Hitting ‘Reset’, Risking ‘Reboot’ – VMware’s Bold Leap from Complexity to Clarity

As Broadcom's VMware resets the cloud narrative with VCF 9.0 and a new approach for partners, customers, and infrastructure stacks, a lot is being shuffled and redefined in the world of IT infrastructure. Are new labels like ‘services not products’ and ‘full-stack’ fitting it well? Prashanth Shenoy, CMO and Vice President, Marketing, VCF Division at Broadcom, weighs in.

“A product and platform company, not a services company”—that’s how Shenoy defines the future. In this conversation with Thomas George, Managing Editor at CIOL, he explains how VMware Cloud Foundation is simplifying portfolios and redefining product strategy to reshape private cloud for the enterprise. He also addresses many recent shifts—around partners, developers, greenfield versus existing customers, full-stack infrastructure, competitors, and even marketing noise—in this interesting à deux. Excerpts.

VMware has undergone a significant transformation following Broadcom's acquisition (especially with the simplification of its portfolio and Go-To-Market strategy). From a GTM perspective, where does VMware stand today in its journey?

We've completed the foundation phase. The portfolio and GTM have been simplified, allowing customers and partners to experience VMware through a consistent Cloud Foundation platform, regardless of whether they engage with hyperscalers, resellers, or service providers. We rationalised our partner ecosystem to focus on those who are deeply invested in VMware and can deliver real value—which means fewer, but stronger, partnerships. The next phase involves service delivery partners—GSIs, SIs, and software-focused resellers—who possess the customer intimacy and expertise to drive adoption.

What new tracks are being put in place for these new turns?

To support this, we're investing heavily in training, certification, and re-skilling. The traditional VI admin now needs to evolve into a cloud operator. Our revamped certification tracks encompass architecture, implementation, operations, and advanced domains, including Kubernetes, automation, storage, and networking. This is how we scale customer adoption while staying true to our role as a product and platform company, not a services company.

You spoke about adoption motions. How are customers engaging with VMware Cloud Foundation today?

We identify three main adoption segments. The first is Greenfield Deployments, where enterprises build new data centres and set up VCF as their private cloud platform from day one. The second is where component consolidation is taking place, for customers who already use vSphere, vSAN, or NSX and want to transition into a complete private cloud operating model. Lastly, there is the upgrade motion, where existing VCF customers modernise from older versions (like VCF 5) to VCF 9.

In all cases, our approach is to start with VCF Operations. By automating lifecycle management—patching, upgrades, certificate management, and security checks—we remove the mundane yet risky tasks that teams dread. It improves IT productivity and builds confidence in the platform. From there, customers often consolidate storage or migrate workloads onto software-defined infrastructure, delivering immediate cost savings. For example, Broadcom itself consolidated 26 divisions on VSAN and achieved a 70% cost reduction within eight months.

The next step is enabling developers. With self-service access to Kubernetes, databases, and registries—on demand and under IT guardrails—VCF mirrors the cloud experience while maintaining control. And now, with Private AI built into VCF, AI becomes just another workload the enterprise can run securely and efficiently.

VMware has narrowed its partner landscape to focus on high-value, skilled partners. How do you balance this rationalisation with long-standing, smaller partners who have been part of the ecosystem?

We took a data-driven approach. First, we examined the percentage of a partner's revenue that comes from VMware—do they genuinely have a vested interest in us? Second, how much of VMware's revenue flows through them? That analysis helped us consolidate to about 1,000 strategic resellers who now drive 90% of our business.

On the services side, we selected partners with deep VMware expertise and broader IT integration skills. Large GSIs, such as HCL or Wipro, for instance, often have a deeper understanding of customer environments than we do, and that's critical when deploying a complex cloud platform. It's not a one-time process. We continue to evaluate partners regionally—Japan differs from India, which in turn differs from Korea. The idea is fewer, stronger, and more skilled partners who are equally invested in customer success.

With a simplified and consolidated portfolio, who do you consider VMware's closest competitors, and how do you differentiate?

We are a full-stack infrastructure platform, so our competitors are other infrastructure providers. However, what makes us unique is our flexibility. VCF can be deployed on-premises, in co-location, at the edge, or as a managed service with CSPs and hyperscale providers. For many competitors, cloud infrastructure is just one of several offerings in a broad portfolio. For us, it begins and ends with VCF. That clarity allows us to double down on innovation, deliver faster, and maintain higher product quality.

What is your marketing strategy under Broadcom's "reset cloud narrative"?

We are very product-led in our marketing. You won't see us spending on billboards or airport branding. Our priority is to articulate product value, use cases, and business outcomes. Marketing here is about customer insights, enablement, and advocacy. We invest in educating customers, partners, and sellers. We create champions who experience the product and become advocates in their communities. The product becomes the marketing engine.

Your competitors often use aggressive campaigns during transition periods. How do you counter this?

We focus on facts and flexibility. Customers don't want lock-in—they want choice. VCF gives them workload portability through tools like HCX. If a workload needs to sit closer to Google Gemini or Azure OpenAI, it can. But for most workloads, from a cost, resiliency, and security perspective, running on VCF is the more intelligent choice. So our approach is simple: may the best platform win. We let TCO analysis, operational outcomes, and customer experience speak louder than marketing noise.