Seventeen months after finalizing its $61 billion acquisition of VMware, Broadcom has pulled the curtain back on what it sees as the future of private cloud infrastructure: VMware Cloud Foundation 9. Framed as a unified suite that simplifies virtualization across compute, storage, and networking, the release lands with both ambition and controversy.
Rather than offering individual components for admins to assemble, VCF 9 comes bundled as a tightly integrated system. There’s a single dashboard for managing private cloud operations and another for developers to provision infrastructure without waiting on IT. The message from VMware’s leadership is clear: think cloud-first, not hardware-first. Yet beneath that vision, users are grappling with broader implications.
One of the more symbolic shifts in VCF 9 is the quiet retirement of vVols, VMware’s once-promoted storage tech. With adoption stuck in low single digits, Broadcom decided to move forward with its Virtual Machine File System instead. Features like GPU workload migration, advanced cost analytics, and native container support are clearly targeting both enterprises with massive data needs and developer teams chasing performance and flexibility.
That said, it’s not a universal win. Some customers have told analysts they feel cornered—basically being pushed to adopt the entire VCF stack, even when all they need are select components. Pricing remains a sore point. And according to Gartner’s Michael Warrilow, many enterprises are taking the next three years to prepare an exit strategy before support for VCF 8 runs out in 2027.
In that sense, VCF 9 may be less about innovation and more about drawing a line in the sand. Broadcom wants users to go all-in, but not everyone’s ready to follow. Whether that line leads to a stronger private cloud future—or just deeper vendor dependency—will depend on what buyers decide before the clock runs out.
