Google Cloud has launched a self-managed way to run VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), and customers who pick it get root level access along with the upkeep. The service sits in the Google Cloud Modernize portfolio and runs VMware on dedicated bare metal servers. Customers bring their own Broadcom VCF subscription.
Google already sells Google Cloud VMware Engine, where it patches, updates and monitors the environment. That service runs VCF 5.2. The new one supports VCF 9 and leaves life cycle management to the customer, who keeps root access to ESXi, vCenter, NSX Manager and the other VCF components. Teams that prefer not to run it alone can also hire partners for migration, setup and ongoing operations.
Each node comes from a Compute Engine Z3 bare metal instance with fourth generation Intel Xeon processors, and it offers 96 physical cores, 1.5 TB of memory, 72 TB of NVMe storage and 200 Gb/s of networking. VMware vSAN Express Storage Architecture handles the clustered storage, and external NetApp Volumes also work. Google says NVMe memory tiering can cut server total cost of ownership by up to 40%, while vSAN ESA can trim storage costs by as much as 39% against traditional external arrays. Those are Google’s own figures.
For networking, the service ties into Google’s Andromeda infrastructure and Network Connectivity Center, so workloads can reach across several virtual private clouds and distributed sites. They can also connect to BigQuery, Gemini and Google Kubernetes Engine. Customers can count their Google Cloud spending commitments and flexible usage discounts toward the infrastructure, too.
Broadcom’s licensing changes explain the model. Google became Broadcom’s first hyperscale partner for VCF licensing in 2024, but the overhaul that followed forced it to stop selling new license bundled offerings. Portable VCF subscriptions have been mandatory since November 2025.
Rivals have taken different routes. Amazon Elastic VMware Service on AWS works along similar lines, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure offers comparable customer managed options. Microsoft still runs Azure VMware Solution as a fully managed service, although it is retiring usage based pricing for VMware licenses.
For buyers, then, the question is who handles the maintenance. Root access helps teams with VMware specialists on staff, but patching and updating a full VCF stack takes time. The details shared so far leave out pricing.
