In-Depth

VMware Explore 2026: What to Expect and How to Prepare

• By Tom Fenton
• 08/10/2026

VMware Explore 2026 is less than a month away, running from Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas.

VMware, under Broadcom, is positioning this as the premier event for IT professionals who want to learn more about and master modern private cloud architecture and private AI-native platforms. While the technical sessions and roadmap announcements look good, my enthusiasm for heading to Nevada stems as much from the human side of the conference. In this article, I will share my thoughts on how the VMware community shapes this annual gathering, what to look forward to at this year's gathering and how you can make the most of your time on the show floor. You can review the full schedule and session lineup on the VMware Explore official website.

Looking back over the years, the evolution of this conference mirrors the transformation of enterprise virtualization and the role VMware has played in shaping it. Although I worked for VMware, I missed the first VMworld in 2004 in San Diego, but I do remember my coworkers and VMware customers talking about the event's energy. At later VMworlds I attended, I remember how live demonstrations like vMotion first blew our minds.

Those early days established the culture of deep technical exchanges, where VMware engineers gathered in hallways to debate storage protocols (I was in the iSCSI camp), hypervisor tuning and system performance. Over the past two decades, the gathering expanded from a niche virtualization meetup into a showcase for the enterprise cloud and private AI.

As VMworld transitioned into VMware Explore, the focus widened to embrace multi-cloud strategy, container orchestration and, now, private AI workloads.

I have watched VMware change hands many times, yet amid these corporate shifts and changing industry trends, the conference's core value has remained remarkably consistent and technology-focused.

I have previously written about the history of VMworld and Explore and how these gatherings served as the launchpad for countless careers, startups and, for me, lasting professional friendships.

Regardless of the badge branding on the VMworld/Explore lanyard, the real strength of the event has always been the knowledge shared by chatting with the attendees who are either waiting in line for one of the more popular sessions or sitting in the audience alongside you while you enjoy your lunch.

At this year's event in Las Vegas, the technical highlights will focus on VMware Cloud Foundation 9 and its role in delivering cost-effective private cloud environments and Private AI. Attendees can expect lots of sessions on deploying private AI services, managing vector databases and scheduling expensive GPU resources efficiently.

As I highlighted in my coverage of last year's VMware Explore Day One, its sessions focused on practical vGPU automation and vSphere performance optimization remain essential for administrators seeking to extract maximum efficiency from their physical servers, and I expect more of that type of content this year.

Beyond the mainstage keynotes, there are two learning opportunities you will want to take advantage of. First, the Hands-on Labs offer direct access to preconfigured software stacks, allowing you to work with and evaluate new VMware capabilities without risking your production infrastructure or setting up a home lab. Second, Quick Talk presentations pack well-focused operational tips into brief 15- to 20-minute windows, making them ideal for picking up actionable tips and tricks or for providing architecture advice and insights.

Logistically, surviving and thriving at The Venetian requires a plan. Session scheduling is already open, and popular deep-dive sessions will fill up quickly, so make sure to build your agenda early using the event app, but remember to leave blocks of time open for your conversations in the exhibit hall.

The physical environment in Las Vegas during late August presents its own unique dynamic. It is not unexpected for outdoor temperatures to exceed 100 degrees while indoor conference halls are heavily air-conditioned, so wearing layered clothing is not a bad idea.

If you do get sweaty, you can always slip into your Explore 2026 T-shirt and stuff your sweaty old shirt into this year's "highly accessible, fault-tolerant carrying solution (backpack)," which, besides its color, looks pretty cool.

The Venetian Expo is massive, meaning you will log thousands of steps (I tracked it last year) each day as you move between session tracks, partner booths and meeting rooms.

Last year, the Expo floor was not padded or carpeted, so make sure to wear comfortable, well-padded shoes. Make sure to keep a water bottle handy and pace yourself throughout the four-day run. If you do have a little extra time, you should read my article about some of the other things that you can do while you're in Vegas.

When the formal sessions wrap up each afternoon, the networking shifts to the Solutions Exchange, community lounges and formal and informal evening gatherings.

Connecting with peers over dinner or at venue lounges like TAO or LAVO inside the Venetian gives you the chance to chat with others and compare notes in a more casual setting. These informal conversations are where I learn how other engineers solved storage, networking or virtualization problems and how they really feel about things.

VMware Explore 2026 at The Venetian in Las Vegas will offer a mix of technical education on VMware's private cloud platforms alongside opportunities for face-to-face networking with your technology peers. The breakout tracks, Hands-on Labs and roadmap announcements give you the opportunity to sharpen your technical skills, but the real magic of the week comes from reconnecting with colleagues and building new relationships across the VMware community. If you are going, have fun, stay hydrated, plan your schedule and make the most of both the structured learning and the hallway conversations.