Across the Tech Pond: US / UK Journalists Break Down VMware Explore 2025 | Honest Conference Review

In this first episode of Across the Tech Pond, technology journalists David Marshall, Neil Hughes, and Antony Savvas deliver their unfiltered take on VMware Explore 2025 in Las Vegas.

Key Topics Covered:
🔥 Broadcom's Bold Vision vs. Reality Check
Did CEO Hock Tan's keynote reassure worried customers and partners?
Why VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (VCF9) is positioned as the "private cloud solution of the future"
The controversial shift from individual products to bundled subscriptions

💰 The Lawsuit Drama
Tesco vs VMware: Lawsuit over licensing disputes
How perpetual license holders are fighting back against forced subscription models

📊 Show Floor Reality
What was the attendance this year?
Missing major sponsors and backup vendors signal industry uncertainty
Why competitors AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud had the biggest booths

🤖 AI Integration Announcements
Private AI services bundled free with VCF subscriptions
New partnerships with Canonical and NVIDIA for AI workload optimization
Tanzu and developer productivity improvements

🔮 Future Predictions
Will there be a VMware Explore 2026 event?
The "cloud repatriation" trend: Are enterprises really moving back from public cloud?
Why 87% of VMware's largest 10,000 accounts renewed (but what about the other 490,000 customers?)

The Honest Take:
Our hosts don't hold back on the challenges facing Broadcom's VMware strategy. While the private cloud vision makes technical sense given rising public cloud costs and AI sovereignty concerns, the execution raises serious questions about customer trust and partner ecosystem health.

Highlights:
Walmart partnership announcement
Why smaller companies feel abandoned by Broadcom's enterprise focus
Lack of a day 2 keynote and how it affected content depth
Nutanix CEO claims 2,700 new customers are ex-VMware migrations

About the Hosts:
David Marshall: VMblog founder and VMware expert based in Austin, TX, USA
Neil Hughes: Host of Tech Talks Daily podcast and writer for Cyber News
Antony Savvas: European technology journalist covering MSPs and system integrators for IT Europa, IoT Now, and VanillaPlus

This candid discussion provides insider perspective for IT pros navigating the post-acquisition VMware landscape. Whether you're considering VCF9 migration or evaluating alternatives, this episode delivers the real talk missing from vendor marketing.

Subscribe to the Across the Tech Pond audio podcast series: https://techtalksnetwork.com/podcast/across-the-tech-pond

And don't miss these informative articles and podcasts:

Antony Savvas:
VMware attempts to take the channel and its customers back to private clouds: https://www.iteuropa.com/news/vmware-attempts-take-channel-and-their-customers-back-private-clouds

VMware outlines what it now expects from its smaller partner base: https://www.iteuropa.com/news/vmware-outlines-what-it-now-expects-its-smaller-partner-base

It's not all bad news you know, say VMware partners: https://www.iteuropa.com/news/its-not-all-bad-news-you-know-say-vmware-partners

VMware draws the line on new cloud service provider programme: https://www.iteuropa.com/news/vmware-draws-line-new-cloud-service-provider-programme

David Marshall:
Broadcom's Partner Evolution: How VCF 9.0 is Redefining the Private Cloud Playbook: https://vmblog.com/archive/2025/09/01/broadcom-s-partner-evolution-how-vcf-9-0-is-redefining-the-private-cloud-playbook.aspx

Beyond the Hype: How Broadcom is Redefining Private AI with Real Enterprise Architecture: https://vmblog.com/archive/2025/08/27/beyond-the-hype-how-broadcom-is-redefining-private-ai-with-real-enterprise-architecture.aspx

VMware Explore 2025 - Two days of private cloud innovation and vegas energy so far: https://vmblog.com/archive/2025/08/26/vmware-explore-2025-two-days-of-private-cloud-innovation-and-vegas-energy-so-far.aspx

Neil Hughes:
From Cloud Reset to Private AI: Key Highlights From VMware Explore 2025: https://www.techopedia.com/private-ai-vmware-explore-2025

Inside Audi's Smart Factory: From Virtual PLCs to Edge Cloud: https://www.techopedia.com/audi-smart-factory-automation

Tasha Drew Interview: https://techtalksnetwork.com/podcast/tech-talks-daily/episode/private-ai-takes-center-stage-at-vmware-explore-with-broadcoms-tasha-drew

Prashanth Shenoy Interview: https://techtalksnetwork.com/podcast/tech-talks-daily/episode/vmware-explore-2025-broadcom-showcases-the-next-chapter-of-vcf-innovation

Audi Interview: https://techtalksnetwork.com/podcast/tech-talks-daily/episode/inside-audis-smart-factory-vision-at-vmware-explore-9lzi

#VMware #Broadcom #PrivateCloud #TechPodcast #ITInfrastructure #CloudComputing #VMwareExplore #TechNews #AcrosstheTechPond #ATP

Timestamps:
[0:07] Intro
[1:49] Hock Tan and Keynote Discussion
[7:07] VMware by Broadcom Product Announcements Discussed
[16:28] VMware VCF Customers - Walmart
[17:57] Lawsuit Discussion - AT&T / Tesco
[22:46] VMware Explore 2025 Mood and Numbers
[30:02] Is this the Last VMware Explore Event?
[35:00] Wrap Up