VMware User Group (VMUG) members are stepping into an exciting new chapter—on full display at VMware Explore 2025.
Since Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware at the end of 2023, organizations from home lab builders to midsize banks and large enterprises are finding new ways to unlock value from VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) with the rollout of VCF 9.0.
This year’s Explore announcements reinforce that VCF is more than a set of products—it’s a unified platform. New features like automated certificate management, strengthen security, while the familiar VMware interface helps practitioners span compute, storage, networking, and security with ease. Developers benefit from faster self-service with built-in governance, and subscription-based updates deliver new capabilities at no extra cost. Quick-start tools speed adoption, and simplified upgrades make moving from earlier versions easier than ever.
We’re seeing new partnerships give smaller players a bigger stage and that’s exciting. The momentum is clear. VMUG’s latest survey shows more than half of our members have already purchased VCF, with many moving into deployment. This underscores something important: Traction across the full spectrum of our community.
From global enterprises to SMBs and solopreneurs, VMUG members are proving VCF isn’t just an enterprise play—it scales to meet a wide range of needs.
VCF adoption is accelerating among VMUG members: 52% have purchased, 40% have deployed, and 12% are preparing to deploy.* It is accelerating across all segments—especially SMBs and commercial organizations—showing it’s no longer just an enterprise solution.
Beyond vSphere: Unlocking the Full Stack
At last year’s VMware Explore, many discussions centered on cost. This year, the focus has shifted from “Should we use VCF?” to “How do we get the most from it?”
VCF 9.0 delivers answers with enhancements like GPU virtualization, memory tiering, and brownfield ingestion. Members ready to move beyond VMware vSphere can now integrate VMware NSX, vSAN, and Automation to modernize their stacks. VCF delivers value even when it’s not fully utilized. Smaller customers that stick with it can adopt what they need, stay in a familiar VMware UI, avoid retraining, and capture cost savings.
VMUG members are also discovering that many solutions to persistent IT challenges were already inside VCF. By enabling existing features, they’re addressing issues around scale, performance, and security more effectively.
Adoption at Your Own Pace
Every company is a tech company in some way—and that opens big opportunities for private AI and cloud infrastructure.
One of the strengths of VCF 9.0 is flexibility. Members can adopt at their own pace, leaning on certified partners for initial deployments and closing skills gaps along the way. IT teams then enable advanced features gradually, focusing on business outcomes instead of day-to-day firefighting.
That balance between enterprise-grade infrastructure and approachable adoption is helping VMUG members move from pilot projects into production impact faster than before.
Clearing the Path to Control
When members talk about challenges, the themes are consistent: cost, skills gaps, and complexity. The first hurdle—cost—is easing as budget cycles catch up and organizations plan for VCF.
The focus now is skills and complexity. Members don’t have to tackle everything at once. By starting small—running test apps, enabling features gradually, and leaning on partners—they build confidence before moving into full production.
Control is another recurring theme. Members appreciate Broadcom’s “run the workload where it runs best” approach, especially as workloads repatriate from the public cloud back on-premises. VCF gives organizations visibility, predictability, and the option to expand to cloud when needed—while keeping infrastructure aligned with business needs.
Flexibility, Impact, and Outcomes
VMUG spans everyone from home lab enthusiasts to professionals at global enterprises. VCF 9.0 ensures smaller organizations get meaningful functionality without leaving the VMware ecosystem, while enterprise members can take full advantage of the complete VCF suite—VMware vSphere, NSX, vSAN, and Aria—to standardize operations and streamline upgrades.
This flexibility is driving real change. Many members are repatriating workloads from hyperscale clouds, finding VCF delivers cost predictability, stronger performance, and greater control—while still allowing expansion to the cloud when it makes sense.
Just as important are the outcomes. VCF Automation frees IT teams from late-night patching and upgrades, letting them schedule maintenance during business hours—enhancing both productivity and work-life balance. Live patching, introduced in VCF 5.2, is a key feature that enables this.
Standardized operations and optimized resources cut operational costs and free IT talent to focus on projects that drive the business forward. By updating roles and processes to fully leverage the cloud operating model, VCF users are accelerating app delivery, strengthening security, and enhancing customer experiences.
Looking Ahead with Confidence
Broadcom is investing in VMware solutions—fueling innovation through R&D and empowering the partner ecosystem to accelerate customer success. This investment supports innovation, partner enablement, and member adoption—all critical as VMUG members continue to evolve their environments.
Looking ahead, members are preparing for subscription models, simplifying upgrades, and leaning into VCF standardization. Explore offers solution keynotes, panels, labs, and hackathons where members can test new features, share experiences, and strengthen community ties.
The VMUG community continues to thrive—powered by members eager to learn, share, and grow together. With VCF 9.0, IT teams can focus less on the heavy lifting and more on the strategic impact of their work.
Supported by Broadcom’s innovation and investment, VMUG members aren’t just keeping pace with change—they’re shaping the future of IT for the better.
*VMUG Member Survey, Aug 2025