Broadcom is introducing a new lower tier for its VMware vSphere portfolio, aimed at businesses with modest virtualization needs. This option is designed for “essential virtualization” workloads.
Core features included in the new tier
Despite the lower price point, the offering retains the main capabilities of the core hypervisor. Prashanth Shenoy, Vice President of product marketing for Broadcom’s VCF division, noted that the service includes vMotion live migration, High Availability, and the vSphere Distributed Switch. It also covers vCenter Quick Patch, zero-trust security, and the Trusted Platform Module.
Shenoy explained the product’s origin during a press briefing. This segment includes environments with up to 128 cores, where customers want to start with compute virtualization rather than a full private cloud or enterprise-grade foundation.
Availability and compatibility
The new tier is compatible with the recently launched vSphere 9 update. This addition continues Broadcom’s pattern of restructuring its vSphere offerings since closing its acquisition of VMware.
Broadcom continues to iterate on its VCF platform with a slate of new features. The update includes automated day-zero deployment for Private AI Cloud, native object storage capabilities, and infrastructure configuration management. It also adds Virtual Private Cloud policy-based connectivity and disaster recovery tools.
VMware’s VCF recently received version 9.1.1, which focused heavily on security. This update addressed vulnerabilities tied to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI tool and Project Glasswing. Krish Prasad, SVP and GM for VCF, explained that customer feedback during the Mythos incident prompted Broadcom to alter its update cycle plans.
Prasad stated that customers prioritized securing their environments, leading Broadcom to delay some feature development. “We are prioritizing security first,” he said. “Customers were happy with this update change because they are worried about security too.”
Customers at the event did express support for the move, despite the release altering VMware’s previous realignment on its VCF update strategy. That alteration was announced last year and moved from having a “major” release every two years with “minor” updates every six months to a new model of rel.
Shenoy noted that the upcoming VCF update is scheduled for release sometime during the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
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