Get ready for an insightful lookback on

VMware Explore

Las Vegas, Nevada | The Venetian
August 21 – 24, 2023

Laura Heisman, Chief Marketing Officer at VMware shares her insights, key takeaways and highlights from VMware Explore Las Vegas in this exclusive interview.  

1. Why was attending VMware Explore valuable to VMware customers, partners, and attendees? 

VMware Explore is the home of the multi-cloud universe. We’re here to help our customers innovate faster, and we showcased how we will continue to do so at VMware Explore Las Vegas. It was incredible to see all parts of the planning from across the company converge and resonate with – and excite – our attendees.  

We kicked off VMware Explore Las Vegas with 10,000+ attendees plus many joining online. It was the start of the global not-to be-missed Explore season. The energy throughout the week was palpable, with so much to hear and learn in terms of product debuts, major partner and innovation announcements, onstage surprises, non-stop networking and more. We also shared how VMware, along with its partners, are bringing the power of AI to the enterprise.   

Our highly anticipated General Session exceeded expectations and showcased how VMware continues to lead the way in helping organizations navigate the multi-cloud era. Attendees got breaking news including VMware Private AI Foundation, Edge Cloud Orchestrator, and our trailblazing Intelligent Assist platform. Our Solution Keynotes and Technology Innovation Showcase continued to highlight what’s new from VMware followed by 900+ sessions, tutorials, workshops, hands-on labs, VMUG gatherings, and all of the Explore programs.  

2. What were your Top 3 Takeaways from the Las Vegas event this year?  

First, it all started at the Gen Session – bringing to life our cloud-smart approach to multi-cloud, announcing how VMware is bringing the power of AI to the enterprise, and sharing how VMware’s innovation is stronger than ever. 

Second, our customers, customers, customers. The customer feedback on our announcements, how we can help them with their business priorities – that’s the purpose of VMware Explore. It was a week to explore VMware solutions and how we can help them for many more years. I was especially impressed by the attendees, the level of engagement, and the 150+ customers who stood on stage and shared how they are successfully leveraging VMware products.  

Third, our entire ecosystem. It’s not often you get to have your customers, partners, employees, and extended community together under one roof. There was something for everyone in attendance and most importantly, the value of connection and collaboration which benefits all of us for future business.  

And my bonus takeaway – the brand and onsite experience was second to none. 

3. What customer and partner interactions were most valuable to you? 

I appreciate every opportunity I have to speak with our customers and partners and had many great conversations with attendees throughout the week. Before the General Session even started, we held Executive Summit, Global Partner Forum and SpringOne, and the information sharing and networking began.  

Our conversations around multi-cloud complexities and now the larger focus on AI are challenges and opportunities faced by our customers and partners every day, and we dug deep in some of our discussions and presentations. 

Of course, AI was a central theme of the week. I learned about the innovative use cases our customers are building with AI, as well as the underlying discussion around human capital and investing in people as part of the AI transformation. These conversations and presentations were extremely relevant for VMware Explore, as this is where the VMware community comes to learn and further their careers.  

It didn’t stop there. I was honored to recognize our 2023 Americas Customer Achievement Award winners. And if you missed any of the Explore announcements, I suggest you revisit them to learn why they were so well received by our customers and larger community. 

4. What innovations are you most looking forward to learning about next year? 

When I think about how quickly AI is transforming how we think about tech innovation and marketing, I’m looking forward to more learning and application, and all of the breakthroughs we’re poised to experience as a company and community. What we covered this year is only the start, and the conversations in a year will showcase successes and learnings that we don’t even know about today.   

5. What is something that people can do post-Explore to maximize their experience?  

Whether you joined us in person or online, or have yet to experience VMware Explore 2023, I highly recommend visiting our Video Library for on-demand viewing of all our announcements and learning tracks. And, while our Las Vegas event has concluded, in many ways we are just getting started. There’s much much still come in the multi-cloud universe. Check out our events in Barcelona, Singapore, Tokyo and São Paulo, as well as our VMware Explore on the Road series across the Americas. VMware is ramping up to keep exploring.

Gain valuable insights that could impact the trajectory of your organization. Join us for one of our upcoming Explore events:  

Singapore | September 27 – 28, 2023 

São Paulo | October 18 – 19, 2023 

Barcelona | November 6 – 9, 2023 

Tokyo | November 14 – 15, 2023