AirWatch by VMware (VMW) launched its AirWatch Connect 2014 conference in Atlanta in earnest this morning, and the The VAR Guy was on hand for every minute of it. Read on for the play-by-play action, starting with CEO John Marshall:

Marshall emphasized how Airwatch is driving innovation in the mobile sphere with its solutions, noting the company currently has about 13,000 customers, nearly double last year’s numbers. He also spoke about the recent integration between AirWatch and its new parent company, which purchased the company late last year for $1.54 billion.

VMware EVP and General Manager of End-User Computing Sanjay Poonen and AirWatch SVP Alan Dabbiere joined Marshall onstage to talk about the VMware acquisition. Dabbiere said VMware has “thoughtfully” let AirWatch drive its own strategy and make decisions independent of the merger, giving the company the freedom it needs to expand in a sustainable way.

Poonen then spoke about VMware’s strategic priorities for integrating its solutions with the AirWatch portfolio, including the importance of end user computing in giving customers the ability to seemlessly transition between devices without losing their personal information or security.

Marshall gave a shout-out to what he called “mobile gamechangers,” companies that are driving the cutting edge of enterprise mobile apps in the industry. Several of these industry leaders joined Marshall onstage to discuss the advances in enterprise applications, including Darrell Haskin, director of IT for Delta Airlines, and Paul Donoghue of Stryker.

After a significant amount of wheel-spinning, Marshall went into detail about some of AirWatch’s product innovations and new releases, including deeper operating system integration with Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), BlackBerry (BBRY) and Amazon (AMZN). He also touched on AirWatch’s efforts to increase product serviceability and further develop its platform for customers. IT automation was also an important bullet point, as AirWatch is looking to grow its API framework and improve enterprise integration for their solutions.

Marshall emphasized how important it is for AirWatch to enable end users to do work more efficiently by simplifying enrollment and creating a more dynamic app catalogue. Finally, AirWatch hopes to expand its solution out to new platforms, from smartphones to tablets and laptops. AirWatch is expanding its mobile app ecosystem through a new app catalogue and providing integrated protection for more qualifiying devices.

Here are brief descriptions of each of the major announcements:

Remember to tune back to The VAR Guy or tweet @MCusanelliSB for more updates and news from the show floor.