My VMware Explore 2024 Recap: Community, Innovation, and More!
With VMware Explore 2024 in Barcelona now behind us, this year’s incredible journey has ended! As always, I’m excited to share my thoughts and key takeaways from the event this time with a special focus on the vibrant vCommunity activities that made it all the more memorable. Let’s dive in!
The Keynote
The message from VMware Explore 2024 was crystal clear: VMware, under Broadcom’s leadership, is doubling down on the private cloud. Key announcements emphasized a streamlined portfolio built on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), a powerful combination of virtualization and automation. Additionally, the company showcased significant advancements in application modernization, boosted by continuous innovation in security, observability, and artificial intelligence services. These investments underline VMware’s commitment to empowering organizations to modernize and secure their environments efficiently.
This is promising news for customers, but ensuring long-term sustainability and maintaining an “open door” for feedback and continuous service improvement will be key. Over the past two years, we’ve heard much about VMware’s transition under Broadcom.
With a strong focus on the private cloud and PowerAI, VMware is poised to solidify its position as a leading technology solution for enterprise companies. The true simplification of operations lies in the power of automation and operational tools, now seamlessly integrated into a single bundle: VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). This unified approach aims to streamline enterprise workflows and accelerate modernization efforts.
Communities, Communities, Communities!
One of the standout aspects of VMwareExplore 2024 was the incredible focus on community, and this year’s setup took the experience to a whole new level.
For the first time ever, the vCommunity Lounge was located in the Expo Area, with the VMUG booth conveniently situated nearby. As someone actively involved in both the {Code} program and VMUG leadership, I found this setup to be fantastic! It created a central hub where anyone could explore and engage with all the vibrant VMware communities in one place.
However, there was one small drawback: the lounge followed the expo schedule. While it opened a day before the keynote sessions, it didn’t provide the kind of downtime bloggers typically use to write, network, or relax. That said, the overall setup and activities were nothing short of amazing! It truly felt like a “real” community space, buzzing with energy and bringing people together to share ideas, stories, and insights.
I can’t close this post without highlighting the VMware {code} community. With three days packed with sessions and always full Code Lab sessions, Eric Nielsen and Franky Barragan have continuously worked to improve these experiences with each event. Having known them personally, I can feel the growing energy and passion they bring to organizing these activities. For the first time ever, I had the honor of contributing by streaming the Code sessions. It was an incredible experience, and you can catch all the {code} recorded sessions here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnopqt07fPn2PCdilRfavaJ1XMDv1VyTd
Ah! Don’t forget to check also Franky’s recap post: https://blogs.vmware.com/code/2024/11/19/recap-vmware-code-theater-sessions-at-vmware-explore-barcelona-2024/
Last but not least, the Community Talks theater served as a fantastic space for sharing VMware-related topics through quick, engaging talks. My good friend Gareth Edwards took the stage to share his expertise on OBS and his pro equipment for high-quality streaming on YouTube. You can find the recorded sessions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLNacJN-hH4&list=PLZwmVchtkJXNWkz_Z3rLEXfe86YpcV7l9
To wrap up this chapter, I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Julia Klaus and Corey Romero for their unwavering dedication to making the vCommunity such a fantastic place to connect and grow every day!
This is just the beginning of my reflections on VMwareExplore 2024! There are still more community moments, friendships, vRockstars, and {code} projects to share. Stay tuned for the next posts!