VMware Explore 2025 offered technology sessions, certifications, hands on labs and more, all optimized for practitioners to embrace private cloud. There were also several news announcements including that VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 will become an AI native platform with the inclusion of VMware Private AI services. This was one of the highlights of the week. VCF will enable organizations to offer Private AI as a more controlled, governed and secure service to users directly from their modern private clouds. We’re talking about large language models, retrieval augmented generation, and GPU scheduling, all within existing workload environments. With partnerships including AMD, Canonical, Intel, and NVIDIA, Broadcom is serious about making VCF the platform for enterprise-ready AI.
Impact for Customers, Developers, and IT
- For Platform Engineers: Provides a unified, automated, and secure AI-ready platform that enables agility and innovation, maintains data sovereignty, and lowers operational overhead.
- For Developers: Enables access to native AI services delivered directly from the VCF platform for a frictionless experience
- For IT Teams: Delivers the self-service infrastructure developers require with guardrails for better IT control.
The Power of Community at VMware Explore
It wasn’t just Broadcom executives and product managers on stage or leading content sessions. The VMware community was very well represented. Hearing vExperts and leaders from the VMware User Group (VMUG) share their perspective was a strong reminder of what makes this community so special. Technology is one thing, but community is what makes VMware Explore feel alive, including those hallway conversations, the peer-to-peer advice, the stories of how things really work in production. You could feel that energy both in the General Session and across the event. And, in the future, Broadcom Knights and VMUG will cooperate more closely, with Knights automatically receiving VMUG Advantage membership (including benefits like discounted VCP exams and VCF home lab licenses) to ensure they stay hands-on with the latest VCF technology.
Broadcom Knights: Beyond the Product Stack
The final day of VMware Explore 2025 was a special day for the Broadcom Knights, the program with 'the best of the best of the best'. Of course, we got all the updates across the product stack. But to be fair, as a Knight, we are expected to know the technology. The real value of the program is the human connection around it. It’s about connecting partners, customers, and Broadcom itself and figuring out how each organization can extract the maximum value from a Knight. Sometimes that’s technical architecture, sometimes it’s building a business case, and sometimes it’s as simple as knowing who to call at Broadcom when something needs to move.
VMware Explore on Tour
Even when VMware Explore 2025 is over, smaller Explore on Tour events are still happening across the globe. These one or two-day gatherings bring the latest VMware product updates, expert insights, and community networking opportunities closer to local audiences. It’s a great way to stay connected, learn, and exchange ideas without traveling that far. Check out the events here.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Broadcom Knights is ready to dive into what comes next for VCF in 2026 and to share our expertise on how these technologies solve real business problems. If you want to keep up with my journey, connect with me on LinkedIn. And of course watch for more Knights stories here.