Cloud Reset: How VMware helps enterprises regain cloud control

The cloud story is evolving fast and is bringing in a lot of reimagination across the world. Yet again, it brings that age-old perennial debate to the frontlines of C-suite discussions: aligning IT with business.

From the early exuberance around public cloud migrations to today’s recalibrated approaches, enterprises are waking up to a new reality: the need for balancing the workloads, cost and data control, and sovereignty. As enterprises recalibrate their cloud strategies in response to economic and business pressures, AI demands, and evolving security needs, VMware is at the forefront of a decisive industry shift—what it calls the "Cloud Reset."

According to VMware’s Private Cloud Outlook 2025 survey, 53% of global IT leaders now prioritise private cloud for new workloads, and 69% are considering repatriating workloads from public cloud, signalling a strategic pivot toward hybrid and sovereign cloud models. As the market inches towards $21.3 billion by 2025, Broadcom’s VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is positioning itself as the modern private cloud platform for the future.

If we need to set the backdrop for what VMware is evangelising, it starts with a clear premise: at the heart of VMware's cloud reset is the belief that cloud is no longer just a supporting act in the IT stack. It’s becoming the foundation for smarter, more secure, and AI-ready enterprise strategies. VMware emphasises that this shift isn’t about abandoning public cloud—it’s about making thoughtful, workload-specific choices. The real opportunity, VMware believes, lies in adopting a workload-first approach, one that prioritises strategic alignment over one-size-fits-all infrastructure.

Putting this in perspective, in this candid conversation with DATAQUEST , Krish Prasad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, VMware Cloud Foundation Division, Broadcom  and Pradeep Nair, Vice President, Broadcom India, unpack the "Cloud Reset," the resurgence of private cloud, and why India is leapfrogging global trends in cloud-native and AI workloads. Excerpts:

Why is there a ‘cloud reset’ happening, and what triggered this shift from public to private cloud?

Krish Prasad: Over the last few years, there was a huge push for public cloud-first strategies. CIOs and developers alike were enamoured by its agility. But that phase also exposed challenges—skyrocketing costs, compliance complexities, and security concerns. At the same time, enterprises that tried homegrown private cloud solutions realised the complexity outweighed the benefits.

So now, customers want the best of both worlds: the agility of public cloud, but delivered securely, cost-effectively, and in a way that’s easy to manage. That’s what we call the modern private cloud, aka cloud reset. It’s an integrated, enterprise-grade solution. Our VCF platform, now in its 9th release, is purpose-built to address this need.

What are you seeing in the Indian enterprise space when it comes to this cloud transition?

Pradeep Nair: India has always approached tech with a best-of-breed mindset, picking tools and building on their own. But integration overheads made many realignments. Now, customers want an integrated platform that removes complexity and behaves like the public cloud.

This reset is real in India. From leading banks to telcos and global SIs, we’re seeing large-scale, long-term commitments to VMware’s modern private cloud approach. Since the Broadcom acquisition, our business in India has grown significantly.

What factors are accelerating this trend globally and in India?

Krish Prasad: Two big tailwinds. One is AI, and clearly enterprises want to run AI where the data resides, which is often on-prem. The other is sovereignty. Countries want to ensure control over infrastructure and data. Our platform supports both.

Pradeep Nair: Add to that India’s tech maturity. Here, even legacy-heavy industries like BFSI and government are implementing real-world AI and cloud-native workloads. Many Indian firms are skipping intermediate steps that global peers are still stuck in. It’s a leapfrog moment.

There was once a strong argument that cloud migration improves ROI by shifting CapEx to OpEx. Is that narrative changing?

Krish Prasad: That older CapEx-to-OpEx narrative doesn’t hold when the TCO of public cloud starts ballooning. Enterprises are now balancing application placement across edge, on-prem, and cloud, and choosing what fits best.

Our modern private cloud is location-agnostic. It runs traditional VMs, containers, AI workloads—everything—on one consistent platform. And for the first time, even cloud-native apps can run securely without compromise.

What’s your roadmap to gain more market share here in India?

Pradeep Nair: We’re deeply embedded in India’s digital backbone. We are working with large banks, public sector organisations, and global SIs. Our value proposition is giving a public cloud-like experience, but with control, performance, and cost-effectiveness, and that resonates well here with our customers.

Whether it’s SBI needing to serve its customers and large transaction volumes in any given day or the National Stock Exchange’s secure, high-performance stack—our technology underpins these mission-critical demands. We’re also seeing strong traction in state-led digital initiatives focused on citizen services.

Do you foresee public cloud usage declining as private cloud becomes more capable and sovereign-focused?

Krish Prasad: No, public cloud isn’t going away anytime soon. But we are seeing repatriation of workloads, and what that essentially means is a rebalancing. Enterprises are being smarter about where workloads live. Typical use cases like seasonal demand, public cloud works well. But for stable, predictable workloads, private cloud is becoming the go-to option.

With 5G gaining ground and telcos modernising infrastructure, where do you see VMware’s biggest India opportunities going forward?

Pradeep Nair: Telcos are important, as well as other verticals like government, banking, and manufacturing that are even bigger growth areas. Government use cases demand secure, sovereign, high-performance environments, and that’s where private cloud fits perfectly. Whether it’s state-led initiatives or central projects, we are helping them leapfrog older infrastructure models.

What advice would you offer to CxOs and tech leaders considering a cloud reset today?

Krish Prasad: Think of cloud as an operating model, not just a location. It’s about automated infrastructure, self-service, and platform thinking. Move away from siloed tech teams. Build platform teams that can offer developers a seamless experience across environments.

That’s where VMware Cloud Foundation shines. We give you the technology foundation, but the reset needs organisational alignment too. Our solution is in a different class. It’s true enterprise-grade. The conversations we are having today with tech decision-makers are about long-term private cloud strategies, not short-term comparisons.