The cloud landscape is shifting fast, and enterprises are making big moves to rethink their IT strategies. For many, private cloud has gone from a backup plan to a critical piece of their modernization efforts-and Broadcom‘s VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is at the center of it all. Since acquiring VMware, Broadcom has doubled down on business acceleration, helping companies simplify their infrastructure, reduce costs, and unlock new opportunities with AI and automation.
In this Q&A, we’re catching up with Prashanth Shenoy, vice president of product marketing for the VCF Division at Broadcom, to get his take on how VCF is evolving in 2025, what businesses should be thinking about, and why private cloud is having a moment.
VMblog: Great to have you back Prashanth. It seems from the results Broadcom recently announced, the VCF strategy is on track. What’s your assessment of where things are entering 2025?
Prashanth Shenoy: It was a transformative year, and we’re seeing strong momentum with enterprises embracing VCF to simplify cloud operations, improve security, and drive efficiency. Our goal has always been to make private clouds as seamless as public cloud-without the lock-in or unpredictable costs. Heading into 2025, VCF continues to be the foundation that helps businesses scale efficiently, protect their data, and optimize IT investments.
VMblog: VCF has been positioned as a game-changer for private cloud. What sets VCF apart from other cloud infrastructure solutions?
Shenoy: VCF takes the headache out of private cloud. Instead of piecing together different solutions for VMs, containers, security, and automation, everything is integrated into one platform. That means fewer compatibility issues, simpler management, and better performance across the board. Plus, enterprises get public cloud-like flexibility but with better security, compliance, and financial predictability-and that’s a game-changer in today’s IT landscape.
VMblog: What are the three major drivers you see for the adoption of private cloud and VCF?
Shenoy: Three major priorities are pushing companies toward private clouds:
- IT modernization is overdue. Legacy infrastructure is expensive and clunky. Businesses want a scalable, software-defined platform that lets them run both traditional and modern workloads without the complexity of managing multiple environments.
- AI is changing the game. Companies are experimenting with AI but don’t want to send sensitive data to public cloud providers. VCF gives them a secure, high-performance environment to run AI where their data lives.
- Security is non-negotiable. With cyber threats at an all-time high, businesses need built-in security, ransomware recovery, and a zero-trust model-all which VCF delivers.
VMblog: You have built Kubernetes support directly into VCF. So, does that mean customers should be looking to run both VM and container-based applications on their VCF private cloud?
Shenoy: Absolutely. The question is not VMs vs. containers. It’s how you run both efficiently. Most enterprises aren’t abandoning VMs anytime soon, but they’re also adopting containers for AI and microservices. VCF lets them consolidate everything onto one platform, so they get unified security, consistent operations, and easier management. That’s a huge win for IT teams.
VMblog: How does VCF help enterprises more quickly and securely adopt Generative AI?
Shenoy: AI is exciting but tricky. It requires serious computing power, strict security, and scalable infrastructure. VCF makes it easier to run AI workloads on-prem with built-in GPU acceleration, security controls, and private AI-ready infrastructure. That means businesses can train and deploy AI models while keeping data in-house, staying compliant, and avoiding unpredictable public cloud costs.
VMblog: Cyber resilience is now a board-level issue for organizations. How does VCF support this critical business priority?
Shenoy: Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and businesses can’t afford downtime. VCF has security in its DNA, offering AI-driven threat detection (vDefend), built-in ransomware recovery, and a zero-trust architecture to keep threats at bay. It’s all about helping enterprises prevent, detect, and recover from security incidents without losing critical data or disrupting operations.
VMblog: How does VCF deliver cost efficiencies for end users compared to public cloud and other private cloud solutions?
Shenoy: Cost control is a major reason that enterprises are re-evaluating the public cloud. An IDC report from August 2024 found that businesses using VCF cut infrastructure costs by 34%, improved IT efficiency by 53%, and saw a 564% ROI over three years. By consolidating infrastructure, automating operations, and eliminating redundant tools, VCF keeps IT spending under control while delivering better performance.
VMblog: You teased the market with the announcement of VMware Cloud Foundation 9? What’s the update there?
Shenoy: VMware Cloud Foundation 9 will truly be game changing. It represents the future of VCF and will redefine the landscape for modern private cloud by helping customers break infrastructure silos, reclaim control of public cloud sprawl, and capture the opportunity for AI in the enterprise. We recently entered Beta, which was a major milestone. And while I can’t share specifics just yet, what I can say is that customers and partners are really excited about what’s coming next.
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