VMware’s latest VCF 9 and Tanzu platform developments change the way enterprises can approach infrastructure automation and application deployment. The new updates are promising to reduce complexity while accelerating developer productivity.
At VMware Explore in Las Vegas, we spoke with Burt Toma, Head of Product Management for the Tanzu division, about the significant shifts in VMware’s automation strategy and how the company is addressing long-standing complexity issues within its product portfolio.
VCF 9: Consolidating VMware’s complex ecosystem
One of the most significant changes in VMware’s recent evolution is the consolidation of its previously fragmented product portfolio into VCF 9 (VMware Cloud Foundation). This move addresses years of customer feedback about product complexity and frequent naming changes that made the VMware ecosystem difficult to navigate. “VCF 9 has done what is really been an amazing work of taking all of those pieces, including what had been vRealized automation and operations, and pull it into one cohesive package,” explained Toma. The result is a unified platform that provides not just infrastructure as a service, but also containers as a service with comprehensive Kubernetes management.
Two-tier automation strategy
VMware’s automation approach now operates on two distinct levels. The first tier focuses on cloud administrators managing virtual infrastructure, where tasks that previously required extensive manual configuration of firewalls and NSX can now be accomplished with simple clicks. The second tier addresses developer needs, where Tanzu platform automatically handles application deployment requirements like high availability and load balancing across zones.
“The developer application team doesn’t have to worry about where it goes,” Toma noted, highlighting how this abstraction allows developers to focus on code rather than infrastructure complexity.
Developer productivity and GitOps integration
The Tanzu platform’s integration with GitOps processes represents a major shift in how applications move from development to production. Most customers now tie their deployment processes directly into Git workflows, creating a more predictable and faster deployment pipeline.
This automation extends to impressive scale ratios, with organizations typically seeing developer-to-administrator ratios of 200:1 or even 400:1, dramatically reducing the need for specialized infrastructure staff.
Reduced training and certification requirements
Historically, organizations invested thousands of dollars annually in VMware certifications to maintain their IT teams’ expertise. The simplified automation approach promises to reduce these educational requirements significantly, as platform-as-a-service solutions like Tanzu platform eliminate the need for deep Kubernetes and service mesh expertise across entire teams.
AI integration and future automation
VMware is incorporating AI capabilities in two key areas: developer assistance through coding copilots and MCP servers for Spring applications, and enabling AI integration within enterprise applications through Spring AI. This dual approach supports both the development process and the end-user experience.
The company has also introduced intelligent assistants that help administrators drill down into infrastructure and application problems more quickly, representing an early step toward more comprehensive AI-driven operations management.
Governance and guardrails
As automation reduces traditional operational workloads, VMware is focusing more heavily on governance and compliance frameworks. The platform now enables organizations to establish guardrails that automatically enforce corporate standards while allowing application teams to work within predefined safe boundaries.
“You describe it into Tanzu platform and it helps you keep your organization on the right path,” Bert explained, emphasizing how the platform shifts focus from manual oversight to systematic governance.
Data intelligence capabilities
Beyond infrastructure and application automation, VMware has expanded into data management with Tanzu Data Intelligence. This solution combines high-value open source projects into a managed data lakehouse platform based on Postgres, offering massively parallel processing capabilities while maintaining the benefits of open source development.
The data intelligence platform integrates ingestion, workflow management, data transformation, caching, and container compute services, providing a comprehensive solution for organizations building data-driven applications.