Broadcom today updated the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) portfolio with two new Advanced Services, VMware Live Recovery and VMware Compliance and Configuration Management, and introduced VMware vSphere Express, a 128-core package built on vSphere 9 for smaller environments. The update also lays out the next VCF release, planned for Broadcom’s fiscal first quarter of 2027, with automated AI infrastructure deployment, native S3-compatible object storage on vSAN, infrastructure compliance management, policy-based VPC connectivity, and native disaster recovery.
VCF 9.1.1 Added Shared AI Models and Confidential Computing
Two of the capabilities Broadcom highlights shipped with VCF 9.1.1, which reached general availability on September 3 and which we covered from VMware Explorer 2026. Multi-tenant Model Sharing lets several internal business units consume one centrally deployed Model Runtime stack while keeping per-tenant data privacy, security boundaries, and isolated context. Broadcom says sharing the deployment cuts GPU count and infrastructure cost against running a model stack per tenant, and it has not published GPU savings or cost figures for the claim.
Confidential computing, which Broadcom lists as generally available in VCF 9.1.1, encrypts data in use at the hardware level on AMD and Intel platforms, with AMD SEV-SNP and Intel TDX as the supported implementations. Broadcom says it protects workloads against CPU vulnerability exploitation, VM-cloning data exfiltration, and cross-tenant data leakage, and cryptographic attestation confirms a workload is running untampered. The company positions it for regulated, sovereign cloud, and AI workloads where data privacy is the deciding requirement.
Next VCF Release Targets AI Provisioning and Native Object Storage
AI Infrastructure Quickstart, planned for the next release, automates the setup of private AI infrastructure through a vCenter plugin that handles vCenter cluster deployment, Supervisor configuration, and vSphere Kubernetes Service cluster provisioning. Broadcom calls it an automated Day 0 deployment and has not given deployment-time figures. The company’s fiscal first quarter of 2027 runs through the start of February, so the release is about a quarter out if the estimate holds.
vSAN native S3-compatible object storage, which entered VCF 9.1.1 as a tech preview, is planned to reach general availability in the same release. It provides object storage inside VCF for AI projects, cloud-native applications, and backup and recovery workloads, with self-service provisioning through vSphere Supervisor or VCF Automation, so a VCF tenant can create buckets without a separate object storage platform.
Infrastructure Compliance, VPC Connectivity, and Native Recovery
VCF infrastructure configuration management and compliance, planned as a native feature inside VCF Operations in the next release, monitors VCF component settings against benchmarks including the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard and the VCF Security Baseline, with configuration drift detection and remediation for components such as vCenter and VCF Storage. Broadcom frames it as a move from reactive to proactive compliance management for the platform itself.
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) policy-based connectivity, scheduled for the same release, lets platform engineers define shared services, workload isolation, and security policies once and apply them across environments, while developers consume network resources through self-service without manual approvals. Native disaster recovery is planned for both VCF and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF), orchestrating recovery across thousands of workloads after power outages, hardware failures, natural disasters, and human error; Broadcom has not published recovery time or recovery point objectives for it.
Advanced Services Add Hypervisor Defense, Cyber Recovery, and Salt-Based Compliance
VMware HyperArmor, announced at Explore on Tour Frankfurt, is now on the Advanced Services list as a real-time defense layer for the ESX hypervisor in VCF. It applies virtual patches to mitigate vulnerabilities before a host is patched, monitors the hypervisor continuously with positive security guardrails that block unauthorized software, and adds multi-factor authentication to the SSH login path so a stolen password alone does not grant access.
VMware Live Recovery joins the catalog today with disaster and cyber recovery for VMware workloads, integrated with VCF. In the on-premises cyber recovery workflow, protected VMs replicate from the primary site across an air gap into an isolated clean room on vSAN, where VM network isolation and endpoint detection and response scanning run before workloads return to production. Broadcom says iterative recovery and enterprise-scale orchestration lower the cost of running separate recovery tools.
VMware Compliance and Configuration Management is the second service added today. It is built on the VMware Salt remote execution engine, which Broadcom previously sold inside VMware Advanced Cyber Compliance and now offers on its own, and it enforces compliance for VM and container workloads with event-driven detection of unauthorized file changes or exposed ports and automated remediation. Supported benchmarks include the Center for Internet Security (CIS), the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and customer-defined standards, and it is separate from the infrastructure compliance feature planned inside VCF Operations.
vSphere Express Ships for Smaller Environments
VMware vSphere Express is available now in all regions. Built on vSphere 9, it is a 128-core package for smaller environments that includes vMotion, High Availability, Distributed Switch, vCenter Quick Patch, and TPM 2.0 and vTPM 2.0 support, and Broadcom has not published pricing. For the European Economic Area, Broadcom will keep vSphere Standard 8 and vSphere Enterprise Plus 8 on sale until October 31, 2027, with extended support on active subscriptions until the subscription ends or October 31, 2028, whichever comes first.
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