle of IT expenses that have put over 70% into “keeping the lights on” for the last decade. Simplification, built-in systems intelligence and automation need to free workers from the mundane tasks of constantly optimizing an imperfect architecture. While VCE has led this trend to-date, it will face strong competition from followers, startups and disruptions from cloud-based alternatives.

VCE is positioned strongly in the market from a technical standpoint, but is it worth the investment? Stifel Nicolaus analyst Aaron Rakers says the answer is yes.

Based on publicly available financial data from EMC, Rakers estimates that the storage giant sold $285.8 million worth of converged infrastructure solutions in 2012, or twice as much as the $133.9M it raked in the year before. VCE only cost EMC $244.9 million in the same period, which means that it netted a handsome $40.9 million.