VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) offers a solid platform for compute and storage virtualization. But as environments expand, complexity increases, and IT teams find themselves spending more time on routine upkeep than innovation. VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) builds on VVF by introducing automation and integrated management that help reduce manual work, minimize downtime, and strengthen compliance. In our previous blog, we discussed the “5 Reasons to Upgrade from VMware vSphere Foundation to VMware Cloud Foundation.”
In this blog, we will focus on how VCF addresses common operational challenges. This video provides a great visual summary of how VMware Cloud Foundation addresses common operational challenges to improve efficiency.
Fleet-Level Lifecycle Management
The challenge: Routine patching and upgrades consume hours each quarter. Manual, host-by-host updates don’t scale, introducing errors, and can create version mismatches that delay critical projects and increase security risk.
The VCF approach: Automated lifecycle management applies upgrades and patches across compute, storage, and networking from a single pane. A 2025 VMware Cloud Foundation TCO study found that this automation reduces operational overhead by up to 60%. For GCI Communications, Alaska’s largest telecom provider, VCF cut infrastructure deployment times from months to days, giving IT resources valuable time back for strategic work. (Watch the video.)
The challenge: Many organizations still track their digital certificates in spreadsheets. Most organizations don’t even know how many certificates they have. Manual tracking is not just impractical; it poses a significant risk to the organization. These actions lead to:
- Outages from expired certificates: 81% of organizations reported one outage last year (Keyfactor 2024).
- Security risks: Security gap when lost or stolen certificates are misused by attackers to impersonate legitimate services and intercept data.
The VCF approach: Centralized, automated discovery and renewal of certificates. This reduces the risk of outages and security incidents, while freeing skilled engineers from tedious manual work.
Unified Visibility Across Infrastructure, Databases, and Applications
The challenge: When an application issue arises, teams often toggle between different monitoring, manually correlating data to find the root cause. This slows down troubleshooting and extends downtime.
The VCF approach: A single dashboard that shows the relationships between infrastructure, databases and applications. The Municipality of Haarlem in the Netherlands adopted VCF to replace their fragmented tools. With end-to-end visibility, they resolve issues faster and keep services running smoothly. (Read the case study.)
Why Upgrade to VCF Now?
Upgrading from VVF to VCF extends your platform with life cycle automation, centralized security (certificates), and unified visibility. These capabilities help your team:
- Scale operations without adding headcount
- Reduce outages and compliance risks
- Focus more on innovation, less on manual keep
To learn more about how VCF can streamline your operations, contact your Broadcom representative or partner.
