Virtually Speaking Podcast

What happens when WebAssembly and Kubernetes come together? Recorded live at KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam, Pete Flecha and Jad El-Zein sit down with Liam Randall, CEO of Cosmonic, to explore how WebAssembly is changing the way developers build, deploy, and operate cloud-native applications. Liam explains why WebAssembly is generating so much excitement beyond the browser, how it complements Kubernetes, and why organizations are looking at wasmCloud to simplify application portability across cloud, edge, and data center environments. Whether you’re a Kubernetes operator, platform engineer, or application developer, this conversation provides a practical look at where WebAssembly fits into the modern cloud-native stack.

Private cloud is no longer just about cost savings or control—it has become the foundation for enterprise AI. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Prashanth Shenoy, VP of Product Marketing for VMware Cloud Foundation, to discuss the findings from the Private Cloud Outlook 2026 report. Based on a global survey of 1,800 IT leaders, the report reveals a dramatic shift in how organizations are approaching AI infrastructure. As AI workloads move from experimentation to production, enterprises are increasingly choosing private cloud environments to address the growing challenges of cost, complexity, governance, security, and data sovereignty. Prashanth shares key insights from the research, including why private cloud has become the preferred destination for production AI inference, what’s driving the acceleration of workload repatriation, and how VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is helping organizations build a secure, cost-effective platform for the AI era. Download the Private Cloud Outlook 2026 report: https://www.vmware.com/docs/private-cloud-outlook-2026 #VMware #VCF #PrivateCloud #AI #GenerativeAI #CloudRepatriation #EnterpriseAI #VMwareCloudFoundation #Broadcom #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast

At VMUG Connect 2026 in Minneapolis, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with security expert Bob Plankers to discuss how AI is changing cybersecurity—on both sides of the battle. The conversation explores how threat actors are increasingly using AI-powered techniques, from sophisticated social engineering attacks to campaigns like UNC5221 and “Brickstorm.” Bob explains why identity remains the primary attack surface, why many organizations still misunderstand Zero Trust, and how privileged accounts have become some of the most valuable targets in modern IT environments. The discussion also covers AI-generated voice and video impersonation, the importance of strong identity controls, conditional access, privileged access management, and why organizations need to think differently about trust in an era where convincing fakes can be generated in seconds. Finally, the team explores how AI can be used defensively, including emerging efforts by frontier model providers to identify vulnerabilities, improve software security, and help organizations stay ahead in the cybersecurity arms race.

At KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam, Jad El-Zein and John Nicholson sit down with Philippe Klapp from F5 to discuss the evolution of Kubernetes networking, ingress, Gateway API, and web application security in modern cloud-native environments. The conversation explores how F5 has evolved from traditional hardware load balancers to cloud-native solutions running inside Kubernetes clusters, including NGINX, Container Ingress Services (CIS), and Distributed Cloud. They also discuss VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS), Gateway API momentum, WAF deployment models, AI-era protocols like MCP, and what platform engineering means for both VMware and F5 customers. If you’re running Kubernetes at scale or trying to simplify networking and security across private cloud and platform engineering workflows this episode is packed with practical insights. Guests: Philippe Klapp, F5 Hosts: Jad El-Zein & John Nicholson Event: KubeCon 2026 – Amsterdam

At KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam, Jad El-Zein and John Nicholson sit down with Duffie Cooley, Field CTO at Isovalent, to talk about eBPF, Cilium, Kubernetes networking, and the growing partnership between Isovalent and VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS). The conversation dives into how Cilium integrates with VKS as a day-zero add-on, how eBPF changes networking and observability inside Kubernetes, and why technologies like BGP, ECMP, and kube-proxy replacement matter for scalable modern platforms. Duffie also explains how Isovalent and VMware networking strategies complement each other, how enterprise capabilities extend beyond open source Cilium, and why add-on ecosystems are becoming critical for platform engineering teams operating Kubernetes at scale. If you’re building modern Kubernetes platforms, exploring VKS, or trying to simplify networking and security operations, this episode is packed with practical insights from one of the pioneers behind the technology. Guest: Duffie Cooley, Field CTO – Isovalent Hosts: Jad El-Zein & John Nicholson Event: KubeCon 2026 – Amsterdam

etworking has traditionally been one of the biggest barriers to private cloud agility. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Dimitri Desmidt from the VMware Cloud Foundation Networking team to explore how VCF Networking simplifies network operations in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1. The discussion covers how VPCs, connectivity policies, IP Address Management (IPAM) integration, and network automation allow infrastructure teams to provision networking services directly from vCenter without requiring deep networking expertise or constant coordination with network administrators. Dimitri walks through real-world examples showing how VCF Networking delivers self-service networking, multi-tenancy, simplified application isolation, and integrated network services while preserving the flexibility and scale required by modern private cloud environments. If you’ve ever wanted networking to be as easy to consume as compute and storage, this episode is for you.

Troubleshooting complex IT environments isn’t just about technology, it’s about people, process, and collaboration. Recorded at VMware Connect 2026, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Kim Delgado and Mandy Bosco-Wilson (better known as Team Kandy) to discuss collaborative troubleshooting methodologies that help organizations solve problems faster and more effectively. The conversation explores common troubleshooting anti-patterns, the importance of psychological safety, blameless inquiry, scientific troubleshooting methods, and real-world examples of complex issues spanning vSAN, Kubernetes, Cloud Native Storage, networking, and infrastructure operations. Kim and Mandy share stories from the field, including how a seemingly simple issue bounced between multiple support teams before collaborative troubleshooting uncovered the true root cause. They also discuss strategies for handling multi-vendor incidents, avoiding siloed thinking, and creating environments where everyone can contribute to finding solutions. Whether you’re a VMware administrator, platform engineer, SRE, architect, or IT operations leader, this episode offers practical techniques you can apply to your own troubleshooting processes.

VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (and 9.1) is generating a lot of excitement, but many organizations are still operating with assumptions based on older VCF releases. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Bill Oyler from Presidio to separate fact from fiction and discuss what customers are actually experiencing as they adopt VMware Cloud Foundation 9. Bill shares lessons learned from customer migrations, including brownfield convergences, external storage support, infrastructure readiness assessments, and some of the most common upgrade pitfalls organizations encounter. The conversation covers everything from Enhanced Linked Mode and distributed switches to certificates, firewall rules, hardware compatibility, and practical planning considerations for successful VCF 9 adoption. Whether you’re evaluating VMware Cloud Foundation, preparing for a migration, or already planning your upgrade, this episode provides valuable insights from real-world customer engagements and deployments. #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMware #VMwareCloudFoundation #VCF9 #VMUG #PrivateCloud #vSphere #vSAN #Broadcom

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, we’re live from VMUG Connect in Minneapolis with Brock Peterson and Dale Hassinger from Broadcom for a conversation about community, blogging, automation, AI, and career growth. Brock and Dale share how community involvement, technical blogging, VMUG participation, hackathons, and simply putting your work out into the world can create real career opportunities. Dale talks about his journey from customer and community contributor to Broadcom employee, while Broc explains why blogs still matter as practical, reusable technical content for customers and practitioners. The conversation also explores how AI is changing the way infrastructure teams work, from troubleshooting YAML and building automation to creating apps, dashboards, and AI-driven home lab workflows. Whether you’re looking to grow your career, start blogging, present at a VMUG, or experiment with AI and automation, this episode is packed with practical encouragement from two long-time community contributors.give me some alternate titles. Links Mentioned Brock's Blog: https://www.brockpeterson.com/ Dale's Blog: https://www.vcrocs.info/  

At KubeCon 2026, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with VMware by Broadcom’s Frank Denneman to explore one of the biggest infrastructure conversations happening in AI today: should Kubernetes workloads run on bare metal or virtualized infrastructure? The discussion dives deep into how AI workloads are changing infrastructure design, why Kubernetes and virtualization are becoming increasingly connected, and how technologies like DRS and Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA) are evolving to support modern GPU-intensive environments. Frank explains the operational, security, and resource management challenges organizations face as AI adoption accelerates — especially when dealing with expensive GPU clusters, multi-tenant AI workloads, and the rise of AI agents. Topics include: Why virtualization still matters for Kubernetes and AI GPU scheduling, topology awareness, and resource isolation DRA (Dynamic Resource Allocation) in Kubernetes AI infrastructure efficiency and GPU utilization Security and isolation for AI agents and workloads Token governance and AI operational guardrails Lessons learned from decades of virtualization applied to AI infrastructure If you’re trying to understand where Kubernetes, virtualization, and AI infrastructure are headed next, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.  

At KubeCon 2026, Pete and John sit down with Myles Gray, Product Marketing Engineer at Broadcom, to talk about what enterprises often underestimate when adopting Kubernetes. Myles shares lessons learned from years of working directly with Kubernetes platforms, platform engineering teams, and enterprise customers trying to move from experimentation into real production environments. The conversation dives into the operational realities of Kubernetes — including long-term maintenance, upgrades, GitOps workflows, CI/CD pipelines, open source integrations, security scanning, and why the ecosystem around Kubernetes matters just as much as Kubernetes itself. They also explore concepts like “golden paths to production,” Argo CD, Harbor, OpenTelemetry, container image security, Cloud Native Buildpacks, and how organizations can standardize application delivery without creating hundreds of fragmented deployment pipelines. If you’re trying to understand how enterprises are operationalizing Kubernetes at scale — and why platform engineering is becoming so important — this conversation is packed with practical insights.  

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 brings major updates to vSphere, and in this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Feidhlim O’Leary for a deeper technical look at what’s new. The conversation explores how vSphere 9.1 improves lifecycle management, streamlines firmware and driver updates, enhances VM management, and expands memory tiering capabilities introduced in earlier releases. Feidhlim also shares insights into observability improvements, operational simplification, and the types of day-to-day enhancements that practitioners will immediately appreciate. From certificate management and lifecycle automation to performance optimization and hardware enablement, this episode focuses on the practical operational improvements that make vSphere 9.1 one of the most substantial platform releases in recent years. If you’re running VMware Cloud Foundation or vSphere environments at scale, this is a great technical overview of the updates infrastructure teams should know about. #VMware #vSphere #VCF #VMwareCloudFoundation #virtuallyspeakingpodcast   Links Mentioned What’s New with vSphere in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1? https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/12/whats-new-with-vsphere-9-1/   VMware vCenter Virtual Hardware Gets an Upgrade in vSphere with VCF 9.1 https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/12/vcenter-virtual-hardware-upgrade/   Non-Disruptive VMware vCenter Patching in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/12/vcenter-quick-patch/  

Tigera is the creator of Calico, one of the most widely deployed Kubernetes networking and security platforms in the world, powering millions of Kubernetes nodes globally. In this conversation, Ratan explains why enterprise customers are demanding more advanced networking, observability, and microsegmentation capabilities for modern Kubernetes environments — especially as AI workloads continue to grow. The discussion covers Calico integration with VMware Kubernetes Service, platform engineering, service mesh, encryption, multi-cluster networking, and how organizations can simplify Kubernetes operations while improving security and performance. They also dive into one of the hottest topics at KubeCon: AI agents. Ratan shares how Tigera is thinking about agent governance, observability, authorization, and securing autonomous AI workloads across hybrid environments. If you’re building modern Kubernetes platforms, securing AI infrastructure, or operating cloud native applications at scale, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

At KubeCon 2026, Jad El-Zein and Frank Denneman sit down with Jeff Chapman from Vectara to discuss how enterprise RAG, vector databases, and AI agents are evolving inside modern private AI environments. The conversation explores how Vectara integrates with VMware Private AI Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation to help organizations scale AI applications securely across millions of documents while maintaining role-based access control, multimodal ingestion, and sovereign data protections. They also dive into enterprise search, hallucination prevention, citations, agent orchestration, long-running AI agents, GPU efficiency, and why on-prem AI infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for enterprises building production AI systems. Topics include: Enterprise RAG vs traditional search Vector databases and multimodal AI Role-based access control for AI AI agents and orchestration Sovereign AI and air-gapped environments GPU utilization and scaling AI workloads VMware Private AI Foundation integration On-prem AI economics and token costs #KubeCon #AI #PrivateAI #VMware #VCF #RAG #Agents #Kubernetes #VectorDatabase #EnterpriseAI

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 introduces some of the biggest changes to vSAN in years, and in this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete and John sit down with Pete Koehler, Product Marketing Engineer for vSAN, to break it all down.   The conversation dives into how vSAN is becoming simpler to operate, more efficient at scale, and better aligned with modern application and cyber recovery requirements. Pete explains the new Auto RAID capability, the redesigned effective capacity model, enhancements to global deduplication and compression, and how vSAN is reducing operational complexity through more automated, system-managed behavior.   The team also explores native S3-compatible object storage for AI and modern applications, support for QLC drives in cyber recovery environments, improvements for migrations between OSA and ESA clusters, and expanded encryption support across storage clusters.   Topics include: • Auto RAID and simplified storage policy management • Effective capacity and easier capacity planning • Global deduplication and new compression improvements • Zstandard (ZSTD) compression for structured data workloads • Native S3-compatible object storage in vSAN • QLC storage support for cyber recovery use cases • OSA to ESA migration flexibility • Remote datastore enhancements and encryption support • Cyber recovery and disaggregated storage clusters • vSAN security improvements in VCF 9.1 Links Mentioned More Capacity with VMware vSAN Compression and Global Deduplication in VCF 9.1 https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/07/vsan-compression-and-global-deduplication-in-vcf-9-1/     Cost-Efficient VMware vSAN ReadyNodes Certified for Cyber Recovery Deployments https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/07/vsan-readynodes-cyber-recovery/     Auto-RAID in VMware vSAN for VCF 9.1 - Comprehensive System-Managed Data Resilience https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/08/auto-raid-in-vsan-for-vcf-9-1/     Simplifying Storage with the New Effective Capacity View in VMware vSAN for VCF 9.1 https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/11/effective-capacity-view-in-vsan-for-vcf-9-1/     Greater Flexibility and Security with VMware vSAN Storage Clusters in VCF 9.1 https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/05/12/vsan-storage-clusters-in-vcf-9-1/  

Behind every feature in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is the work that makes it actually run at scale. In this episode, Pete and John sit down with Emad Younis to unpack the details practitioners care about most. From fleet architecture and latency planning to sizing at massive scale, Emad breaks down how to think about designing VCF environments in the real world. They also cover the shift from SDDC Manager to VCF Operations, how to approach upgrades without going all-in on day one, and what it really means to operate across thousands of hosts. If you’re planning, designing, or scaling VCF, this is the episode that connects the dots.

Cyber threats are evolving fast, and traditional defenses are no longer enough. In this episode, Pete and John sit down with Belu De Arbelaiz and Jacob Garrison from CrowdStrike to explore how VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is redefining cyber resilience. They break down the rise of AI-driven attacks, the shift toward malware-free breaches, and why identity compromise is now one of the biggest risks. The conversation dives into Advanced Cyber Compliance (OCC), the new isolated clean room for recovery, and how integration with CrowdStrike Falcon brings behavioral analysis into the recovery workflow. From detection to validation to recovery, this episode shows how organizations can confidently recover from attacks and get back to business faster.  

Edge environments are growing fast, but managing them at scale is anything but simple. In this episode, Pete and John sit down with Rick Walsworth to explore how VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is transforming edge deployments. From zero-touch provisioning and built-in security to lifecycle management and massive scale, Rick breaks down how organizations can deploy and manage thousands of remote sites with consistency and control. The conversation also covers emerging use cases like AI at the edge and real-world examples like software-defined manufacturing. If you’re looking to simplify edge operations while maintaining security and scalability, this episode is a must-watch.

AI is easy to demo but hard to run in production. In this episode, Pete and John sit down with Chris Wolf, Global Head of AI at Broadcom, to break down what it actually takes to operationalize AI. They explore how customers are moving from experimentation to real-world Private AI on VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1, where it fits alongside public cloud models, and how to identify use cases that deliver measurable business value. The conversation also dives into intelligent model routing, MCP governance, GPU and CPU flexibility, and why production inference requires a full platform approach. If you’re trying to separate AI hype from reality, this episode connects the dots.

Storage is at the center of rising infrastructure costs, and in this episode, Pete and John sit down with Rakesh to explore how VCF 9.1 is tackling that challenge head-on. From cutting hardware requirements in half to introducing global deduplication and native S3 object storage, this conversation dives into how vSAN is evolving to support modern workloads while driving down costs. They also explore new cyber recovery capabilities that bring compute, storage, and networking together for a more complete resilience strategy. If you’re looking to understand how storage is changing in the AI and cloud-native era, and what it means for your environment, this episode is packed with insights.

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 introduces a wide range of improvements across the platform, and in this episode, Pete and John sit down with William Lam to walk through the updates that matter most to practitioners. From zero-touch provisioning and faster patching to fleet management, real-time metrics, and the evolution of the VCF management platform, William shares a hands-on perspective shaped by real-world testing and customer feedback.

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is all about making the platform easier to consume and operate at scale. In this episode, Pete and John sit down with Dilpreet, Head of Engineering for VCF, to explore how that vision comes to life. From the introduction of VCF Automation and Kubernetes-based APIs to multi-cluster management and faster deployment models, this conversation focuses on simplifying how infrastructure is delivered and managed. They also dive into VKS 3.6 updates, including faster cluster deployment, expanded ecosystem support, and contributions to the CNCF community. If you’re looking to understand how VCF 9.1 improves developer experience, automation, and platform operations, this episode is a must-watch.

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 brings major updates across compute, storage, and networking, and in this episode, Pete and John sit down with Vijay, product lead for core infrastructure, to break it all down. From smarter memory utilization to native object storage and improved cyber resilience, this conversation focuses on the features that directly impact how customers run and scale their environments. Vijay also shares how VCF 9.1 simplifies networking integration and helps bridge the gap between virtual and physical infrastructure. If you’re looking to understand the core infrastructure innovations in VCF 9.1 and what they mean for real-world deployments, this episode delivers the highlights.

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is here, and in this kickoff episode, Pete and John sit down with Paul Turner, VP of Products for VMware Cloud Foundation, to set the stage for what this release really means. From rising hardware costs to the explosion of AI-driven applications, the data center is changing fast. Paul shares how VCF 9.1 is designed to address these shifts, helping organizations build an AI-ready platform that delivers efficiency, security, and operational simplicity. The conversation covers the real challenges customers are facing today, including cost pressures, the need for automation, evolving security models, and the growing importance of Private AI. If you want the big-picture view of where infrastructure is headed and how VCF 9.1 fits in, this is the place to start.

What does it really take to migrate to VMware Cloud Foundation 9? In this episode of Virtually Speaking, we sit down with a real customer to unpack their journey from a global vSphere environment to VMware Cloud Foundation 9. From early planning and architecture decisions to unexpected challenges and lessons learned along the way, this is a candid look at what a large-scale migration actually looks like in the real world. We cover everything from consolidating global data centers and deploying VCF 5.2 to making the leap to VCF 9.0, including why features like simplified lifecycle management and Private AI played a key role in the decision. If you’re planning a migration or just want to hear how others are approaching modernization with VCF, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply right away. What you’ll learn Why planning is the most critical step in any VCF migration How one financial institution approached global data center consolidation The decision to upgrade to VCF 9.0 before workload migration Lessons learned from automation, scope creep, and real-world execution How Private AI and new platform capabilities are shaping infrastructure strategy Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and follow Virtually Speaking for more conversations with customers, experts, and practitioners building modern private cloud environments with VMware Cloud Foundation.

We’re back with a recap episode from VMUG Connect Minneapolis, and this one is all about what actually matters on the ground. Joined by Brad Tompkins, we break down key takeaways from the event, from rising hardware and memory costs to the real conversations happening between practitioners navigating security challenges and evolving infrastructure decisions. What stood out most? The connection. Unlike massive conferences, VMUG Connect brings together a smaller, highly engaged community where real conversations happen. Whether it’s NSX rollouts, security strategies, or simply sharing lessons learned, this is where practitioners come to learn from each other. We also dive into: Flexibility in moving from vSphere 8 to 9 and into VCF at your own pace Expanded hardware compatibility and what that means for upgrades Practical security approaches that raise the bar without overcomplicating operations Why smaller events like VMUG Connect create more meaningful engagement Plus, we look ahead at upcoming VMUG Connect events in Toronto, Dallas, and Orlando, and what attendees can expect, including certifications, deeper technical sessions, and more time to actually connect. If you’re thinking about your next move with VCF, or just want to hear what your peers are really saying, this is the episode for you.

In this episode, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sat down with Dilpreet Bindra to break down some of the key announcements from KubeCon and what they mean for platform teams, Kubernetes operators, and the broader cloud native community. The conversation covered Broadcom’s continued investment in upstream Kubernetes, including the contribution of Velero to the CNCF as a sandbox project, and why that matters for disaster recovery and migration strategies. They also explored how projects like Cluster API and etcd are helping improve lifecycle management, reliability, scale, and operational consistency. They dug into how VMware Kubernetes Service is benefiting from upstream alignment, faster adoption of new Kubernetes releases, improved pod density, deeper integration with virtualization, and the growing importance of intelligent placement as modern infrastructure evolves to include specialized hardware like GPUs. The episode also touched on how automation, multi cluster management, and Kubernetes based consumption APIs are helping platform engineers simplify operations across VMs, Kubernetes, data services, and AI services. If you’re looking for a grounded conversation on where Kubernetes operations are headed and how enterprise platforms are evolving to make Kubernetes easier to run at scale, this is a great way to kick off our KubeCon 2026 recap series.  

KubeCon 2026 is underway, and in this episode of Virtually Speaking, Pete Fletcher and Jad Elzein sit down with Himanshu Singh to break down some of the biggest announcements coming out of the show. We cover Broadcom’s contribution of Project Valero to the CNCF Sandbox and why that matters for the future of Kubernetes backup, disaster recovery, and migration. The conversation also explores what it means to deepen VMware’s long standing commitment to the Kubernetes and CNCF community, and why community driven innovation matters for customers and partners alike. We also discuss new VKS ecosystem partnerships with F5, Kong, and Tigera, along with the broader strategy of keeping VKS close to upstream Kubernetes while making it easier for platform teams to adopt the tools and architectures they already use. If you are at KubeCon, stop by Booth 715 to connect with the team and see the latest demos and announcements in action. #KubeCon #Kubernetes #CNCF #Valero #VKS #PlatformEngineering #CloudNative #VirtuallySpeaking #VMwareCloudFoundation

KubeCon 2026 is officially underway, and we’re kicking things off in one of the most unique ways we’ve ever done - recording from a boat in the canals of Amsterdam 🇳🇱 In this kickoff episode of our Virtually Speaking KubeCon series, Pete, John, and Jad set the stage for the week ahead. From Platform Engineering Day to AI, GPUs, and Kubernetes at scale, there’s no shortage of innovation, learning, and community to dive into. We talk about what we’re most excited for, the energy around the event, and what you can expect from our coverage throughout the week. If you’re at KubeCon, come find us at booth 715. If you’re following along remotely, we’ve got you covered with interviews, insights, and conversations all week long. Let’s get after it.

Artificial Intelligence is dominating every conversation in tech right now, but how much of it is real progress and how much is hype? In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, we sit down with industry analyst and cloud expert Dave Linthicum to take an honest look at the current state of AI adoption in the enterprise. From failed AI pilots and unrealistic expectations to the infrastructure, cost, and governance challenges that many organizations underestimate, Dave shares why so many AI initiatives struggle to deliver real business value. Rather than focusing on the hype cycle, this conversation explores what it actually takes for enterprises to move from experimentation to production with AI. Dave also discusses the role of infrastructure teams, the risks organizations overlook when rushing into AI projects, and how companies can make smarter investments that deliver measurable outcomes. If your organization is evaluating AI or already experimenting with it, this episode offers a practical reality check on what it takes to succeed. Listen to more episodes of Virtually Speaking Full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8_k3uUCO39tAfMY__4iE8bIZg7wfO7SN&si=361xVOiuMF7EYzR6 ⸻ Connect with us Website: https://vspeakingpodcast.com

Get ready for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026 in Amsterdam with this special preview episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast. Pete Flecha, John Nicholson, Jad El-Zein, and Himanshu Singh break down what to expect from the event, why Broadcom’s presence at KubeCon matters, and how Kubernetes, platform engineering, open source, and AI are continuing to shape the future of infrastructure. In this episode, we discuss: What to expect from KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam Broadcom’s presence at booth 715 Platform Engineering Day and why it matters Open source contributions across projects like etcd, Cluster API, Harbor, and Velero The convergence of AI workloads and Kubernetes Why Kubernetes is becoming increasingly important across modern infrastructure How VMware by Broadcom is showing up in the cloud native ecosystem What the Virtually Speaking team will be doing on-site during the event We’ll also be recording interviews live from Amsterdam and connecting with engineers, partners, customers, and community members throughout the week. If you’ll be at KubeCon, reach out. We’d love to connect. #KubeCon #CloudNativeCon #Kubernetes #PlatformEngineering #Broadcom #VMware #VCF #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast

Identity is the new security perimeter. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson are joined by Lee Howard, Head of IAM Product Management at Broadcom, to break down Identity Security for VMware Cloud Foundation and why IAM, PAM, and zero trust access are critical for modern private cloud environments. As part of our VCF Advanced Services Series, this episode explores how identity security has evolved from simple Active Directory authentication and sticky-note passwords to: Risk-based, context-aware access Continuous verification and zero trust principles Privileged Access Management (PAM) with credential vaulting and session recording Protection for both human and machine identities Kubernetes-based, cloud-native deployment inside VCF We discuss how modern IAM platforms leverage standards like SAML and OpenID Connect, how PAM enforces least-privilege access and credential rotation, and how behavioral signals help prevent insider threats and compromised accounts. If you’re modernizing to a private cloud with VMware Cloud Foundation, identity can’t be an afterthought, it must be built into the platform. This episode explains how. What You’ll Learn Why identity is foundational to zero trust architecture How risk-based access adapts authentication dynamically The difference between IAM and PAM — and why you need both How privileged session recording protects against insider threats Why Kubernetes enables scalable, zero-downtime identity services in VCF How Identity Security supports DevOps and API-driven application teams 📌 About the VCF Advanced Services Series This series dives deeper into the advanced services available to VMware Cloud Foundation customers helping you understand what’s possible beyond core infrastructure and how these services enhance security, compliance, automation, and operational control. Watch the full Advanced Services playlist here: 👉 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8_k3uUCO39uFSUmnhzlggmRmEzNQ06GF&si=QNcv8vvkJOM-Gb-V  

Security has changed. It is no longer enough to focus on the perimeter and hope attackers never get inside. Modern threats are designed to move laterally through the environment using common protocols and predictable patterns. That is why security today is less about protecting everything and more about stopping attackers where they move. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson are joined by Jad El-Zein and security expert Chris McCain to talk about VMware vDefend and its role as an advanced security service for VMware Cloud Foundation. Chris explains how attackers typically move through environments using protocols like RDP, SMB, DNS, and Active Directory, and why focusing on those areas can dramatically reduce risk. The conversation explores how vDefend has evolved from the original NSX distributed firewall into a broader security platform that includes gateway firewalls, IDS and IPS, network traffic analysis, malware protection, and identity based policies. You will hear how vDefend treats virtual machines, containers, and even AI workloads the same from a security perspective, giving organizations a single management plane across all workload types. The discussion also covers identity based firewalling, developer self service guardrails, and the unique security challenges that come with AI infrastructure. This episode is part of our Advanced Services series for VMware Cloud Foundation, where we take a closer look at the services that extend VCF beyond core infrastructure. If you are looking to improve your security posture, reduce lateral movement risk, or bring identity driven security into your private cloud, this is an episode you will want to check out.

Load balancing has been around for decades, but the way applications are built and delivered today has changed the problem entirely. It is no longer just about speeds and feeds. It is about operational scale, automation, and the ability to support modern apps across private clouds, public clouds, and Kubernetes. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson are joined by Jad El-Zein and load balancing expert Nathan McMahon to talk about VMware Avi Load Balancer and its role as an advanced service in VMware Cloud Foundation. Nathan walks through the fundamentals of load balancing and then explains what really differentiates Avi. Instead of relying on traditional hardware appliances, Avi uses a software defined architecture that separates the control plane from the data plane. This allows the platform to scale automatically, self heal, and dramatically reduce the operational overhead typically associated with load balancing. The conversation covers how Avi monitors every connection in real time, integrates with vDefend for advanced security, and connects directly into core VCF services like vCenter, NSX, DNS, IPAM, and certificate authorities. The result is an automation first approach that supports platform engineering, self service consumption, and consistent operations across clouds and Kubernetes environments. They also discuss common migration challenges, why many customers overestimate SSL capacity needs, and how an API first architecture makes it easier to integrate load balancing into modern DevOps workflows. If you are modernizing your private cloud or looking for a more automated approach to application delivery, this episode is worth a listen.

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson continue the Advanced Services series with a deep dive into Network Observability. Joined by Broadcom’s Alec Pinkham, the conversation explores how traditional, reactive network monitoring falls short in modern hybrid and cloud-connected environments. The team discusses how network observability combines passive monitoring with active, synthetic traffic testing to provide true end-to-end visibility—from the end-user device to applications running across data centers, clouds, and third-party services. They also cover how this approach helps IT teams reduce mean-time-to-innocence, proactively detect issues, and validate large migrations. If you’re modernizing infrastructure or moving to VMware Cloud Foundation, this episode explains why understanding real user network experience is more critical than ever.  

  In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Advanced Services Series, we take a closer look at Automic Automation and how it helps organizations automate the business processes that run across their private cloud environments. John Nicholson and I are joined by Dave Kellermanns from Broadcom’s Agile Operations division to talk about where Automic fits, the kinds of workflows customers are automating today, and why the biggest automation wins often come from small, repetitive tasks. Rather than focusing only on infrastructure tasks, Automic is designed to orchestrate end-to-end business processes across multiple systems—everything from ERP and databases to legacy platforms and modern cloud services. We also cover real-world examples, including payroll automation, SAP data refreshes, and private AI data pipelines, along with practical advice on where to start with automation for the best ROI.

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast Advanced Services Series, we dive into VMware Data Services Manager (DSM) and how it delivers true Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) capabilities for the private cloud. Pete Flecha and co-host Jad El-Zein are joined by Michael Gandy, Product Manager for DSM, to explore how organizations can simplify the deployment and lifecycle management of modern open-source databases like PostgreSQL and MySQL. With databases representing up to 30% of enterprise workloads, many IT teams are struggling to keep up with demand—especially as skilled database administrators become harder to find. That’s where DSM comes in. Built as an integrated service within VMware Cloud Foundation, DSM automates database provisioning, patching, backups, and lifecycle operations, while giving developers self-service access within IT-defined guardrails. The conversation also highlights a real-world example from Broadcom IT, where DSM was selected through a competitive evaluation and is now delivering $10 million in annual savings by standardizing database services across 26 divisions. You’ll also see how DSM integrates with modern Kubernetes workflows, enabling developers to provision and manage databases using familiar tools like kubectl and YAML-based automation. If you’re looking to modernize your data platform, reduce operational overhead, and deliver DBaaS in your private cloud, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. What you’ll learn in this episode: Why modern database operations are becoming a major IT bottleneck • How DSM delivers DBaaS within VMware Cloud Foundation The evolving role of the database administrator Broadcom IT’s $10M annual savings with DSM How developers can provision databases through self-service and Kubernetes workflows Learn more about VMware Cloud Foundation Advanced Services: Explore the full Advanced Services series at vspeaking.com or on the VMware Cloud Foundation YouTube channel.

In this episode of Virtually Speaking, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson continue their Advanced Services series with a deep dive into VMware Advanced Cyber Compliance (ACC)—now generally available for VMware Cloud Foundation customers. Joined by Belu De Arbelaiz and Adam Hawley from VMware’s product management team, the conversation explores why cyber compliance and resilience have become mission-critical, and how ACC helps organizations move beyond manual, point-in-time audits to continuous enforcement and recovery. The discussion covers how ACC uses VMware Salt technology to define desired state configurations, detect drift, and automatically remediate issues at scale—monitoring tens of thousands of endpoints from a single control plane. The team also explains how ACC brings together compliance management and cyber disaster recovery, helping organizations meet evolving regulatory requirements such as DORA, GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA while proving real-world recoverability. You’ll also learn how ACC aligns with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, addresses credential-based and fileless attacks, and enables better collaboration between infrastructure, security, and compliance teams—all within a single VCF-integrated platform. If you’re responsible for compliance, security, or resilience in a private cloud environment, this episode breaks down why Advanced Cyber Compliance is becoming a foundational capability—not an optional add-on. Topics covered include: Why compliance must be continuous, not point-in-time Desired state configuration and automated drift remediation Scaling compliance and visibility with VMware Salt Cyber and ransomware recovery for on-prem VCF environments Meeting global regulatory and audit requirements Aligning security, compliance, and infrastructure teams Like, subscribe, and explore the full VCF Advanced Services series for deeper dives into each capability.

VMware Cloud Foundation Advanced Services are often misunderstood — or overlooked entirely. In this episode of Virtually Speaking, we kick off a new series focused on how VCF Advanced Services extend the platform beyond core infrastructure to address real-world challenges in cyber resilience, security, application delivery, data services, and operations. Rick Walsworth joins the show to provide a high-level overview of how VCF Advanced Services help customers address real-world challenges such as cyber resilience, zero trust security, application delivery, database automation, network visibility, and business operations. In this episode, we cover how VCF Advanced Services help customers:  • Strengthen cyber resilience with Advanced Cyber Compliance (ACC)  • Implement zero trust security with vDefend  • Modernize application delivery with Avi Load Balancer  • Simplify database operations with Data Services Manager (DSM)  • Gain end-to-end visibility with Network Observability  • Optimize cost and operations with ValueOps for VCF  • Secure identities and access across the platform The episode also explains why Private AI has moved from an advanced service to a core VCF capability, reflecting its growing importance in modern private cloud environments. This conversation sets the foundation for the series, with future episodes diving deeper into each service alongside subject matter experts. ▶️ Watch the episode to get a clear, practical understanding of VCF Advanced Services and how they fit into real customer environments. This episode sets the foundation for the series, with upcoming deep dives into each service featuring VMware subject matter experts.  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson welcome Vincent Riccio, VMware automation expert, for a deep dive into SaltStack automation and its role inside VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Advanced Services. Vincent explains how SaltStack, delivered through VMware’s Advanced Cyber Compliance (ACC) service, brings powerful configuration management, state enforcement, and automated remediation to modern private cloud environments. We explore how SaltStack continuously maintains desired system states, detects drift, and automatically corrects issues in seconds — all at scale. You’ll learn: • How SaltStack’s master–minion architecture enables secure inbound-only communication • The difference between configuration management and state management • How the reactor + beacon system enables real-time automated drift remediation • Built-in compliance and vulnerability scanning using CIS benchmarks • Resource requirements for SaltStack appliances in lab and production environments • Multi-language automation support with YAML, Python, and JSON • Robust Windows management with WinRepo • How SaltStack integrates into VMware’s broader automation and VCF advanced services ecosystem Vincent also shares real-world insights into scaling SaltStack, Postgres database sizing, compliance scanning depth (including hundreds of Ubuntu security checks), and how this modular, Python-based platform helps customers automate faster, safer, and smarter. If you’re exploring VCF automation, private cloud operations, or infrastructure-as-code, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.  

This episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast features hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson joined by returning guest Pete Koehler for a deep dive into vSAN and the evolving conversation around application versus infrastructure high availability. Pete Koehler highlights recent updates to vSAN Ready Nodes that significantly reduce hardware requirements, including up to 67% less RAM and 50% fewer CPU cores for vSAN storage cluster hosts—bringing notable cost and efficiency benefits. From there, the discussion shifts to availability design strategies. The trio explores the differences between application-level availability (features built directly into the app, such as database clustering or microservices patterns) and infrastructure-level availability provided by the virtualization platform. They cover when each approach makes sense, how they complement each other, and why a balanced strategy delivers the best resilience. Whether you’re a VI admin, an architect, or an application owner, this episode breaks down the real-world tradeoffs and helps you understand where the platform should handle availability—and where the application should take the lead.  

The Virtually Speaking Podcast heads to VMware Explore 2025, where Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Dale Hassinger, winner of this year’s VMware Explore Hackathon.   Dale shares the story behind his team’s winning project: a Model Contextual Protocol (MCP) server built in PowerShell that connects to VMware products and leverages AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to automatically generate dashboards and reports. With AI doing most of the coding, their solution can transform VMware environment data into markdown tables, CSV files, or full graphical dashboards—without additional manual coding.   The team built the project in just two weeks and completed it during the intense four-hour hackathon event. Dale also gives credit to his teammates Don, Amos, Cosmin, and Willie, highlighting how the VMware community comes together through collaboration and innovation.   If you’re curious about how AI is reshaping development and what happens when creativity meets community at VMware Explore, this episode is for you.

At VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and Dave Linthicum sat down with Paul Lembo, CTO for Strategic Americas at Broadcom, to capture the energy and insights from the event. Paul reflects on conversations with customers, partners, and integrators, highlighting how VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is building trust by delivering on promises made the previous year.   One of the biggest crowd-pleasers was the free certification opportunities, where attendees who passed walked away with custom VCF sneakers. Paul shares why this matters for practitioners and how executive sponsorship plays a critical role in successful transformation. He also emphasizes the importance of VMware’s full-stack solutions in helping practitioners succeed, while Dave highlights VMware’s strategy of adding value without forcing customers to rip and replace existing systems.   This conversation showcases VMware by Broadcom’s continued focus on meeting customers where they are, building momentum in private cloud adoption, and enabling organizations to evolve with confidence.

At VMware Explore 2025, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Chandra Prathuri, Product Management, VMware Cloud Foundation Division at Broadcom, to dive into the automation capabilities of VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0   The conversation kicks off with an analogy of turtles and tunnels, pointing out how slow and fragmented traditional IT operations can feel. Chandra explains how VCF 9 is designed to eliminate those bottlenecks by giving admins AWS-like self-service experiences on-premises—without the risk of surprise bills.   Key topics include: Automation at scale: Streamlining workflows that typically span compute, storage, network, and security teams. Fleet management: Lifecycle management with minimal downtime, certificate management, and desired state configuration. Governance and cost control: Balancing agility with oversight and financial predictability. Kubernetes and AI readiness: Native Kubernetes support plus GPU time-slicing to optimize workloads (e.g., inference during the day, training at night).   This episode highlights how VCF 9 helps IT teams shift from slow, ticket-based processes to a modern, automated private cloud experience.   👉 Don’t miss future episodes—subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform!  

At VMware Explore 2025 (Day Three), hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Raj Bhat from AMD and Dave Morera from Broadcom to discuss a major announcement: VMware’s support for AMD Instinct MI350 GPUs for Private AI workloads.   Raj dives into the specs of the MI350—288GB of memory and nearly 20 petaflops of performance, packaged in a UBB form factor with eight GPUs connected together—making it ideal for running large AI models. Dave explains how this partnership expands customer hardware choices while delivering the same seamless Private AI software experience powered by VMware Cloud Foundation.   The conversation also highlights: How AMD’s ROCM (Radeon Open Compute Model) framework enables flexibility with AI models. VMware Cloud Foundation’s automation for deploying these GPUs. AMD’s open-source and free software approach, reducing subscription costs. Hardware availability through OEM partners like Supermicro and Dell, with both air-cooled and water-cooled options. Compatibility with both AMD and Intel CPUs.   This session showcases how VMware and AMD are working together to give customers more choice, efficiency, and scalability in Private AI.

The Virtually Speaking Podcast is back from VMware Explore 2025 with an inspiring conversation featuring Nick Kuhn.   Hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson dive into Nick’s incredible home lab journey—from starting with a single HPZ 440 workstation to building a massive 16-host environment capable of running large language models.   Nick shares how his passion for vSAN sparked the growth of his lab, how winning first place at the 2023 Explore Hackathon with an AI project fueled his expansion, and why he focused on NVIDIA RTX 3090s for the best price-performance. Today, his setup includes multiple quad-GPU systems and supports colleagues through Tanzu Platform, enabling shared workloads and demos.   The discussion explores: How Nick evolved his lab from hobby to professional resource Lessons learned with vSAN and GPU collections for AI workloads Running local LLMs vs. relying on costly cloud subscriptions The role of Tanzu in delivering a multi-tenant private AI environment   Whether you’re into home labs, AI infrastructure, or VMware tech, this episode shows how curiosity and community can scale into something extraordinary.   👉 Subscribe for more conversations from VMware Explore and beyond.  

On day three of VMware Explore 2025, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Drew Nielsen to explore the economic value of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).   Drew explains how customer sentiment has shifted since last year—organizations have moved past the “five stages of grief” around perpetual licensing and are now fully embracing VCF. He highlights how VCF 9 with memory tiering delivers measurable savings: ~40% less costly than public cloud ~50% less costly than building a traditional three-tier data center   The discussion dives into hardware refresh strategies, emphasizing NVMe drives as essential for memory tiering, and introduces the Private Cloud Maturity and Optimization Tool (PCMO). The PCMO now goes beyond cost modeling with new upgrade readiness features, helping customers identify blockers and prepare for VCF 9 adoption.   Whether you’re evaluating cloud costs, planning your next hardware refresh, or considering a VCF upgrade, this conversation offers practical insights on how to maximize value from your private cloud investments.   👉 If you’d like to explore your own customized cost model, VMware’s sales teams and partners can help you get started with just four simple inputs.   #VMwareExplore #VCF #PrivateCloud #Broadcom  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Nick Kuhn from VMware Tanzu during VMware Explore 2025. Nick—who also hosts Cloud Foundry Weekly—breaks down what Tanzu is today following VMware’s recent organizational changes under Broadcom.   He explains how Kubernetes components (now called VMware Kubernetes Service, or VKS) have shifted to the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) division, while Tanzu now focuses on Platform as a Service (PaaS) technologies originating from Pivotal Software. Nick highlights how Tanzu Platform complements VCF by giving developers a simplified experience: just push code and let the platform handle infrastructure complexity.   The conversation also covers: How Tanzu integrates with VCF components like NSX and Avi Load Balancer New announcements including Tanzu Platform 10.3 and VMware Tanzu Data Intelligence (a Snowflake/Databricks-like solution for VCF environments) Nick’s personal Koon Labs setup, which showcases Tanzu in action   Whether you’re in IT operations, development, or exploring cloud-native strategies, this episode gives clarity on how Tanzu and VCF work hand-in-hand to deliver modern application platforms.   🔔 Subscribe to Virtually Speaking for more VMware Cloud Foundation insights, expert interviews, and event coverage.

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Jad El-Zein, technologist at Broadcom, live from VMware Explore 2025.   Jad, who recently returned to the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) team after his time with the Tanzu Business Unit, shares his perspective on application modernization and how VCF 9.0 delivers a complete private cloud platform for today’s workloads. He explains why “modern apps” shouldn’t be limited to just Kubernetes or containers, but should include any application that drives business value—including VMs.   The conversation covers: VMware’s journey in the Kubernetes space since 2015, strengthened by the Heptio acquisition in 2018 The rise of hybrid runtimes, where VMs and containers coexist seamlessly How Tanzu Mission Control integrates into VCF automation for multi-cluster management The role of infrastructure services in delivering application resilience Advice for IT leaders on approaching app modernization, including treating Kubernetes as part of the infrastructure stack   If you’re navigating your organization’s modernization journey, this episode offers practical insights on how VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 supports both traditional and modern workloads—helping IT teams build a future-ready private cloud.  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast from VMware Explore 2025, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with vSAN expert Pete Koehler to dig into the latest advancements in vSAN technology.   The conversation explores how vSAN design and operations have evolved, with networking now taking center stage over disk configurations as the platform moves fully to all-NVMe and ESA architecture. Pete Koehler shares insights on how VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) operations integrate with vSAN, highlighting the benefits of Broadcom’s unified product strategy under Hock Tan’s directive.   Key topics include: The surge in vSAN ESA adoption and how it’s meeting expectations Global deduplication at the cluster level for greater storage efficiency A tech preview of native S3 object storage built directly into vSAN   Whether you’re a VI admin, architect, or just curious about where VMware’s storage strategy is heading, this episode delivers valuable perspectives straight from the expert.