When Broadcom announced its $69 billion acquisition of VMware, it sent shockwaves through the tech industry. Some feared the worst—a slow unraveling of one of the most influential infrastructure platforms of the past two decades. Others saw opportunity. But one thing’s for sure: It lit a fire under the IT modernization landscape like we’ve never seen before.
In hindsight, it may turn out to be the single biggest catalyst for IT modernization to date.
The Ripcord Moment
For many enterprises, the Broadcom acquisition was the proverbial ripcord—the trigger that said, “It’s time.” Organizations that had been putting off modernization efforts suddenly had the excuse, the urgency and the business case to pull the trigger.
Almost overnight, CIOs and CTOs began re-evaluating their entire infrastructure roadmap. Data center dependencies, long-term licensing costs, and the flexibility of cloud-native models were suddenly front and center. When Broadcom announced sweeping changes to VMware’s licensing and partner programs, the tech echo chamber filled with predictions: a mass exodus from VMware, an acceleration toward the hyperscalers, and an era-defining migration wave.
But as we’ve learned time and again in this industry, real modernization rarely plays out according to script.
VMware Didn’t Roll Over
Rather than retreating in the face of skepticism, VMware came out swinging. The company did something remarkable—it doubled down on its customers and delivered more options, not fewer. In the end, it may have completely changed the calculus of modernization.
First, VMware made it easier to bring your VMware environment with you to the public cloud. Whether you’re moving to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or another provider, you no longer need to jettison your VMware stack. You can lift, shift and evolve—modernize on your own terms while still leveraging familiar VMware tools and processes and get cloud native functionality to boot. For many organizations, that’s a powerful comfort. You get the scale and elasticity of the cloud, but you don’t have to start over.
Suddenly, the hyperscaler route wasn’t the only game in town. There were two distinct paths: Go cloud-native with the hyperscaler’s preferred toolset, or bring your VMware world along for the ride. Either way, you’re modernizing.
Enter VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0: A Third Path
Just as we thought the chessboard was set, VMware introduced a bold new move: VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0. And with it, a compelling third option entered the fray—modern private cloud.
VCF 9.0 offers customers the ability to stay in their private data centers and still modernize. Yes, you read that right. You don’t have to go to the public cloud to experience the benefits of IT modernization. With VCF 9.0, you can build a modern, cloud-like environment on-prem, complete with automation, scalability, resilience and the agility you’d expect from a hyperscaler.
Some standout features of VCF 9.0 include:
- Disaggregated Architecture: VCF 9.0 separates the lifecycle management of the management domain and workload domains. This gives organizations greater control over upgrades and better operational efficiency.
- Enhanced Lifecycle Management: Streamlined patching, upgrades and maintenance mean you can modernize with less downtime and lower risk.
- Improved Security: With support for zero-trust principles, integrated security tools and automated compliance checks, VCF 9.0 is built with modern threats in mind.
- Kubernetes Integration: Tanzu Kubernetes Grid is deeply embedded, making it easier than ever to run containerized workloads alongside VMs, paving the way for hybrid app modernization.
VCF 9.0 essentially brings hyperscaler-grade capabilities to your private cloud. For regulated industries, latency-sensitive workloads, or those not quite ready to move everything off-prem, this is a huge win.
The Result? More Options, More Quality, More Innovation
So where does that leave us? In a much better place, frankly.
Thanks to the Broadcom-VMware shakeup, the market has more viable paths to IT modernization than ever before. Whether you want to go all-in on public cloud, adopt a hybrid model, or supercharge your private cloud, the tools and support are there. This isn’t the doomsday scenario some predicted. It’s the opposite—a tsunami of innovation, choice and modernization. Enterprises no longer have to squeeze their needs into a one-size-fits-all cloud model. They can build a strategy that works for them.
Come See for Yourself—Techstrong Field Day: July 29
At Techstrong, we’re committed to helping our community stay ahead of the curve. That’s why we’re hosting a special Tech Field Day virtual event on July 29 starting at 9:30am ET, dedicated to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0. You’ll hear directly from experts and engineers shaping the modern private cloud.
We’ll cover how VCF 9.0 empowers organizations with flexibility, control, and modernization—whether you’re cloud-curious or cloud-cautious.
You can register for free right here:
Final Thoughts
More choice is always a good thing. In this case, Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware kicked off a chain reaction that’s led to more choices, better quality, and faster paths to modernization than ever before. VMware didn’t fade into the background—they stepped up, delivering flexible solutions for every stage of the modernization journey.
IT modernization is no longer a cliff you jump off. It’s a series of thoughtful, strategic steps—and VMware has made sure you’ve got solid ground under each one.
