In case you haven’t yet heard the news, VMworld — VMware’s iconic annual event, which we’ve held each fall since 2004 — has evolved to become VMware Explore.
More than just a name change, VMware Explore represents a shift in focus from our origins as a desktop-virtualization pioneer to a company obsessed with all things multi-cloud. No longer “just” a virtualization company, we also make modern apps, DevOps tools, security solutions, products tailored for the challenges of a distributed workforce, and a blockchain product. While we have always valued profound reinvention, this applies now more than ever.
In short, while keeping what has made us disruptors in the market, we’ve grown and evolved — and it’s time our flagship event got a makeover, too.
VMware Explore is designed to be a forum for our extended community to network, share their own research and products, experience emerging technologies, and attend sessions with rich, technical detail. In fact, more than half of the in-person breakout sessions and nearly all of the virtual on-demand sessions will be at or above an intermediate technical level. There will be hundreds of other hands-on labs, expert roundtables, and workshops, as well. Expect lots of business-focused sessions and plenty of great customer success stories, too, so you can hear how your peers are adopting and using multi-cloud in the “real” world.
In the US, VMware Explore will feature upwards of 400 in-person sessions and 100 pre-recorded sessions. Sessions will be curated across 12 tracks, including DevOps and DevSec Ops, Kubernetes Ops, Cloud-Native App Development, Open Source, and People and Culture. And of course, we would never leave out Cloud Management, Cloud and Edge Infrastructure, Security, Networking, Hybrid Workforce, Multi-Cloud or Vision and Innovation.
On the agenda are 30-minute Quick Talks, 60-minute breakout sessions, “Meet the Expert Sessions,” tutorials, hands-on labs/instructor-led workshops, and gamified content (such as a threat-hunting challenge). There will also be some “Outside the Airwalls” content, such as pop-up theaters and “unconference” sessions.
We’d never pass up the opportunity to show off what we’re brewing up at VMware, so you’ll also get a first look at our emerging technologies in blockchain, security, crypto agility, orchestration, containerization, and more. Expect to see some preview blogs from these teams soon.
One of the most exciting things about VMware Explore is that it will be held in person. After two years of being siloed in our respective home offices, we’re ready to get back out there, shake hands, and re-connect with our peers in the hallways. Recorded replays of in-person sessions will be available online and there will also be hundreds of on-demand, virtual-only sessions available.
VMware Explore US will take place in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, August 29 – September 1, 2022, VMware Explore Europe in Barcelona, November 7-10. You can find out more about VMware Explore here. I look forward to seeing you there!
Best,
Kit
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