At VMware Explore 2025, I sat in on one of the most practical and eye-opening technical sessions of the week: Real-World Lessons in Rightsizing VMware Cloud Foundation for On-Premises AI Workloads (INVB1300LV), led by Frank Denneman (Chief Technologist AI, Broadcom) and Johan van Amersfoort (Chief Evangelist & AI Lead, ITQ).
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This Technical 300-level breakout wasn’t about flashy demos or abstract strategy — it was about the nuts and bolts of running real AI workloads on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) with NVIDIA GPUs, and how to right-size infrastructure to meet the growing demands of developers and enterprises alike.

Session: Real-World Lessons in Rightsizing VMware Cloud Foundation for On-Premises AI Workloads (INVB1300LV), presented by Frank Denneman (Broadcom) and Johan van Amersfoort (ITQ).

Day 2 of VMware Explore 2025 wasn’t just about product announcements; it was about VMware’s bold new vision for the private cloud. The message was clear: private cloud is no longer a compromise. It’s more secure, more cost-effective, and more controllable than public cloud alternatives.
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At the heart of this vision is VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 (VCF 9), now delivered as a single SKU. That means no more piecing together separate licenses or tools — one package covers compute, networking, storage, and security. For IT leaders, it simplifies procurement and operations, while giving developers the modern, integrated environment they need.

Day 1 at VMware Explore 2025 started with a rush of excitement. From early badge pickup and bustling hallways to packed labs and a late-night hackathon, the event lived up to its reputation as the place where innovation meets community.

Morning: Kickoff and Keynotes
The day began early with registration check-in. The lines moved quickly, but not before offering the perfect opportunity to bump into familiar faces, reconnect with colleagues, and swap stories about what we were most excited to see.

At VMware Explore 2025, one of the most talked-about technical deep dives was Accelerating AI Workloads: Mastering vGPU Management in VMware Environments, led by Shawn Kelly, Principal Architect at Broadcom, and Justin Murray, Product Marketing Engineer at Broadcom.
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A vGPU (virtual GPU) allows a single physical GPU to be split into multiple virtual instances so that different virtual machines or workloads can share its power. This makes it possible to maximize GPU usage, reduce costs, and run AI workloads more efficiently across enterprise environments. As organizations scale AI initiatives, mastering vGPU management is quickly becoming essential.

Kelly and Murray began with a look at Model Store and AI Gateway, new services designed to simplify how enterprises deploy AI models.

• Model Store acts as a local repository for managing and versioning AI models.
• AI Gateway provides a streamlined deployment workflow, aligning with the OpenAI API specification so existing applications built for public APIs can be seamlessly redirected to on-premises GPUs.

This ensures that sensitive data stays secure while still giving developers the same agility they’ve come to expect from cloud providers.

VMware Explore 2025 is more than just a tech event, it's where infrastructure meets innovation, and where architects and developers alike shape the next generation of cloud and AI-powered applications.

This year, I'm laser-focused on three tracks: Spring, Tanzu AI Solutions, and the VMware Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA. These technologies are transforming how we build, scale, and secure intelligent enterprise platforms. Below, I’ve curated my top five must-attend sessions, all designed to help you turn big ideas into real-world, production-ready outcomes.

1. Bootiful Spring AI [SPRB1964LV]
​📅 Tuesday, Aug 26 | 2:15 PM – 3:00 PM PDT
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Join this fast-paced, code-heavy session to explore how Spring AI enables portable, multi-model integration across inference engines. You’ll see how to build agentic systems, leverage Model Context Protocol (MCP), and modernize your enterprise AI app stack—all through Spring Boot. Perfect for developers and architects ready to go from prompt to production.

Build a Smart Session Schedule (Not a Full One)
Don’t try to attend everything. Use the content catalog to filter by tracks that matter most to your business — AI, Automation, VCF upgrades, Tanzu, Security. Pick a few “can’t miss” sessions, then leave room for spontaneous discoveries and hallway chats. Prioritize:

• Keynotes and roadmap previews
• Hands-on labs
• Anything tied to your current initiatives

Book the Right Accommodations
If you're staying on the Strip but not at the Venetian, factor in walking/shuttle time. Stay close if you want to maximize morning sessions or attend after-hours events.

​What to Pack:

• Power bank
• Water bottle & snacks
• Comfortable shoes
• Business cards or QR code for LinkedIn
• Extra bag for swag

AI is no longer theoretical. It's now a real architectural priority for enterprise IT. Over the past few years, AI has become a growing focus for me and many of the customers I support. From deploying on-prem LLMs to enforcing data privacy in regulated environments, the demand for secure, scalable AI infrastructure is only accelerating.
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That’s why I’ll be on the ground at VMware Explore 2025 in Las Vegas, zeroing in on the sessions that don’t just talk about AI. They show you how to build it. Here are the three most important Private AI sessions from the Explore Content Catalog, and why they should be on your schedule if you care about turning strategy into infrastructure.

With over 400 sessions in the newly released VMware Explore 2025 catalog, it’s tempting to just scroll endlessly and hope for the best. But if you're serious about staying ahead in the VCF 9.0, Private AI, and automation era, this guide will save you time—and position you to lead.

This year isn’t about incremental updates. It’s about a platform shift—and if you miss it, you’ll be playing catch-up for the next 12 months. Here’s what’s driving the change:

• VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 becomes the core operating model.
• Private AI goes from hype to hands-on implementation.
• Broadcom’s influence is streamlining portfolios, accelerating cost efficiency, and doubling down on infrastructure and app modernization.

Whether you're modernizing infrastructure, building AI platforms, or enabling developers with Tanzu and Spring, these sessions give you the blueprints, real-world case studies, and deployment tactics to drive real outcomes.

If you work in virtualization, cloud infrastructure, or enterprise IT, chances are you’ve heard of VMware Explore — formerly known as VMworld. I've been attending since 2014, and every year I walk away with not just technical insights, but inspiration, certifications, connections, and new career momentum.
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This year, VMware Explore 2025 will take place August 25–28 at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most impactful events yet.

Mark your calendars! VMware Explore 2025 is coming to Las Vegas from August 25–28, 2025, and it’s shaping up to be the can't-miss tech event of the year.
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Join thousands of technologists, architects, cloud builders, developers, and IT leaders from around the globe at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center for four unforgettable days of innovation, education, and networking.

Whether you're modernizing infrastructure, exploring cloud-native applications, automating network operations, or leading your organization’s digital transformation—VMware Explore is where it all connects.