VMware Unveils VCF 9.0: A New Era of Cloud Infrastructure

Inside VMware's VCF 9 and its AI value proposition - SiliconANGLE

Unpacking VCF 9: The culmination of VMware's focus on platformization Much was made of Broadcom Inc.'s recent acquisition of VMware. Following the move, a streamlined ethos guided the de-siloing and reorganization of VMware's disjointed portfolio. The result is a move toward platformization and VMware Cloud Foundation 9, known as VCF 9. "Coming into the acquisition, we took all the product teams, which were organized as siloed business units, and brought them together to one division," said Krish Prasad (pictured), senior vice president and general manager of the VMware Cloud Foundation Division at Broadcom Inc. "The reason we did that is because we want to deliver a platform, not a set of products that are integrated. [VCF 9] is a well-integrated platform that customers can deploy in [a company's] private infrastructure, whether it's on-prem or in the cloud, and get a very consistent experience." Prasad spoke with theCUBE Research's John Furrier at VMware Explore, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media's livestreaming studio. They discussed VMware's focus on enhancing VCF with new AI functionalities while expanding the platform's reach across different environments. (* Disclosure below.) By consolidating all development efforts into a single R&D team, VMware is now able to provide a fully integrated cloud platform. This new approach simplifies deployment, reduces operational complexity and enhances the overall user experience by providing a unified platform that is easy to manage and scale, according to Prasad. "You cannot deliver a full cloud platform that way because it's all in different timelines, different support, all of that," he said. "Now it's all gone -- it's all an R&D team that is providing one product, which is a cloud platform, and we are building it all together." As AI continues to evolve, the demand for robust, flexible and scalable infrastructure has never been higher. VMware is positioning itself at the forefront of this wave, ensuring that its platforms can handle AI workloads efficiently. VCF 9 is optimized for AI, with automation features that allow for the seamless migration of workloads and the integration of various infrastructure components, according to Prasad. "What we have with VCF 9 is one platform that protects your data wherever the data is residing, whether it's on-prem or in the public cloud or whatever, and you get one layer that ties it all together and with the same policies, the same security and so on," he said. Broadcom is committed to VMware's entire customer base, from small businesses to large enterprises, maintaining a broad support strategy where all customers can benefit from the latest innovations, Prasad pointed out. "There are tons of demos and roadmap sessions where we are talking about all the things that are coming," he said. "The biggest thing that will affect the roadmap is that we will collapse the organization into one business unit or one division. It gives us focus, it gives us speed, and you'll see a lot of innovation accelerating coming out of VMware into Broadcom." As the cloud landscape continues to evolve, VMware's strategy of combining private and public cloud capabilities into a single, cohesive platform could very well define the future of enterprise cloud computing. Here's the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE's and theCUBE Research's coverage of VMware Explore:

VMware and Broadcom bet big on VCF-powered environment - SiliconANGLE

VMware and Broadcom bet big on Private Cloud savings with VCF-powered strategy Under Broadcom Inc., VMware LLC is going head to head with public cloud by positioning a full-scale, VMware Cloud Foundation. or VCF-powered environment. as the superior cost-saving architecture. At VMware's first Explore conference since the company was acquired by Broadcom, company leaders emphasized the value of private cloud. "With Broadcom and VCF's new focus on this platform, it really helps customers take the value of virtualization and drive that deeper into their infrastructure stack," said Drew Nielsen (pictured), senior director for product market strategy at VMware. "If you look at what our customers want, they want more business agility; the CFO wants lower OPEX; the security team wants a single vendor with less integration; and IT is trying to escape tech debt and get to a modernized infrastructure that they've been longing for for years. This platform really enables that for them." Nielsen spoke with theCUBE Research's Dave Vellante and Rob Strechay at VMware Explore, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media's livestreaming studio. They discussed the details of VCF's offerings and why it could save customers from the expenses of cloud migration. (* Disclosure below.) Broadcom's strategy is to get customers to go all in on VMware by arguing that it will provide a cheaper software solution than migrating to public cloud. "This is really where the value rubber meets the road," according to Vellante. "The fundamental premise here is that if you buy in to the full package, the full stack of the compute, the storage, the networking, the automation, all the developer interfaces, the containers, the ML and AI tooling, and on top of that, all the other advanced services like private AI. If you lean into that is the premise, then you're going to have the best TCO." Shifting to a VCF-based architecture saves an estimated 55% on infrastructure, 31% on facilities and 42% on labor productivity, according to Broadcom's research. Cloud migration, on the other hand, can prove long and costly, while remaining with traditional architecture is even more expensive, Nielsen added. "If you're in a three-tier architecture, you've got a different vendor for compute, a different vendor for storage, a different vendor for networking," he said. "That move from that platform-style to VCF, that'll save you about 50%. Cloud, it's about a 41% savings, give or take, in that area." Lowering costs does not equate to cutting workers, Nielsen emphasized, and although he recognizes that moving to full-scale VMware may not be the immediate strategy for many companies, he believes that the stats speak for themselves. "It's very much if you want to be on-prem, you want to be in a cloud, as long as you have that VCF-powered environment everywhere here, you have workload mobility," he said. "You move it wherever you want, anytime you want. I've had customers I've seen who've ... move[d] 800 workloads [back on-prem] in a weekend and think nothing of it. That's really the vision. But if you want that, if you want the Holy Grail of all this, you've got to go all in." Here's the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE's and theCUBE Research's coverage of VMware Explore: