Virtually Speaking Podcast

The Virtually Speaking Podcast is a weekly technical podcast dedicated to discussing VMware topics related to private and hybrid cloud. Each week Pete Flecha and John Nicholson bring in various subject matter experts from VMware, recently acquired by Broadcom, and within the industry to discuss their respective areas of expertise.

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22 episodes
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#617
Thursday · 37 min
Preparing Private Cloud for the AI Era
AI is changing the way organizations think about private cloud, from infrastructure and security to developer experience, operating models and cost. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and Jad El-Zein are joined by Vivek Vijay and John Hall from Kyndryl to discuss what it takes to prepare private cloud environments for the AI era. The conversation explores the growing demand for private and sovereign AI, the impact of AI-driven security threats, and why organizations need to rethink architecture rather than simply add more tools. We also look at how VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 can provide a consistent platform for VMs, Kubernetes and modern applications while helping organizations balance security, resilience and developer productivity. Vivek and John share what Kyndryl is seeing with customers today, including workload repatriation, platform engineering, VCF 9.1 migrations, infrastructure optimization and the increasing role of AI agents in both development and operations. We also preview Kyndryl’s VMware Explore session, “Is Your Private Cloud Ready for the AI Era?”, and the workshops designed to help customers assess their VCF readiness, platform engineering maturity and ability to respond to emerging AI security threats.
#616
August 20 · 4 min
Fire Flood Blood at VMware Explore
Fire. Flood. Blood. is back. 🔥🌊🩸 Everybody in IT has that story. The outage, the flooded data center, the script that went sideways, or the moment you thought, “What the hell was I thinking?” At VMware Explore, we’re bringing Fire Flood Blood back to Virtually Speaking and we want to hear your craziest IT stories and the lessons you learned from them. Going to Explore? Come find us and bring your best story. #VMwareExplore #FireFloodBlood #VirtuallySpeaking #VCF
#615
August 11 · 27 min
VMware Explore 2026 Preview
VMware Explore 2026 is almost here, and the Virtually Speaking crew is getting ready for Las Vegas. In this episode, Pete Flecha is joined by John Nicholson, Jad El-Zein, and special guest Duncan Epping to preview the week ahead. They talk about the return to deeply technical content, the sessions they’re most excited about, the evolution of Hands-on Labs, Odyssey competitions, and why the community and networking remain such a big part of Explore. Virtually Speaking will also be recording live from the VMware booth Monday through Wednesday, talking with customers, partners, engineers, and anyone with a great technical story. We’ll also be doing a daily live recap at 5:00 PM. If you’re attending Explore, come by the booth and say hello.
#614
July 21 · 47 min
Self-Service Infrastructure with VCF Automation 9.1
VCF 9.1 goes beyond the foundational infrastructure to help organizations deliver a true private cloud experience through automation, self-service, and policy-based governance. In this episode, Pete Flecha and Jad El-Zein welcome Maher AlAsfar, Product Marketing Engineer at Broadcom, to explore what is new in VCF Automation 9.1. The conversation covers declarative infrastructure, Kubernetes-native APIs, Containers as a Service, centralized service management, namespace capture, app stack formation, and project-level content libraries. Maher also explains when a lightweight container service makes more sense than deploying a full Kubernetes cluster, how infrastructure services such as networking, storage, and load balancing support these workloads, and why automation is the natural next step after deploying VMware Cloud Foundation.
#613
July 14 · 13 min
VCF for Smaller IT Teams
Can a lean IT team successfully adopt VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)? Jeremy Wright joins Pete Flecha and John Nicholson to share how Grinnell Mutual transformed its infrastructure strategy after initially assuming VCF was only for large enterprises. Jeremy discusses how uncertainty during the VMware acquisition led his team to VMware Explore looking for answers—and how one conversation changed their entire approach. From identifying a potential $1 million storage savings with vSAN to embracing automation, Kubernetes, AI, and private cloud services, Jeremy explains why VCF became the foundation for their future despite having an infrastructure team of just 16 people. The conversation also explores how to gain executive buy-in, align developers around cloud-like capabilities, introduce Private AI, and successfully modernize without adding operational complexity. Whether you’re leading a small IT organization or simply wondering if VCF is the right fit for your environment, this episode offers practical lessons from someone who’s been through the journey.
#609
July 10 · 15 min
Why VMUG Connect Replaced UserCons?
At VMUG Connect 2026 in Minneapolis, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Ryan Lance from the VMUG leadership team to talk about the evolution of the VMUG community and what’s changing with the new VMUG Connect format. Ryan shares his journey through the VMUG community, from early user group involvement and speaking at events to leading the Sacramento VMUG. The conversation explores how VMUG is getting back to its roots as a source of VMware education, hands-on learning, technical community, and practitioner-led knowledge sharing. The discussion also covers the shift from traditional one-day UserCons to larger regional VMUG Connect events, the continued importance of local communities, the role of home labs, certification, VMUG Advantage, and how VMUG can help practitioners stay informed as VMware Cloud Foundation continues to evolve. Whether you’re a long-time VMUG member, a home lab builder, a VMware administrator, or someone looking to get more connected with the community, this episode highlights why VMUG remains such an important resource for learning, networking, and sharing real-world experience.
#612
July 7 · 40 min
Why AI Changes the Security Game
In this episode, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson welcome back Bob Plankers for a deeper conversation on why AI changes the security game. Bob explains how AI is accelerating vulnerability discovery, exploit creation, malware customization, and even end-to-end attack execution. The discussion covers why “patch the critical stuff only” is becoming riskier, how AI can chain moderate vulnerabilities into serious attacks, and why identity, zero trust, microsegmentation, recovery planning, and defense in depth matter more than ever. Bob also walks through practical ways VMware Cloud Foundation can help, including vDefend, Avi Load Balancer, vSAN Data Protection, cyber recovery, isolated recovery environments, hardening guides, and security configuration resources.
#606
July 3 · 11 min
Private AI in Action: Training an AI Robot Dog with VMware Cloud Foundation
At KubeCon Europe 2026 in Amsterdam, Johan van Amersfoort from ITQ joins Virtually Speaking to introduce one of the most talked-about demos on the show floor: Q9, an AI-powered robotic dog built using VMware Private AI Foundation. But Q9 is more than a fun demo. It showcases how organizations can use VMware Cloud Foundation, Private AI Services, GPUs, large language models, computer vision, and secure networking to train and deploy AI applications while keeping data private and sovereign. Johan explains how Q9 uses gesture recognition, conversational AI, image analytics, local inference, and remote model access to create an interactive AI experience. The conversation also explores practical enterprise AI use cases, including HR assistants, legal knowledge systems, sovereign AI, and why private infrastructure remains critical for AI success. Whether you’re exploring Private AI, AI infrastructure, model training, or simply want to meet the coolest dog at KubeCon, this episode delivers both technical insights and real-world examples.
#611
June 29 · 43 min
Platform Engineering 2.0: The Evolution of the AI Era
What happens when AI becomes a first-class consumer of your platform? In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha is joined by Jad El-Zien and Pankaj Gupta, co-author of the new Platform Engineering 2.0 whitepaper, to explore how platform engineering is evolving to meet the demands of the AI era. The conversation traces the journey from DevOps to Platform Engineering 1.0 and explains why the next evolution is already underway. With AI-generated code accelerating software delivery, agentic AI emerging as a new platform consumer, and FinOps becoming critical to controlling AI costs, organizations must rethink how platforms are built and operated. The discussion covers the five pillars of Platform Engineering 2.0, the growing importance of embedded FinOps, security-by-design, multi-persona experiences, AI-native platforms, and why VMware administrators and infrastructure teams have a major opportunity to shape the future of platform engineering. 📄 Download the Platform Engineering 2.0 whitepaper: https://brcm.tech/PE2WhitePaper #PlatformEngineering #AI #DevOps #FinOps #Kubernetes #CloudNative #PlatformEngineering20 #AgenticAI #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMware #PrivateCloud
#607
June 23 · 14 min
WebAssembly Meets Kubernetes with Cosmonic
What happens when WebAssembly and Kubernetes come together? Recorded live at KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam, Pete Flecha and Jad El-Zein sit down with Liam Randall, CEO of Cosmonic, to explore how WebAssembly is changing the way developers build, deploy, and operate cloud-native applications. Liam explains why WebAssembly is generating so much excitement beyond the browser, how it complements Kubernetes, and why organizations are looking at wasmCloud to simplify application portability across cloud, edge, and data center environments. Whether you’re a Kubernetes operator, platform engineer, or application developer, this conversation provides a practical look at where WebAssembly fits into the modern cloud-native stack.
#610
June 22 · 21 min
Private Cloud Outlook 2026: The AI Tipping Point
Private cloud is no longer just about cost savings or control—it has become the foundation for enterprise AI. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Prashanth Shenoy, VP of Product Marketing for VMware Cloud Foundation, to discuss the findings from the Private Cloud Outlook 2026 report. Based on a global survey of 1,800 IT leaders, the report reveals a dramatic shift in how organizations are approaching AI infrastructure. As AI workloads move from experimentation to production, enterprises are increasingly choosing private cloud environments to address the growing challenges of cost, complexity, governance, security, and data sovereignty. Prashanth shares key insights from the research, including why private cloud has become the preferred destination for production AI inference, what’s driving the acceleration of workload repatriation, and how VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 is helping organizations build a secure, cost-effective platform for the AI era. Download the Private Cloud Outlook 2026 report: https://www.vmware.com/docs/private-cloud-outlook-2026 #VMware #VCF #PrivateCloud #AI #GenerativeAI #CloudRepatriation #EnterpriseAI #VMwareCloudFoundation #Broadcom #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast
#608
June 19 · 17 min
AI, Zero Trust, and the Evolving Threat Landscape with Bob Plankers
At VMUG Connect 2026 in Minneapolis, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with security expert Bob Plankers to discuss how AI is changing cybersecurity—on both sides of the battle. The conversation explores how threat actors are increasingly using AI-powered techniques, from sophisticated social engineering attacks to campaigns like UNC5221 and “Brickstorm.” Bob explains why identity remains the primary attack surface, why many organizations still misunderstand Zero Trust, and how privileged accounts have become some of the most valuable targets in modern IT environments. The discussion also covers AI-generated voice and video impersonation, the importance of strong identity controls, conditional access, privileged access management, and why organizations need to think differently about trust in an era where convincing fakes can be generated in seconds. Finally, the team explores how AI can be used defensively, including emerging efforts by frontier model providers to identify vulnerabilities, improve software security, and help organizations stay ahead in the cybersecurity arms race.
#605
June 16 · 14 min
Kubernetes Networking, Gateway API, and WAFs with F5 & VKS
At KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam, Jad El-Zein and John Nicholson sit down with Philippe Klapp from F5 to discuss the evolution of Kubernetes networking, ingress, Gateway API, and web application security in modern cloud-native environments. The conversation explores how F5 has evolved from traditional hardware load balancers to cloud-native solutions running inside Kubernetes clusters, including NGINX, Container Ingress Services (CIS), and Distributed Cloud. They also discuss VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS), Gateway API momentum, WAF deployment models, AI-era protocols like MCP, and what platform engineering means for both VMware and F5 customers. If you’re running Kubernetes at scale or trying to simplify networking and security across private cloud and platform engineering workflows this episode is packed with practical insights. Guests: Philippe Klapp, F5 Hosts: Jad El-Zein & John Nicholson Event: KubeCon 2026 – Amsterdam
#604
June 12 · 13 min
eBPF, Cilium, and the Future of Kubernetes Networking with Isovalent & VKS
At KubeCon 2026 in Amsterdam, Jad El-Zein and John Nicholson sit down with Duffie Cooley, Field CTO at Isovalent, to talk about eBPF, Cilium, Kubernetes networking, and the growing partnership between Isovalent and VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS). The conversation dives into how Cilium integrates with VKS as a day-zero add-on, how eBPF changes networking and observability inside Kubernetes, and why technologies like BGP, ECMP, and kube-proxy replacement matter for scalable modern platforms. Duffie also explains how Isovalent and VMware networking strategies complement each other, how enterprise capabilities extend beyond open source Cilium, and why add-on ecosystems are becoming critical for platform engineering teams operating Kubernetes at scale. If you’re building modern Kubernetes platforms, exploring VKS, or trying to simplify networking and security operations, this episode is packed with practical insights from one of the pioneers behind the technology. Guest: Duffie Cooley, Field CTO – Isovalent Hosts: Jad El-Zein & John Nicholson Event: KubeCon 2026 – Amsterdam
#603
June 9 · 50 min
Networking for VCF 9.1: Simplifying Private Cloud Networking
etworking has traditionally been one of the biggest barriers to private cloud agility. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Dimitri Desmidt from the VMware Cloud Foundation Networking team to explore how VCF Networking simplifies network operations in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1. The discussion covers how VPCs, connectivity policies, IP Address Management (IPAM) integration, and network automation allow infrastructure teams to provision networking services directly from vCenter without requiring deep networking expertise or constant coordination with network administrators. Dimitri walks through real-world examples showing how VCF Networking delivers self-service networking, multi-tenancy, simplified application isolation, and integrated network services while preserving the flexibility and scale required by modern private cloud environments. If you’ve ever wanted networking to be as easy to consume as compute and storage, this episode is for you.
#602
June 5 · 17 min
The Art of Troubleshooting: Solving Complex IT Problems Together
Troubleshooting complex IT environments isn’t just about technology, it’s about people, process, and collaboration. Recorded at VMware Connect 2026, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Kim Delgado and Mandy Bosco-Wilson (better known as Team Kandy) to discuss collaborative troubleshooting methodologies that help organizations solve problems faster and more effectively. The conversation explores common troubleshooting anti-patterns, the importance of psychological safety, blameless inquiry, scientific troubleshooting methods, and real-world examples of complex issues spanning vSAN, Kubernetes, Cloud Native Storage, networking, and infrastructure operations. Kim and Mandy share stories from the field, including how a seemingly simple issue bounced between multiple support teams before collaborative troubleshooting uncovered the true root cause. They also discuss strategies for handling multi-vendor incidents, avoiding siloed thinking, and creating environments where everyone can contribute to finding solutions. Whether you’re a VMware administrator, platform engineer, SRE, architect, or IT operations leader, this episode offers practical techniques you can apply to your own troubleshooting processes.
#601
June 2 · 10 min
Real-World VCF 9 Migrations: What Actually Works
VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (and 9.1) is generating a lot of excitement, but many organizations are still operating with assumptions based on older VCF releases. In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with Bill Oyler from Presidio to separate fact from fiction and discuss what customers are actually experiencing as they adopt VMware Cloud Foundation 9. Bill shares lessons learned from customer migrations, including brownfield convergences, external storage support, infrastructure readiness assessments, and some of the most common upgrade pitfalls organizations encounter. The conversation covers everything from Enhanced Linked Mode and distributed switches to certificates, firewall rules, hardware compatibility, and practical planning considerations for successful VCF 9 adoption. Whether you’re evaluating VMware Cloud Foundation, preparing for a migration, or already planning your upgrade, this episode provides valuable insights from real-world customer engagements and deployments. #VirtuallySpeakingPodcast #VMware #VMwareCloudFoundation #VCF9 #VMUG #PrivateCloud #vSphere #vSAN #Broadcom
#600
May 29 · 23 min
From VMUG to Career Growth: The Power of Community
In this episode of the Virtually Speaking Podcast, we’re live from VMUG Connect in Minneapolis with Brock Peterson and Dale Hassinger from Broadcom for a conversation about community, blogging, automation, AI, and career growth. Brock and Dale share how community involvement, technical blogging, VMUG participation, hackathons, and simply putting your work out into the world can create real career opportunities. Dale talks about his journey from customer and community contributor to Broadcom employee, while Broc explains why blogs still matter as practical, reusable technical content for customers and practitioners. The conversation also explores how AI is changing the way infrastructure teams work, from troubleshooting YAML and building automation to creating apps, dashboards, and AI-driven home lab workflows. Whether you’re looking to grow your career, start blogging, present at a VMUG, or experiment with AI and automation, this episode is packed with practical encouragement from two long-time community contributors.give me some alternate titles. Links Mentioned Brock's Blog: https://www.brockpeterson.com/ Dale's Blog: https://www.vcrocs.info/
#599
May 22 · 18 min
GPUs, Kubernetes & AI Infrastructure Realities
At KubeCon 2026, Pete Flecha and John Nicholson sit down with VMware by Broadcom’s Frank Denneman to explore one of the biggest infrastructure conversations happening in AI today: should Kubernetes workloads run on bare metal or virtualized infrastructure? The discussion dives deep into how AI workloads are changing infrastructure design, why Kubernetes and virtualization are becoming increasingly connected, and how technologies like DRS and Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA) are evolving to support modern GPU-intensive environments. Frank explains the operational, security, and resource management challenges organizations face as AI adoption accelerates — especially when dealing with expensive GPU clusters, multi-tenant AI workloads, and the rise of AI agents. Topics include: Why virtualization still matters for Kubernetes and AI GPU scheduling, topology awareness, and resource isolation DRA (Dynamic Resource Allocation) in Kubernetes AI infrastructure efficiency and GPU utilization Security and isolation for AI agents and workloads Token governance and AI operational guardrails Lessons learned from decades of virtualization applied to AI infrastructure If you’re trying to understand where Kubernetes, virtualization, and AI infrastructure are headed next, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.
#598
May 20 · 11 min
What Enterprises Get Wrong About Kubernetes
At KubeCon 2026, Pete and John sit down with Myles Gray, Product Marketing Engineer at Broadcom, to talk about what enterprises often underestimate when adopting Kubernetes. Myles shares lessons learned from years of working directly with Kubernetes platforms, platform engineering teams, and enterprise customers trying to move from experimentation into real production environments. The conversation dives into the operational realities of Kubernetes — including long-term maintenance, upgrades, GitOps workflows, CI/CD pipelines, open source integrations, security scanning, and why the ecosystem around Kubernetes matters just as much as Kubernetes itself. They also explore concepts like “golden paths to production,” Argo CD, Harbor, OpenTelemetry, container image security, Cloud Native Buildpacks, and how organizations can standardize application delivery without creating hundreds of fragmented deployment pipelines. If you’re trying to understand how enterprises are operationalizing Kubernetes at scale — and why platform engineering is becoming so important — this conversation is packed with practical insights.

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