Small IT Team, Big Upgrade: USSFCU’s Journey to VCF 9

In this VMware Explore 2025 edition of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson talk with Raj Reddi from the United States Senate Federal Credit Union (USSFCU) and Alexis Colon, Sr. Solutions Architect at Broadcom.   Raj shares how USSFCU—serving a sensitive membership that includes Senate and Supreme Court communities—successfully upgraded from VCF 5.2 to VCF 9 with minimal downtime, despite having a lean IT team of just 22 people.   Key highlights include: 🔹 How Private AI is being leveraged for advanced fraud detection and member protection 🔹 The role of careful planning and strong partnerships in executing a smooth upgrade 🔹 Why the unified nature of VCF 9 eliminates siloed infrastructure and accelerates innovation 🔹 Lessons learned from aligning technical design with business initiatives   This conversation is proof that with the right approach and trusted partners, even small IT teams can deliver enterprise-grade innovation and resilience.   👉 Watch the full episode to hear how USSFCU modernized with VMware Cloud Foundation 9.   #VMwareExplore #VCF #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #PrivateAI #FraudDetection #Broadcom #FinancialServices  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, recorded at VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Vijay Ramachandran, VP of Products for Core Infrastructure at Broadcom.   Vijay shares the latest innovations in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) that are reshaping core infrastructure: 🔹 Memory Tiering – a technical feature that’s seeing surprisingly high customer engagement 🔹 vSAN Global Deduplication – cluster-wide dedupe for better efficiency and cost savings 🔹 Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) – simplifying network configuration and bringing cloud-like networking to VCF   The discussion also dives into new security and resilience capabilities, including: ✔️ Confidential Compute ✔️ Hypervisor-level EDR integration ✔️ Ransomware recovery for on-prem environments   Vijay also announces a tech preview for object storage, addressing a long-standing customer request with a built-in solution.   Looking ahead, he shares the future direction of VCF—expanding security, advancing data protection, and extending enterprise-grade VM features into the Kubernetes ecosystem to power modern apps.   👉 Don’t miss this deep dive into the future of VMware Cloud Foundation!   #VMwareExplore #VMwareCloudFoundation #VCF #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #PrivateCloud #Broadcom  

At VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Himanshu Singh to unpack one of the biggest announcements: Private AI is now natively built into VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF 9.0).   With this shift, customers no longer need an add-on service—all Private AI capabilities are included as part of VCF entitlement, making AI more accessible and integrated than ever.   Key highlights from the conversation: 🔹 AI-Native VCF – Private AI becomes part of the core platform for every customer. 🔹 GPU Advancements – Support for NVIDIA Blackwell B200 and RTX Pro 6000, plus new AMD Instinct MI350 series GPUs. 🔹 Networking Improvements – Enhanced Direct Path IO for NVIDIA ConnectX-7 and BlueField-3. 🔹 Data Privacy & Sovereignty – Built-in security and virtualization efficiency to run AI with confidence.   Himanshu explains how these innovations bring together modern infrastructure, advanced accelerators, and trusted security to help organizations adopt AI while maintaining full control over their data.   👉 Subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast for more VMware Explore 2025 coverage and insights into the future of private cloud and AI.  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, recorded at VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Michael Miller, IT Systems Architect at Mary Washington Healthcare.   Mike shares his inspiring career journey from working the midnight help desk shift to leading IT architecture at a healthcare organization where uptime isn’t just about business continuity—it’s about saving lives.   He walks through Mary Washington Healthcare’s modernization journey: 🔹 Transitioning from legacy infrastructure to hyperconverged VxRail 🔹 Implementing VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) for automation and consistency 🔹 Leveraging automation for certificate updates and password rotations, reducing human error 🔹 Gaining real-time visibility through metrics to optimize system performance   The discussion highlights the critical role of IT in healthcare, the importance of professional implementation, and how automation and modernization with VCF directly improve system reliability—and ultimately, patient care.   👉 Don’t miss this story of IT transformation where technology and healthcare intersect.  

At VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Himanshu Singh to discuss the expanded partnership between VMware and Canonical—bringing together the world’s #1 private cloud and the #1 cloud OS.   Himanshu explains how Ubuntu OS with Canonical’s 10-year enterprise support is now bundled as part of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) entitlement, simplifying operations for enterprise customers. A key highlight is the introduction of “chisel containers”—lightweight Ubuntu images optimized for specific workloads. These minimal containers reduce image size from ~200MB to ~50MB, improving efficiency and dramatically lowering vulnerabilities (their demo dropped CVEs from 16 to just 1).   The conversation also explores how the partnership addresses air-gapped environments by delivering pre-compiled virtualized GPU drivers, enabling faster, more secure AI deployments.   Whether you’re running Kubernetes, modern applications, or AI workloads, this partnership delivers a more secure, efficient, and enterprise-ready private cloud platform.   👉 Subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast for more VMware Explore 2025 coverage!  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast recorded at VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Jon Rosenson, President & COO at Expedient, to explore how Expedient is delivering VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) as a Service.   Expedient, a full-stack cloud services provider with over 25 years of experience and a VMware partner since 2008, helps clients simplify IT by managing VCF on their behalf. Jon explains how Expedient delivers: ☁️ Multi-tenant and dedicated private cloud environments powered by VCF ⚙️ End-to-end infrastructure and expertise so clients only need to subscribe 🏥 Real-world use cases in healthcare and other industries, where organizations rely on Expedient to handle IT infrastructure so they can focus on core business 🔄 Hybrid IT solutions that bridge public cloud and private cloud, including client data center acquisitions converted into multi-tenant facilities   The conversation also highlights how the Expedient–VMware by Broadcom partnership is evolving, with program changes opening the door for more customers to benefit from VCF as a Service.   👉 Watch now to learn how Expedient is helping customers rethink their cloud strategies with VMware Cloud Foundation.   #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMwareExplore #VCF #CloudServices #HybridCloud #Expedient  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast from VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Dilpreet Bindra, Sr. Director of Engineering at VMware by Broadcom, to talk about the evolution of Kubernetes and VMware’s latest innovations.   Dilpreet explains how Kubernetes has moved from niche adoption to the mainstream, with 80–90% of new applications now being built on Kubernetes. He highlights how VMware Kubernetes Service (VKS) stands out by empowering application teams to own and manage their own clusters—avoiding the bottlenecks of centralized “pet” clusters.   The conversation also explores: ⚡ VMware’s commitment to delivering new Kubernetes versions within eight weeks of upstream releases 🤝 VMware’s ongoing contributions to the Kubernetes ecosystem 📦 Argo CD support for Git-based deployments across both Kubernetes and VMs 📊 New monitoring capabilities in VCF 9 for tenant-specific and admin-level visibility 💬 Customer feedback, with many praising VMware for “delivering the cloud on premise” and enabling them to rethink infrastructure strategies   If you’re building modern applications or driving cloud-native transformation, this episode shows how VMware is helping organizations deliver Kubernetes with the agility of public cloud—on-premises.   👉 Watch now and subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast for more insights from VMware Explore!   #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMwareExplore #Kubernetes #VMwareCloudFoundation #VKS #ArgoCD  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast recorded at VMware Explore 2025, hosts Pete Flecha and Dave Linthicum sit down with Johan van Amersfoort from ITQ to discuss ITQ’s long-standing partnership with VMware by Broadcom and their latest innovation for AI.   Johan introduces ITQ’s new GPU Sizer tool for VMware Private AI Foundation, designed to make GPU infrastructure sizing for AI workloads simple and accurate. By connecting directly to HuggingFace to retrieve model parameters, the tool requires only the model name and expected concurrent sessions — automating what was once a complex process.   The discussion also covers: 🤝 ITQ’s 15-year journey as one of VMware’s top five global partners 🧠 How ITQ has been implementing AI solutions since 2018 👥 Parallels between AI adoption and end-user computing experiences 🔧 The potential for GPU Sizer to integrate into automation workflows for more efficient resource management 📢 The announcement that ITQ is now an official partner for VMware Private AI Foundation   If you’re exploring how to size, deploy, and manage GPU resources for AI applications, this conversation is packed with practical insights.   👉 Watch now and subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast for more expert discussions from VMware Explore!   #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMwareExplore #PrivateAI #GPU #ITQ #VMwareCloudFoundation  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast from VMware Explore 2025, host Pete Flecha is joined by Anupama Mahabhashyam and Odded Solomon to discuss the latest innovations transforming the telecommunications industry.   The conversation covers: 📡 The shift from physical network functions to cloud-native, containerized applications ⚙️ The launch of Telco Cloud Platform 5.1 with enhanced GitOps capabilities ☁️ How telcos can position themselves as sovereign cloud providers 🔄 Dynamic infrastructure policies that auto-configure VMs when apps are deployed, reducing cross-team coordination 🛡️ Why critical telco networks require rigorous validation cycles before production 🤝 The convergence roadmap between Telco Cloud Platform (TCP) and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), with VCF 9.2 set to integrate telco capabilities (more details coming at VMware Explore London)   If you’re in the telecom space, this episode highlights how VMware is helping CSPs modernize operations, increase agility, and prepare for sovereign cloud demands.   👉 Don’t miss this deep dive from VMware Explore. Subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast for more expert insights!   #VMwareExplore #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #Telco #CloudNative #VMwareCloudFoundation #SovereignCloud  

In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, hosts Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Glenn Sizemore from NetApp live at VMware Explore 2025 to discuss NetApp Disaster Recovery, a SaaS service within the BlueXP portfolio designed specifically for VMware workloads.   Glenn explains how the service delivers disaster recovery that feels a lot like Site Recovery Manager (SRM) — but built exclusively for NetApp systems. Leveraging SnapMirror for data transport and array-based offloads, the service provides: A guided wizard for building replication plans Easy configuration of mappings between data centers Support for existing or new SnapMirror relationships Non-disruptive test failovers using FlexClone technology Fast failover execution in as little as 5–10 minutes   Pricing is capacity-based (about $0.03 per GB/month, or ~$368 per TB/year) — avoiding traditional per-VM licensing.   Currently, NetApp Disaster Recovery supports on-prem to on-prem, and on-prem to EVS or VMC on AWS, with Azure and Google Cloud support in development.   👉 Learn how this service simplifies disaster recovery for VMware environments while reducing costs and complexity.   🎧 Subscribe to the Virtually Speaking Podcast for more VMware Explore conversations and insights!   #VMwareExplore #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMware #NetApp #DisasterRecovery