In-Depth

VMware Explore 2025 -- Why You Need to Go

• By Tom Fenton
• 06/02/2025

VMware Explore 2025, the gathering of VMware technologists, is set for Aug. 25-28 at the Venetian, Las Vegas. Here's why it's a must-attend event.

The VMware Explore site is now live, presenting its reasons for attending the event. I have my own reasons for attending, some of which align with theirs, while others do not.

Before I present my reasons why you should attend the event, let's review what has happened regarding VMware over the past couple of years.

Looking Back at VMware
In May of 2022, Broadcom announced its intention to acquire VMware.

The Wall Street Journal's headline about the acquisition characterized VMware as unsexy. I strongly disagree with the Wall Street Journal's characterization of VMware as "unsexy," I can see why they made that claim, as VMware was a stable and mature company.

The transaction closed in November 2023 after a prolonged delay in getting approval from regulators across the globe. One of the more significant concessions made to secure approval from the Chinese was that it had to agree to maintain compatibility with third-party hardware and not require the use of Broadcom's hardware products. This was good news for VMware's hardware partners and ecosystem.

After Broadcom acquired VMware, the company reorganized into four divisions: VMware Cloud Foundation, Tanzu (which encompasses Kubernetes and containers), Software-Defined Edge, and Application Networking and Security.

In December 2023, VMware discontinued availability for perpetually licensed products, such as vSphere and Cloud Foundation, and transitioned exclusively to subscription-based offerings.

In February 2024, private equity firm KKR and Broadcom announced their agreement to acquire Broadcom's End-User Computing (EUC) Division, previously a part of VMware, for approximately $4 billion. The EUC division, now known as Omnissa, encompasses the desktop and app virtualization product Horizon and the device management suite Workspace ONE UEM (formerly AirWatch).

One of the more interesting moves is that VMware announced it would make VMware Workstation Pro and VMware Fusion Pro free for personal use, with commercial use still requiring payment. Later in November 2024, VMware announced that commercial use would also be free for these two products. You can read my article on Workstation here.

Another interesting thing they did was discontinue the free version of their bare-metal hypervisor, ESXi, and then quietly reverse that decision, making it free again. You can read about that here.

I am a big fan of Workstation and ESXi and saw allowing their use for free as a huge win for VMware's users, students, and hobbyists.

Looking Forward to Explore 2025
There was considerable discussion last year about whether it would be worthwhile attending Explore 2024. As I spend a significant amount of time in the end-user computing space, my top concern was that VMware sold its End-User Computing (EUC) Division, which includes Horizon and AirWatch. The other concern I had was that VMware is becoming more focused on enterprise customers and that it would be more of a sales-forward event than a technical content-driven event.

My concerns were somewhat unfounded. Yes, the EUC content was close to non-existent, but the Expo floor did have some EUC vendors such as Stratodesk and 10ZIG. The Expo Floor had around 50 vendors, and the hands-on labs (HOL) seemed popular. Overall, it was a bit quieter than in previous years, but the participants I spoke with seemed to enjoy the event. The sessions I attended were well-attended and packed with technical content.

I found the VMware Technical Network (VMTN) was still a haven for hardcore technical information. Much of the content was geared toward people doing "interesting" things with their VMware products, expanding on their capabilities or extending them in unique ways.

Location
I have said it before, and I will say it again: I am not a big fan of Vegas, but it is a great place to host a convention. I bowed out of a few conferences last year simply because of their location. I fly out of PDX in Portland, OR, which is a mid-sized airport. However, trying to catch flights to some mid-sized cities can eat up a day going and another day coming back from conferences. There is no shortage of flights into and out of Las Vegas.

Staying in Vegas also gives you lots of options, from cheap, somewhat sleazy motels to high-end luxury penthouses.

Get the Latest News
VMware has undergone significant changes over the last couple of years, and these changes have had a profound impact on how companies use and consume their products. VMware has undergone significant changes to its pricing, making a compelling case that its prices are now more attractive than ever, but only if you utilize its entire software stack. In the past, their customers could pick which pieces they wanted to use, but with their new pricing model, it is now highly advantageous to use VMware's entire stack to get the most out of it.

VMworld and now Explore are venues where VMware and its partners make significant announcements.

Yes, VMware's new release model seems to favor incremental feature releases throughout the year, but as with last year, I suspect that there will be some major announcements made at this year's event. Others and I will be doing daily updates about the event this year, but still, there is nothing like hearing the announcements live and getting others take on them.

Technology Focused Information
I was concerned before going to last year's event that it would be sales-focused, but I found that was not the case. The sessions I attended last year were highly technical and led by experts in their respective subjects. I suspect that this year will be the same.

As mentioned above, it is now more critical than ever that you use the full VMware stack to extract the maximum value from VMware's products. Explore offers an ideal setting to obtain such knowledge.

The People
Gatherings like Explore have always been about the people, not just the VMware employees, but also the broader VMware community. Finding shared interests and passions can be challenging, but this event enables us to connect with like-minded people and form lasting connections with them.

Pricing
Explore has three different pass types: Full Event, Essentials, and Meetings+. I was glad to see the inclusion of the Essentials, as it is priced at only $1,195, making it more affordable for those on a tight budget. You will not receive meals, be able to attend The Party, or receive a T-shirt or backpack, but it will save you or your company a couple of hundred dollars, which may make the difference between attending and not attending.

The pre-event cost is $1,995, but you can save $200 if you register before June 16 with this early-bird pricing. If you register at the event, the cost will be $2,195. For more pricing information, please visit this link.

The event catalog will be released shortly, and I am excited to see what sessions it will include this year. When the catalog is released, I will post my must-see sessions.

More information about Explore 2025 can be found here.