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Why VMware Explorer Las Vegas Should Be on Your Radar This Year

Posted 21.06 2025

In this article, I’ll share why I believe it’s a must-attend event based on my own experience from the past years. I’ll also walk you through the top sessions I’m most excited about this year, especially those that tackle real-world challenges like VCF implementation, migration, and automation.

Why You Should Attend Explorer Las Vegas AUGUST 25 – 28

Explorer Las Vegas is just around the corner, and if you work with VMware technology or just want to stay ahead in the cloud game this is the event you don’t want to miss.

Why Attend?

💡 Get Fresh Ideas and Real-World Solutions

This conference is the perfect opportunity to learn how others have solved challenges similar to the ones you’re facing today. You'll hear real-world customer stories, lessons learned, and creative solutions that can inspire your next big move.

🚀 Stay Updated with the Latest Tech

Get a serious dose of knowledge refresh! on the newest technologies. Whether you're looking to implement VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), migrate workloads, or optimize private cloud strategy, this event will help you align your organization's tech direction with the future.

🤝 Meet Other Enthusiasts

You’ll connect with people who are just as passionate about cloud and virtualization as you are. Whether it's during a breakout session, a roundtable, or over a coffee, there’s no better place to grow your professional network.

🤗 Team Building

Traveling and attending sessions together with your team is a great bonding experience. You'll learn more about each other’s strengths, share insights, and come back aligned and motivated.

🌟 My Personal Experience

This will be my fourth year in a row attending Explorer, and each year has brought something new. I’ve met incredible people, discovered solutions and upon returning from the conferences, implemented many of the solutions in our own environment. Every year, I return with more motivation and knowledge and closer bonds with the team I travel with.

👉 [LINK TO REGISTRATION]

Top Sessions I’ll Be Attending at Explorer 2025

Every year, I try to be intentional about which sessions I attend at the conference. Rather than picking what simply looks interesting or trendy, I focus on the topics that are most relevant to the customers I’m working with right now. This year, that means diving into sessions that address the real-world challenges they’re facing—especially around implementing VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and migrating workloads.

Below is the link for the content catalog:

👉 Link to catalog

Starting the Week Right: Inspiration First

I always like to kick off the week with something engaging and energizing. That’s why I’m starting with some highlight-style breakout sessions. These tend to have names like “10 Amazing Things…” and are designed to be approachable, not overly technical. They’re perfect for getting your brain into conference mode and setting the stage for deeper technical sessions later in the week.

Here are a few I’ll definitely attend:

10 Amazing Facts That Prove VCF is the Right Single Platform for Kubernetes, Containers and VMs [CLOB1209LV]
A great intro session to reinforce the value of VCF and help frame conversations with customers who are still evaluating or expanding their strategy.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
10 Amazing New Things with VMware Live Recovery [CLOB1943LV]
I’m excited for this one, it’s a great way to stay up to date with the latest innovations in recovery solutions, which is a hot topic for many customers today.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]

Deep Dives That Matter to My Customers

Of course, once the week gets going, I’ll be diving into more technical and strategic sessions. One session I’m particularly looking forward to is:

Best Practices for Deploying Private Cloud [CLOB1586LV]
This session offers a high-level strategic overview of deploying VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). It’s ideal for customers planning their private cloud architecture or looking to align their current deployments with industry best practices.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
A Real-World Path to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0: Customer Journey [CLOB1217LV]
What does it really take to move from a traditional VMware environment to VCF 9.0? In this session, we’ll hear directly from customers who have gone through the transition and will be covering everything from assessing their environment to planning, migrating, and running on VCF. Expect practical steps, lessons learned, and a realistic view of the business impact.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
Choosing Your Path to VMware Cloud Foundation: A Technical Guide for Migration [CLOB1100LV]
This session dives into the technical realities of migrating to VCF including the risks, complexities, and key decision points. It’s highly relevant for teams actively planning or currently navigating their migration journey.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]

Architecting for the Future: Deep Technical Design Sessions

In addition to customer-focused sessions, I’m also prioritizing a couple of in-depth architect tracks this year. These are ideal for anyone looking to understand the design principles and operational strategies behind VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0.

Design and Architect: Best Practices for Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 [CLOB1427LV]
Covers the architecture and components of VCF 9.0, with best practices for greenfield deployments. Includes a live demo of the new Unified Installer both UI and fully automated options.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
Design and Architect: Managing and Operating at Scale with VCF 9.0 [CLOB1487LV]
Focuses on day-two operations with monitoring, troubleshooting, and automation with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to manage VCF at scale efficiently.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
Design and Architect: Migration Considerations for VMware Cloud Foundation [CLOB1100LV]
Offers practical insights into the technical paths, risks, and key decisions involved in migrating existing environments to VCF 9.0.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]

Must-See Sessions on Operations and Automation

There are a couple of key sessions I’m especially looking forward to—one focused on a product nearly everyone uses, and another on automation, which is always critical for optimizing environments.

A Technical Update on VMware Cloud Foundation Operations Innovations [CLOB1458LV]
A great update on what's new in VCF Operations (formerly Aria Operations). Covers how it helps manage performance, capacity, security, and compliance across private cloud environments. A must for anyone involved in daily operations.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
Getting Started with VMware Cloud Foundation CLI and API Help Center [CLOB1762LV]
Learn the basics of managing VCF using the CLI, automated APIs, and Terraform. A hands-on session for those looking to improve automation and efficiency in their VCF environments.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]

Meet the Experts: Real Conversations, Real Insights

Another great way to learn is by attending the Meet the Expert Roundtables. These are small, informal sessions where you sit at a round table with a VMware expert and have the chance to ask any questions no matter how basic or advanced. It’s a relaxed setting, perfect for getting clarity on topics you’ve always wondered about.

Here are two sessions I’m attending:

Ask Me Anything About Private AI Foundation [CLOM1931LV]
Private AI is a hot topic right now. In this session, you can ask questions about VMware Private AI Foundation, GPU feature updates in VCF 9.0, and broader AI developments.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]
Learn How to Import Existing VMware vSphere Environments to VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 [CLOM1914LV]
A hands-on discussion about bringing existing vSphere environments into VCF 9.0. We’ll cover design tips, limitations, and real-world experiences with converting traditional setups into a modern private cloud.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]

And of Course… The Party 🎉

Conferences aren’t just about technology, they are also about the people. I’m looking forward to wrapping up the week with:

The Party [ACT2028LV]
Work hard, play hard. This is the must-attend social event of the week. Expect great food, drinks, games, and live music—an ideal way to unwind, meet peers, and recharge for the rest of the week.
👉 [LINK TO SESSION]

There’s also one more must-attend session—the General Session. But I’ll save my thoughts on that for another post.

Thanks for reading, and I hope many of you will consider joining VMware Explore Las Vegas. It’s going to be an exciting and valuable week!