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Choosing the Right Hardware for a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1 Deployment

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 02:14:52 GMT

Why Hardware Choice Matters More Than Ever in VCF 9.1

As VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1 continues to evolve, prioritising AI-ready infrastructure and higher-density virtualisation, hardware selection and design decisions are becoming substantially more important. This is especially true because many of the most valuable capabilities introduced in VCF 9.1 are heavily dependent on modern hardware architectures, including:

vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA)
Memory Tiering
Auto-RAID
GPU-ready infrastructure
Disaggregated storage models

Memory Tiering Capacity and Hardware Requirements

As we outlined in recent product update, Improve Efficiency with Memory Tiering , it provides a valuable additional tier of memory at a substantially lower cost than DRAM which is suitable for a wide variety of use cases and greatly expands the potential consolidation ratio within a host.

Memory Tiering supports up to 4TB of usable capacity, available in either mirrored (high availability) or non-mirrored (non-HA) deployment configurations.

For production environments, a mirrored deployment is recommended. In this setup, two 3.84TB NVMe drives are typically used, providing close to the maximum usable capacity of 4TB.

As a result, the hardware must include at least two drive bays to support Memory Tiering.

vSAN ESA Capacity Efficiency in VCF 9.1

As vSAN is included with VCF licensing at 1TB per CPU core and thanks to the innovations with the Express Storage Architecture (ESA), vSAN has been and attractive option for a wide range of use cases since its introduction in vSphere 8.

Let’s do some basic sizing using two modest specification dual-socket ESXi hosts with cost effective 3.84TB NVMe devices assuming we use Memory Tiering and provide enough physical drives to maximise the licensing value from vSAN @ 1TB/core.

Here we see an optimal hardware configuration to maximise the value of VCF licensing by using vSAN and Memory tiering requires between 14 and 18 drive bays.

Now let’s do the same comparison with larger 7.86TB NVMe drives for vSAN leaving the 3.84TB drives for Memory Tiering due to the 4TB usable capacity limitation.

As we can see, even with larger 7.84TB NVMe devices being used, the required drive bay count to maximise the Return on Investment (ROI) for vSAN and Memory Tiering is between 8 and 10.

At this stage many of you may be thinking that blade servers are not going to provide the required number of drive bays to cater for a modern VCF 9.1 deployment.

And I’d agree.

Others will be asking “Why didn’t you simply use larger capacity NVMe devices?”

We can absolutely use larger capacity NVMe drives despite these likely coming at a higher cost/GB, but putting that aside, for the same RAW capacity we would need 3 x 15.44TB NVMe drives for the 2 x 24c Server and 4 x 15.44TB NVMe drives for the 2 x 32c Server.

Given our total drive bay requirement is now between 5 and 6, Blades are now fine for Memory Tiering and vSAN ESA right?

We would now need to consider than while the capacity requirements are being met, the performance will be limited due to the lower number of NVMe devices when compared to a rack mount server using 16 x 3.84TB NVMe drives in the earlier example.

vSAN Drive Failures and Business Continuity Considerations

What happens when a NVMe drive fails? vSAN performs an efficient rebuild operation and restores the Failures to Tolerate (FTT) to the configured storage policy.

But if we have larger capacity NVMe devices, the impact of a single failure is much greater. In the above examples, we could have a 3.84TB device fail which is 6.25% of a rack mount server with 16 x 3.84TB drives, or a 15.44TB drive fail which is 33% of the storage in the 2 x 24c server example. This means not only have we lost more capacity in our host, we also need to perform a rebuild operation for up to 4x the data.

This rebuild operation will use considerably more CPU cycles, networking bandwidth, NVMe resources to perform the rebuild and will obviously take longer than rebuilding a smaller 3.84TB device. In addition to these, we also need to consider the impact of these backend tasks on the cluster which will impact on virtual machines even in a well-designed environment.

These are just some of the reasons why a larger number of NVMe devices are more attractive especially in production environments.

Rising Network Demands in VCF Environments

As we turn our attention to the ever-increasing networking demands of VCF environments, let’s consider a few factors:

Memory Tiering is enabling higher density of workloads
Higher density means larger total memory usage
Higher Total Memory usage means higher demand on cluster load balancing via DRS and during maintenance operations host evacuations
Higher density of workloads means:
More Virtual Machine network traffic e.g.:
Client – Server
Server – Server
Database – App – Web/Client
More Virtual Machine storage operations including:
vSAN & External Storage such as iSCSI/NFS
More Virtual Machine backup operations
vSAN ESA delivers excellent performance, which requires East-West network communications for all Write I/O and any non-local Read I/O

Key Challenges in Blade Server Environments

Why are these factors such an issue in blade server environments? It’s a simple matter of blade chassis having a finite number of physical connections which typically result in varying levels of oversubscription. This doesn’t occur with rack mount servers. These are just a few considerations which make blade servers/chassis less attractive due in large part to the level of networking oversubscription which often exists in the environment in addition to the limited drive bays for NVMe devices to support Memory Tiering and vSAN.

If we shift our focus to use cases requiring GPUs then blades also have more limitations than a rack mount servers. One of the major advantages of blade servers is they can provide higher rack density and some power/cooling benefits along with using fewer network ports. The density benefits of blades would likely only apply for basic virtualisation and for workloads which don’t have high networking/storage requirements which is an increasingly small percentage of workloads.

We recently conducted a detailed TCO/ROI assessment for a major managed service provider deploying VCF 9.0 with vSAN and Pure Storage. The assessment compared a wide range of factors including blades vs rack mount servers, despite factoring in as many possible benefits for the blade chassis deployment, the result was strongly in favour of rack mount servers. The added storage capability from vSAN ESA gave them another tier of storage to compliment the Pure Storage which provided them a very attractive ROI for the new server hardware. The clients decided to go with a rack mount form factor moving forward and deprecate the blade chassis over time and they went End of Life.

The following table summarises our recommended form factor for different deployment objectives.

Rethinking Infrastructure Choices for Modern VCF 9.1 Environments

With VCF 9.1 deployments, the once popular blade servers are becoming far less attractive for a wide range of modern workloads and features. Architects must always critically evaluate the unique technical, operational, and business requirements of each project rather than assuming a previous design/preference remains the best choice.

Technologies, workloads, scalability requirements, operational models, and platform capabilities evolve rapidly, particularly in modern VCF 9.1 environments where capabilities such as vSAN ESA, Memory Tiering, AI infrastructure, and high-bandwidth networking fundamentally change traditional infrastructure design assumptions.

Successful business outcomes are built on architecture based on informed assessment and alignment to current requirements, not “what has worked in the past”. If you’re interested to discuss how you can optimise your VCF 9.1 environment for modern workloads, contact us at Zaleo Consulting .

VCF 9.1 Upgrade Benefits: Unlocking vSAN ESA Auto-RAID for Smarter Storage

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 04:35:19 GMT

Auto RAID capabilities in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 represent an important evolution in how storage efficiency and resilience are managed within modern virtual infrastructure. As we continue reviewing the benefits and features of the VCF9.1 upgrade , this blog and the VCF 9.1 Auto RAID capabilities it references apply specifically to the vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) within VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1. These capabilities are not supported on the vSAN Original Storage Architecture (OSA), which is also available for use with VCF 9.1.

For readers not familiar with the architectural differences between vSAN ESA and OSA, we encourage watching podcast Example Architectural Decisions - VMware vSAN Architecture (ESA vs OSA) .

Let’s dive into the enhancements to vSAN ESA Auto RAID in VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1, including its underlying logic, resiliency improvements, effective capacity gains, and the new single policy operational model.

vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) Resiliency

One of the major architectural advancements introduced with vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) in vSphere 8 was the dramatic improvement in the performance and efficiency of Erasure Coding (RAID-5/RAID-6). Historically, many architects/customers preferred RAID-1 mirroring due to the performance overhead associated with traditional erasure coding in OSA environments.

ESA significantly reduced those overheads through a redesigned storage architecture optimised for modern NVMe flash, high-core CPUs, and high-speed networking. As a result, RAID-5 and RAID-6 have become not only a viable, but highly attractive design choices since ESA was introduced due to its excellent performance and capacity efficiencies.

VCF 9.1 Auto-RAID builds on these vSAN ESA improvements by dynamically selecting the optimal resilience scheme automatically, making Auto-RAID the recommended default choice for most new VCF storage deployments. This greatly simplifies storage policy design and operational management.

For additional architectural guidance, readers are encouraged to watch the podcast On-line with an Architect: Example Architectural Decision – vSAN Storage Policy .

What is Auto-RAID?

Auto-RAID is a vSAN ESA capability introduced in VCF 9.1 that automatically manages storage resilience and RAID selection based on cluster topology and operational conditions. Instead of administrators manually selecting RAID-1, RAID-5, or RAID-6 policies, Auto-RAID dynamically determines the most efficient and resilient layout.

Auto-RAID Functionality

Auto-RAID is available only with vSAN ESA and not with traditional OSA.
Auto-RAID prioritises erasure coding because since the release of vSAN ESA, Erasure Coding significantly reduces historical parity overhead penalties while providing greater usable capacity than mirroring (i.e.: FTT1 being Two-Way & FTT2 being Three Way Mirroring)
Auto-RAID continuously evaluates cluster topology and automatically adjusts object placement.
Resilience decisions are object-based and policy-driven rather than globally disruptive.
Transitions occur online with minimal operational impact.

Single Universal Policy Model

VCF 9.1 introduces a simplified single-policy model for Auto-RAID. Rather than maintaining multiple storage policies for different cluster sizes and RAID types, administrators can apply one Auto-RAID policy and allow ESA to optimise object placement automatically as the cluster evolves.

Auto-Raid Logic in VCF 9.1

Detailed Auto-RAID Logic

One of the most important architectural improvements in VCF 9.1 Auto-RAID is the simplified and highly consistent resilience logic used by vSAN ESA. Unlike previous versions of vSAN, especially OSA, where administrators needed to carefully select and manage multiple storage policies manually, Auto-RAID now dynamically applies the most appropriate resilience scheme automatically based on cluster topology.

The logic used by Auto-RAID is intentionally optimised around the enhanced erasure coding performance delivered by vSAN ESA. Whenever possible, ESA will prefer space-efficient erasure coding (RAID-5 or RAID-6) instead of traditional RAID-1 mirroring. The only exceptions are site resilience for stretched clusters and host resilience for 2-node deployments, where mirroring is still required due to cluster size constraints.

This design dramatically simplifies storage policy management while delivering excellent capacity efficiency and strong resiliency characteristics.

Effective Capacity Concepts

VCF 9.1 introduces improved effective capacity reporting using standardised Auto-RAID overhead calculations. This allows storage consumption reporting to more closely resemble traditional enterprise storage platforms.

When Auto-RAID Re-evaluates RAID Placement

Hosts are added or removed
Cluster topology changes
Maintenance mode operations complete
Storage policies change
Capacity rebalance operations occur
Object repair or resynchronisation events occur

Operational Advantages

Simplifies storage policy management
Reduces human error
Improves storage efficiency automatically
Enables incremental cluster growth
Aligns with self-optimising private cloud infrastructure

Supported RAID Stripe Widths and Parity Layouts

vSAN ESA in VCF 9.1 supports multiple RAID stripe widths and parity schemes depending on the selected resilience level, cluster size, and topology. Auto-RAID automatically selects the most appropriate layout based on available fault domains and resiliency requirements.

One of the major improvements introduced with ESA is the significantly enhanced performance and efficiency of erasure coding, making RAID-5 and RAID-6 practical for many more production workloads compared to historical OSA-based designs.

Architectural Recommendations: Cluster Sizing

One of the most important architectural design decisions when deploying vSAN including with ESA Auto-RAID in VCF 9.1 is determining the appropriate cluster size to maintain the desired level of resiliency during host failures, maintenance operations, or unexpected outages. Although RAID-6 (4+2) becomes available once a cluster reaches six hosts, architects should carefully consider what happens when hosts become unavailable.

A six-host cluster is technically capable of supporting RAID-6, but the loss of a single host reduces the available fault domains below the minimum required to maintain the 4+2 stripe layout. If the outage persists beyond the default 60 min repair timer, Auto-RAID may dynamically restripe objects down to RAID-5 (2+1), reducing the cluster from FTT=2 to FTT=1 resiliency which also adds a non-trivial overhead to the cluster during this operation.

For environments that specifically want to benefit from the stronger resiliency characteristics of RAID-6 and maintain the 4+2 stripe during host outages or maintenance operations, the recommended design approach is to deploy clusters with at least seven hosts, while eight hosts is the preferred architectural target.

Stretched Clusters

One important architectural detail is that when Auto-RAID selects FTT=1 using RAID-5, it will always use the 2+1 RAID-5 stripe width. The 4+1 stripe width configuration available in is not used by Auto-RAID.

Important Notes

Auto-RAID in VCF 9.1 always prefers erasure coding when sufficient hosts and fault domains are available.
Auto-RAID uses the modern 2+1 RAID-5 scheme for FTT=1 rather than the older 4+1 option.
RAID-6 in ESA uses a 4+2 dual parity scheme for improved resiliency and storage efficiency.
Stretched clusters combine site-level RAID-1 mirroring with local RAID-5 or RAID-6 protection inside each site.
2-node clusters continue to rely on RAID-1 style mirroring for site/host resilience.

Recommended Cluster Sizing

This guidance provides practical cluster sizing recommendations for both RAID-5 (FTT=1) and RAID-6 (FTT=2) Auto-RAID deployments. While Auto-RAID dynamically adjusts resiliency based on available hosts, architects should carefully consider how cluster sizing impacts critical factors such as usable capacity, maintenance operations and unexpected host outages.

From a practical operational perspective, four-host clusters provide the most balanced architecture for environments adopting Auto-RAID with RAID-5 resiliency & eight-host clusters recommended for environments adopting Auto-RAID with RAID-6 resiliency. These cluster sizes allow the environments to maintain the desired resiliency (RAID) level/s during maintenance operations, rolling upgrades, transient outages & failed host/s. These recommendations become increasingly important for mission-critical workloads and large-scale private cloud environments where maintaining consistent performance and resiliency levels during maintenance/failure events is essential.

Can RAID-5 with a 4+1 stripe still be used?

Yes RAID-5 with a 4+1 strip can still be used, but not with Auto-RAID. For environments with 6 hosts which may be capacity constrained, manually configuring a storage policy with RAID 5 (4+1 stripe) will provide the highest level of usable capacity and N+1 resiliency ensuring the failure (transient or permanent) can be tolerated by the cluster. This does however slightly increase the complexity within the environment that Auto-RAID aims to avoid.

Strategic Importance

Auto-RAID represents a major architectural evolution in VMware storage management. Rather than administrators manually designing resilience layouts, ESA dynamically optimises protection schemes automatically based on cluster state and topology. This aligns closely with the broader VCF 9.1 strategy around automation, self-optimising infrastructure, and simplified private cloud operations.

Stay tuned for an upcoming instalment where we will discuss vSAN Data efficiency enhancements in VCF 9.1, or catch up on how to improve efficiency with memory tiering .

And if you’d like to discover how Auto RAID can transform your storage strategy and simplify your VMware environment, get in touch with Zaleo Consulting . Our team of specialists can help you leverage ESA’s intelligent protection models, align your architecture with VCF 9.1 best practices, and create a self optimising infrastructure that reduces complexity while enhancing resilience so you can run a smarter, more efficient private cloud with confidence.

VCF 9.1 Upgrade Benefits: Improve Efficiency with Memory Tiering

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 03:26:55 GMT

Memory remains one of the most expensive and capacity-constrained resources in modern virtualisation environments. As AI, analytics, VDI, and memory-intensive enterprise workloads continue to grow, scaling DRAM alone becomes increasingly costly and operationally challenging.

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1 introduces enhanced memory tiering capabilities designed to extend memory capacity using high-speed NVMe devices, enabling organisations to increase host memory density while optimising infrastructure cost efficiency.

As we continue to unpack the benefits and features of why you should upgrade to VCF 9.1 , this product update will explore:

What is memory tiering
How memory tiering works
NVMe device requirements
Capacity limits
Mirrored vs non-mirrored configurations
Cluster and host-level enablement
Networking considerations
Recommended and non-recommended workloads
Operational best practices

What Is Memory Tiering?

Memory tiering in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 allows ESXi hosts to use locally attached NVMe storage devices as an extension of system memory. Instead of relying exclusively on DRAM, frequently accessed memory pages remain in DRAM, while less active “cold” pages are dynamically moved to a lower-cost NVMe memory tier.

This creates a two-tier hierarchical memory architecture:

The objective is to:

increase effective memory capacity
reduce DRAM expansion costs
improve workload consolidation ratios
support larger memory footprints per cluster

VCF 9.1 significantly enhances the operational experience through:

cluster-wide configuration
improved monitoring
host profile integration
simplified lifecycle management

How Does Memory Tiering Work?

Memory tiering dynamically identifies inactive or less frequently accessed memory pages and migrates them from DRAM to NVMe-based memory tiers.

The ESXi NUMA-aware scheduler and memory management stack coordinate:

memory placement
movement
optimisation

The feature operates entirely at the hypervisor level, and applications remain unaware of the tiering process, meaning that no guest OS modifications are required and no application redesign is necessary.

NVMe Device Requirements

To enable memory tiering, a minimum of one NVMe device per ESXi host is required while two NVMe devices per ESXi host are required for mirrored, highly available deployments.

Mirrored vs Non-Mirrored Memory Tiering

VCF 9.1 supports both mirrored and non-mirrored memory tier configurations.

Non-Mirrored Configuration

A non-mirrored deployment uses a single NVMe device, which maximises usable capacity and reduces hardware costs, but it also introduces a single point of failure for the memory tier.

Mirrored Configuration

A mirrored deployment requires two NVMe devices and synchronises tiered memory data to provide resiliency against device failure.

Minimum and Maximum Capacity Requirements

VCF 9.1 has the following per host limits for memory tier capacity.

Where Memory Tiering Can Be Enabled

VCF 9.1 introduces multiple deployment models for Memory Tiering.

Single Host Enablement

Administrators can configure Memory Tiering:

directly through CLI
on individual ESXi hosts.

This is useful for testing, lab environments, validation scenarios, or staged rollouts.

VCF includes:

CLI-based configuration commands
single-host operational workflows

Cluster-Level Enablement

This is one of the largest operational improvements in VCF 9.1.

Capabilities include:

centralised policy management
consistent configuration across hosts
host profile integration
simplified lifecycle management
easier operational scaling

The platform includes:

cluster level memory tiering configuration
configuration experience improvements
host profile overrides
monitoring enhancements

Networking Requirements

A key architectural consideration for any VCF 9.1 environment is the networking layer and while Memory Tiering itself does NOT require dedicated networking the implication of having more memory in a host is more workloads are likely running on the host thus creating a higher demand on:

Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) / vMotion
vSAN
External IP Based Storage

Although NVMe devices are locally attached to each ESXi host, memory migration between the DRAM and NVMe tiers occurs internally within the host, meaning there is no network dependency for accessing these tiers.

For VCF 9.1 deployments with vSAN, we recommend 4 x 25GB connections per host to ensure consistent high performance and redundancy, considering operational and failure scenarios.

NVMe Device Choice

Not all NVMe devices are suitable for memory tiering and only enterprise-grade NVMe devices should be used.

Enterprise grade devices ensure:

high endurance ratings,
predictable latency,
power-loss protection,
consistent write performance,
and PCIe Gen4 or newer interfaces.

Recommended Workloads

Memory Tiering works best with workloads that:

have large memory footprints
contain cold/inactive memory pages
benefit from increased consolidation

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

VDI environments often contain:

large memory pools
repetitive memory patterns
moderate latency sensitivity

AI/ML Inference

Inference workloads frequently benefit from:

expanded memory capacity,
large datasets,
moderate memory locality tolerance

Large Database Read Workloads

Read-heavy databases with:

large caches
moderate active memory sets
infrequently accessed data pages

General Virtualisation

Mixed enterprise workloads with:

steady-state memory usage
moderate overcommit ratios
predictable resource consumption

Kubernetes Worker Clusters

Containerised environments with:

high density
variable utilisation
elastic scaling patterns

Non-Recommended Workloads

Some workloads are highly latency-sensitive and may experience performance degradation if tiered pages are accessed frequently and form part of our suggested non-recommended workloads.

High-Frequency Trading (HFT)

Ultra-low latency workloads should remain DRAM-only.

Real-Time Analytics

Applications requiring deterministic latency may suffer from NVMe access penalties.

Ultra-Low-Latency Databases

Databases with:

highly active memory pages
intensive write activity,
microsecond-sensitive response times

Real-Time Control Systems

Industrial or manufacturing control systems often demand deterministic memory response times, with zero tolerance for any latency caused by tier transitions.

Extremely Write-Intensive Memory Workloads

Heavy page churn can:

increase NVMe wear
reduce efficiency
introduce latency variability

Operational Best Practices

Mirrored memory tiering is strongly recommended for:

mission-critical workloads
production clusters
high-availability environments

Given the minimal cost of NVMe compared to DRAM and the overall value of Memory Tiering, the investment in a second NVMe device per host is highly recommended.

Monitor Tier Utilisation

VCF 9.1 introduces:

enhanced Memory Tiering dashboards
performance visibility
health monitoring capabilities

Administrators should monitor:

tier hit rates
latency
endurance
memory migration behaviour

Validate NUMA Alignment

VCF 9.1 includes NUMA scheduler improvements that complement Memory Tiering capabilities. Proper NUMA alignment remains critical for:

predictable performance
reduced cross-node latency
efficient memory placement

Test Workloads Before Broad Deployment

Not every workload benefits equally from Memory Tiering. It is therefore recommended to conduct the below before enabling cluster-wide deployment.

pilot testing
benchmark validation
performance characterisation

Key Takeaways on Memory Tiering

Memory Tiering in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 represents a significant advancement in infrastructure scalability and memory optimisation.

By leveraging high-speed NVMe devices as an extension of DRAM, organisations can:

increase workload density
reduce DRAM memory costs
extend hardware lifecycle value
support larger modern workloads

VCF 9.1 further improves the operational maturity of memory tiering through:

cluster-wide management
enhanced monitoring
host profile integration
simplified deployment workflows

When combined with enterprise-grade NVMe devices, thoughtful workload selection, and strong operational maturity, Memory Tiering becomes a powerful tool for building scalable, cost-efficient modern private cloud infrastructure. Architects should consider the hardware form factor carefully to maximise the value of VCF 9.1 deployments and features including memory tiering.

To explore how you can unlock the full potential of memory tiering and optimise your VCF 9.1 deployment, get in touch with the team at Zaleo Consulting . Our experts can help you design the right architecture, align workloads effectively, and maximise performance while controlling costs so you can build a future-ready private cloud with confidence.

Why You Should Upgrade to VCF 9.1: Key Benefits & Features

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:16:00 GMT

What are the key features introduced in the VCF9.1 upgrade?

Since acquiring VMware, there has been a clear direction from Broadcom to transition it from a mature virtualisation platform to a Private Cloud and AI infrastructure platform. The release of VCF 9.1 is fundamentally about further enhancing capabilities, and delivering on the promise of:

automation
AI-ready infrastructure
operational simplification
cyber resilience
intelligent infrastructure management

In this product update series we will cover the latest enhancements to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and related architectural considerations across the below topics.

vSAN ESA Auto-RAID

One of the biggest operational enhancements in VCF 9.1 is Auto-RAID for vSAN ESA which dynamically adjusts resilience policies based on cluster topology.

Key highlights:

single storage policy model
automatic resiliency optimisation
automatic restriping
simplified operations
better effective capacity modelling

This is arguably the largest simplification to vSAN storage policy management since vSAN launched.

Memory Tiering

VCF 9.1 delivers enhancements to NVMe-backed Memory Tiering capability which allows enterprise NVMe devices to act as an extension of DRAM.

Key capabilities:

no reboot required to enable
cluster-wide configuration
mirrored and non-mirrored tiers
up to 4TB tier capacity
integrated monitoring
NUMA-aware scheduling improvements

This holds significant potential as a cost saving solution for a large range of workloads such as general server workloads, AI, VDI, Kubernetes, and memory-dense environments such as testing/development and UAT.

Hardware Considerations for VCF 9.1 Deployment

As VCF continues to expand its capabilities with vSAN, Memory Tiering and lifecycle management, the considerations for the underlying hardware have never been more critical.

Key topics we will cover include:

form factor
sizing
networking
performance
resiliency

Private AI Services (PAIS)

VCF 9.1 Private AI Services (PAIS) is Broadcom/VMware’s integrated platform for running enterprise AI workloads securely inside a private cloud using VMware Cloud Foundation.

VCF 9.1 introduces the following as core capabilities for private cloud deployments:

private AI services
enterprise AI infrastructure integration
GPU-enabled architectures
secure AI operational models
AI-ready Kubernetes infrastructure

These updates allow VCF 9.1 customers to respond to increasing demand/requirements for Sovereign AI & Enterprise AI governance within their private cloud.

VMware Intelligent Assist (VIA)

VMware Intelligent Assist (VIA) is Broadcom’s strategic direction toward AI-assisted infrastructure operations.

VIA is designed to:

reduce operational complexity
speed up troubleshooting
improve administrator productivity
lower operational risk
provide AI-assisted infrastructure management

VIA is part of VCF’s strategic direction toward Autonomous private cloud operations, AI-assisted infrastructure administration & Intelligent lifecycle management.

Model Context Protocol (MCP )

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard designed to let AI models securely connect to external tools, data sources, APIs and enterprise systems in a consistent way. This is strategically important medium to long term because MCP is rapidly becoming foundational for agentic AI and enterprise AI architectures.

MCP helps enable:

contextual AI integration
enterprise AI workflows
secure AI data interaction models

This positions VCF for future integration with AI agents, automation frameworks and intelligent operational tooling.

Disaggregated vSAN Storage

VCF 9.1 introduces expanded and enhanced capabilities for Disaggregated vSAN Storage building on capabilities introduced since vSphere 8.

Disaggregated vSAN storage allows:

compute-only clusters
storage-only clusters
independent scaling of compute and storage

These capabilities provide flexibility beyond some of the traditional HCI limitations which required linear scaling of compute and storage together. This added flexibility can be valuable in a wide range of scenarios including for storage-heavy workloads and large-scale enterprise cloud architectures.

Enhanced Cyber Resilience

VCF 9.1 significantly expands cyber recovery and ransomware resilience including:

immutable replication
advanced retention models
cyber recovery workflows
multi-source replication
compliance automation

These ongoing innovations align with ever increasing enterprise cyber recovery priorities and regulatory requirements.

vSAN ESA Data Efficiency Improvements

VCF 9.1 expands ESA efficiency capabilities with improved compression, global deduplication, improved effective capacity reporting and optimised erasure coding.

Combined with vSAN ESA’s existing improvements in RAID-5/6 performance, storage performance and capacity efficiency dramatically improved compared to traditional OSA implementations and places vSAN ESA in the same ballpark as external enterprise grade storage solutions (e.g.: SAN/NAS).

Stretched Cluster Operational Improvements

VCF 9.1 adds important operational improvements for vSAN stretched cluster including:

site-wide maintenance mode
simplified failover
enhanced prechecks
improved operational workflows

This is particularly valuable as it reduces the risks associated with stretched cluster deployments and makes these a more attractive option for VCF based private clouds.

Modernised Lifecycle & Desired State Management

VCF 9.1 continues Broadcom’s push toward a self-optimising private cloud infrastructure.

Key enhancements include:

improved Configuration Manager
host profile integration
desired-state operations
cluster-wide configuration consistency
automation-first operational models

This theme underpins nearly every major VCF 9.1 feature including:

Auto-RAID
Memory Tiering
AI operations and lifecycle automation

By outlining the benefits and features of the latest enhancements to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), Zaleo Consulting 's aim is to assist our readers with architectural considerations to support their analysis in upgrading to VCF 9.1. If you would like to understand the impact and benefits of VCF9.1 specifically for your business, contact the Zaleo team for an expert-led Current State Assessment.

Zaleo Consulting Named APAC Expert Advantage Consulting Services Strategic VMware Partner of the Year

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 02:26:44 GMT

We are incredibly proud and grateful to have been awarded 2025 Asia Pacific VMware Partner of the Year Consulting Services by Broadcom . This recognition is not only a significant milestone for our business, but also a powerful endorsement of the expertise, culture, and values that define who we are.

This award reflects the strength of the longstanding partnership between Broadcom and our parent company, Emanate Technology, and highlights Zaleo Consulting’s proven capability in delivering high quality advisory and consulting services across the full VMware technology stack. From strategy through to execution, our consultants consistently help customers unlock value, manage complexity, and achieve measurable business outcomes.

Broadcom’s annual Software Partner Awards recognise organisations that make outstanding contributions throughout the year. In 2025, winning partners were acknowledged for driving innovation, executing strong go to market strategies, investing in enablement and technical excellence, and most importantly delivering superior customer outcomes. We are honoured to be counted among this elite group of partners.

At the heart of this achievement is our rapidly growing Consulting Team. Their deep technical expertise, commitment to excellence, and customer first mindset continue to exceed expectations and position Zaleo as a trusted authority in the market. This award is a testament to their dedication and professionalism.

More broadly, this recognition reinforces our expert culture and the way we show up across the ecosystem. Our clients consistently view Zaleo Consulting as the partner of choice, not only for our deep technical capability but for the quality of our advice, our reliability, and our ability to align outcomes to real business needs. At the same time, consultants view Zaleo as an employer that genuinely invests in their growth, provides access to meaningful work, and supports the elevation of their careers through strong leadership, enablement, and opportunity. For our vendor partners, this award reflects the trust they place in us to represent their technologies, expectations, and values with integrity and excellence, acting as a true extension of their brand in the market.

Thank you to Broadcom, Emanate Technology, and our incredible team for making this achievement possible. We look forward to building on this momentum with our partnership with VMware Broadcom and continuing to set the standard for consulting excellence across APAC.

Modernising a Multi‑Campus University with VMware Cloud Foundation

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 11:02:54 GMT

Challenge

The university faced a highly complex and fragmented legacy environment that had evolved over decades to support its diverse academic, research, and administrative functions. With multiple campuses, thousands of users, and a broad mix of applications, the existing infrastructure had become increasingly difficult to scale, secure, and manage. Many systems were tightly coupled, lacked modern automation capabilities, and required significant manual intervention to maintain operational stability. This created inefficiencies, increased operational risk, and limited the university’s ability to innovate at the pace required by modern education and research demands.

A major challenge was the need to integrate a wide range of third‑party applications and tools that were essential to daily operations. These systems varied in age, architecture, and compatibility, requiring a carefully designed approach to ensure seamless interoperability within the new private cloud environment. Security and compliance requirements added another layer of complexity, as the university needed to maintain strict governance controls while modernising its infrastructure.

The migration of more than 1200 production workloads, many of them critical had to be executed live, without any disruption to teaching, research, or administrative services. Coordinating multiple internal and external teams, each with different responsibilities and timelines, further increased the complexity of the project.

Solution

A comprehensive VCF-based private cloud architecture was designed to address the university’s operational, security, and scalability challenges. The solution began with a series of collaborative workshops to understand the university’s existing environment, business priorities, and long‑term digital transformation goals. These sessions informed a detailed architectural blueprint that aligned VMware Cloud Foundation capabilities with the university’s requirements for performance, resilience, and governance.

The deployment phase involved building a fully integrated private cloud platform with standardised management, compute, storage, and networking layers. A robust security framework was embedded into the design, incorporating micro‑segmentation, identity‑based access controls, and compliance‑aligned policies to protect sensitive academic and research data. Integration with more than 20 critical third‑party applications ensured continuity of essential services and enabled a smooth transition to the new environment.

Centralised monitoring and alerting were implemented across the entire infrastructure, providing real‑time visibility into system health, performance, and security events. This allowed the university’s IT teams to proactively manage issues and maintain high service availability. Automation was introduced to streamline more than 50 routine operational tasks, reducing manual effort and improving consistency across environments.

The migration strategy focused on achieving zero downtime for all critical workloads. Advanced live‑migration techniques were used to transition over 1200 production workloads without interrupting teaching schedules, research activities, or administrative operations. Knowledge‑transfer sessions were conducted throughout the project to ensure the university’s IT staff were fully equipped to operate, maintain, and optimise the new platform.

Outcome

The implementation of the VCF-based private cloud delivered a modern, secure, and scalable infrastructure foundation for the university. The successful live migration of all critical workloads ensured uninterrupted access to essential academic, research, and administrative systems, reinforcing confidence in the new platform’s reliability. The strengthened security framework aligned fully with institutional policies and compliance requirements, significantly reducing risk and improving governance across the environment.

Centralised monitoring and alerting provided the IT team with enhanced visibility and control, enabling faster issue resolution and more proactive system management. Automation of routine tasks reduced operational overhead, freeing staff to focus on higher‑value initiatives and strategic improvements. The knowledge‑transfer program empowered the university’s IT personnel with the skills and confidence needed to manage the private cloud independently.

Overall, the university now benefits from a future‑ready infrastructure capable of supporting ongoing growth, innovation, and digital transformation. The new platform provides the scalability required to meet increasing demand, the security needed to protect sensitive data, and the operational efficiency necessary to deliver high‑quality digital services to students, staff, and researchers.

Key Benefits:

Modern, scalable private cloud platform built on VCF
Zero‑downtime migration of 1200+ critical workloads
Strengthened security posture aligned with compliance requirements
Seamless integration with 20+ essential third‑party applications
Centralised monitoring and alerting across the entire environment
Automation of 50+ operational tasks, reducing manual effort
Improved operational efficiency and service reliability
Upskilled IT team through structured knowledge‑transfer sessions

Powering the Next Wave of Private Cloud Transformation with Broadcom

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:20:17 GMT

Zaleo Consulting and parent company, Emanate Technology’s growing partnership with Broadcom took an exciting step forward in 2025, with our team proudly featured in a recent article spotlighting how key collaborators are reshaping the cloud landscape across the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. The piece highlights the pivotal role that trusted professional services partners play in accelerating private cloud adoption, an area where the Broadcom partnership continues to gain momentum. For us, being recognised as an official partner in this ecosystem underscores our commitment to delivering deep expertise, secure architectures, and long‑term value for customers navigating complex cloud transformation journeys.

Asia Pacific and Japan are undergoing a rapid shift toward modern private cloud environments, driven by rising demand for AI‑ready infrastructure, stronger data security, and scalable platforms. According to Broadcom’s Private Cloud Outlook 2025 , the Cloud Reset reveals that 88% of organisations in the region trust private cloud for the security and compliance of their workloads. But the report also makes it clear that transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. Organisations need experienced professional services partners who can guide them from Day 0 planning through Day 2 operations and beyond, ensuring that cloud adoption is strategic, secure, and sustainable.

The article highlights three major pillars shaping APJ’s cloud evolution. First is the need for end‑to‑end transformation. Rather than deploying isolated solutions, organisations must adopt a holistic architectural approach that unifies infrastructure, applications, and operations. Professional services partners are essential here, providing guidance from initial discovery through deployment, adoption, and value realisation.

Second is the shift away from siloed IT structures. They report that nearly 80% of organisations are now reorganising around platform teams, recognising that a platform‑centric operating model enables agility, collaboration, and consistency. This level of change management requires deep advisory support which is another area where partners play a critical role.

The third pillar is the adoption of the right cloud operating model. VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is emerging as the backbone of modern private cloud, enabling organisations to move from reactive infrastructure management to proactive, platform‑driven operations. Through the VMware Broadcom partnership, services partners are helping customers modernise how they build, operate, and protect their cloud environments.

Emanate Technology and Zaleo Consulting are proud to be highlighted as a key contributor to this transformation. The article features a Canberra‑based organisation that partnered with Broadcom and Emanate to build a secure, scalable VCF‑powered private cloud supporting critical workloads and stringent compliance requirements. Our architects, consultants, and technical adoption managers worked seamlessly alongside Broadcom’s teams, forming a unified delivery model that continues to evolve the platform’s resilience, capability, and operational efficiency.

Broadcom is continuing to invest heavily in partner capability through training, certifications, and programs like the Expert Advantage Program (EAP) , ensuring that partners across APJ are equipped to deliver measurable outcomes. With VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 on the horizon, customer excitement is building as organisations prepare for the next phase of private cloud innovation.

This summary captures the key themes, but the full article offers even deeper insights into how the VMware Broadcom partnership, and partners like Zaleo Consulting are shaping the future of private cloud across APJ. You can explore the complete story at the original source to dive further into the details.

Rebuilding Confidence by Securing a Federal Agency’s Protected Networks

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:44:29 GMT

Challenge

A federal agency operated a suite of highly sensitive Critical Systems and Networks within protected environments, each carrying strict regulatory, operational and security obligations. These systems supported essential national functions, meaning any disruption or compromise could have significant consequences. Despite the importance of the initiative, the agency lacked the internal expertise required to conduct a comprehensive audit and assessment of its risk posture. Existing teams were already stretched, and specialist security skills, particularly those relating to protected level environments were not available inhouse.

Compounding the challenge was the absence of a clear roadmap. While leadership understood the urgency of strengthening security controls, there was no structured plan outlining how to identify vulnerabilities, prioritise remediation activities or align improvements with broader organisational objectives. As a result, the initiative stalled, leaving the agency exposed to potential threats and without a clear path forward.

The complexity of the environment, combined with the need for security-cleared personnel and a deep understanding of federal compliance frameworks, meant the agency required external support. They required a partner capable of not only assessing the current state but also guiding them through a structured, achievable and strategically aligned uplift program.

Solution

We began by forming a close partnership with the agency, investing time to understand the full scope of the challenge, the operational context and the outcomes required. This collaborative approach ensured that our recommendations and activities aligned with the agency’s mission, constraints and long-term objectives. By working side-by-side with stakeholders, we established trust early and created a shared understanding of priorities, risks and dependencies.

Our team deployed specialists across security architecture, risk assessment, governance and protected-level system design. These experts conducted detailed reviews of the existing environment, identifying gaps, vulnerabilities and opportunities for uplift. We provided tailored architectural guidance, designed secure patterns suitable for the agency’s operational context and supported the development of a structured roadmap that balanced ambition with practicality.

Recognising the importance of sustainable capability, we embedded knowledge transfer into every stage of the engagement. Our consultants worked closely with internal teams to build confidence, uplift skills and prepare them to take ownership of the environment once the program matured. This included hands-on mentoring, documentation, and collaborative design sessions.

Given the sensitivity of the systems involved, we ensured all deployed personnel held the appropriate security clearances, enabling seamless access to protected environments and reducing administrative delays. The scale of the program also required experienced project and program specialists who provided governance, reporting and stakeholder engagement across all levels of the agency.

Outcome

Through our structured and collaborative approach, the agency successfully completed a comprehensive audit and assessment phase, gaining a clear understanding of its current security posture and the steps required to uplift it. The resulting roadmap provided a practical and prioritised sequence of activities, enabling leadership to make informed decisions and allocate resources effectively.

The deployment of the right expertise at the right time ensured that each stage of the program progressed smoothly. Our consultants delivered targeted insights, actionable recommendations and architectural designs that aligned with best practice and federal security requirements. Internal teams gained confidence and capability, supported by the knowledge transfer embedded throughout the engagement.

As a result, the agency is now positioned to implement a significantly strengthened security environment, with improved visibility of risks, clearer governance structures and a sustainable pathway for ongoing enhancement. The success of the engagement led to multiple re-engagements across other programs, where our expertise continues to support the agency’s broader security uplift initiatives.

Key Benefits:

Strengthened understanding of risks, vulnerabilities and security gaps
Clear, actionable roadmap aligned with organisational priorities
Access to security-cleared specialists with protected-level expertise
Tailored architectural guidance and best-practice security patterns
Embedded knowledge transfer enabling long-term internal capability
Improved governance, reporting and program structure
Timely deployment of the right expertise at each program stage
Ongoing partnership supporting broader security uplift initiatives

Modernising Patient Data Management for Healthcare Success

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:27:22 GMT

Challenge

In the healthcare sector, data is the foundation of patient care and operational excellence. Our client was constrained by a legacy electronic data management system that had become increasingly inefficient. What once served as a functional repository had evolved into a complex and unwieldy platform where retrieving patient records was slow, inconsistent, and resource intensive. We understood from our client that their critical data was residing in a data swamp. Not manageable or scalable, and increasingly presenting risk.

Beyond the immediate frustrations of record retrieval, the system offered little support for advanced digital health analytics. This meant the organisation was unable to harness the full potential of its patient data to drive insights, improve outcomes, or meet the growing demand for evidence based decision making. As healthcare providers face mounting pressure to innovate, comply with regulatory standards, and deliver personalised care, the limitations of this system posed a significant risk.

The challenge was not simply about upgrading technology. It was about enabling the organisation to transform its data into a strategic asset. Without intervention, the client risked falling behind competitors who were already leveraging modern infrastructure and analytics tools.

Solution

We were engaged to deliver a comprehensive transformation program, bringing together a team of experienced architects, engineers, and administrators to tackle this complex data project. Our approach was designed not only to solve immediate pain points but also to create a scalable and future ready platform.

The first step was to establish a strong architectural foundation. Working closely with the client’s leadership and technical teams, we finalised the design of the data construct and models. This ensured the new system would support both current operational needs and future growth, enabling the organisation to adapt as healthcare data demands continued to evolve.

Given the scale of migration and integration, we introduced a robust modern infrastructure concept. This secure and resilient framework was engineered to handle large volumes of sensitive patient data while maintaining compliance with healthcare and privacy regulations. Automated integrations were embedded into the design, reducing manual workloads and ensuring seamless data flow across systems.

Equally critical was governance. We partnered with the client to establish a cohesive project governance model, aligning stakeholders, clarifying accountability, and embedding transparency into every stage of delivery. This collaborative governance structure ensured risks were managed proactively and decisions were made with confidence, keeping the project on track and focused on outcomes.

By combining technical expertise with strategic oversight, we created a solution that was not just a system upgrade but a platform for innovation in a compliant environment.

Outcome

The impact was immediate and measurable. Our client successfully delivered all requirements within scope, overcoming the limitations of their legacy system and unlocking new capabilities. Patient data management was secured, streamlined, retrieval times were dramatically reduced, and accuracy was enhanced.

Most importantly, the organisation gained the ability to leverage advanced digital health analytics. With clean, accessible, and reliable data, they could now generate insights that informed clinical decisions, improved patient care, and supported strategic planning. The modern infrastructure solution provided a secure environment that met compliance standards while offering the flexibility to adapt to future needs.

From a business perspective, the transformation positioned the client as a leader in digital healthcare innovation. They are now equipped to deliver value across the healthcare spectrum, from operational efficiency to enhanced patient outcomes, while differentiating themselves in a competitive market.

This project was more than a technical success. It was a strategic enabler. By investing in a modern, scalable, and analytics ready data management system, the client has built a foundation for resilience, innovation, and growth. The collaboration between our team and the client demonstrates how technology, when paired with strong governance and strategic vision, can drive meaningful change in healthcare.

Key Benefits:

Improved patient record retrieval speed and accuracy
Seamless automated integrations across systems
Secure and compliant infrastructure ready for future growth
Reduction to the risk profile of data mismanagement and access
Enhanced ability to leverage advanced health analytics
Strong governance model ensuring transparency and accountability
Strategic positioning as a leader in digital healthcare innovation

A Security‑Driven Approach to Federal Infrastructure Renewal

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:39:22 GMT

Challenge

The client, a major federal organisation, was confronted with a complex and high-stakes transformation program that touched every layer of its technology environment. Many of its critical systems were approaching technical redundancy, creating operational risk and limiting the organisation’s ability to support emerging mission requirements. At the same time, the organisation needed to uplift its infrastructure and deploy new cloud-based solutions, all while maintaining strict compliance with an extensive security framework. These systems operated within protected and top-secret environments, meaning that even minor disruptions could have significant consequences for national operations.

The scale of the refresh required careful planning, deep security expertise and a coordinated delivery approach. The organisation needed a partner capable of navigating sensitive environments, understanding federal security obligations and delivering outcomes without compromising confidentiality or operational continuity. The challenge was not simply technical; it required balancing modernisation with risk mitigation, ensuring that every change aligned with stringent security controls. This meant that the uplift had to be executed in a way that preserved system integrity, maintained availability and supported long-term resilience. Ultimately, the organisation required a specialised team to deliver a comprehensive suite of security deliverables across multiple domains while ensuring seamless integration with existing systems.

Solution

To meet the complexity of the program, a multilevel and highly structured approach was essential. We began by embedding specialist security expertise to assess the client’s existing environment, identify gaps and define a clear, actionable roadmap for the security deliverables required across the program. This roadmap provided a phased structure that allowed the organisation to modernise incrementally, reducing risk and ensuring that each stage of the uplift aligned with federal security standards.

Our team deployed small, manageable packages of work designed to minimise operational disruption while maintaining momentum across the program. This approach ensured that each component, whether infrastructure, cloud integration or system hardening was delivered with precision and validated against security requirements.

Key elements of our solution included comprehensive security hardening of critical environments, ensuring that legacy vulnerabilities were addressed and that new systems were configured to meet stringent protective-level controls. We also delivered VMWare installation and configuration with a strong security focus, enabling the organisation to operate a modernised virtualised environment with improved resilience and performance.

Throughout the engagement, we worked collaboratively with internal teams, providing guidance, documentation and assurance activities to support compliance and long-term maintainability. This structured, security-first methodology ensured that the organisation could modernise confidently while maintaining the integrity of its protected and top-secret systems.

Outcome

The organisation successfully deployed a refreshed, modern infrastructure environment that significantly strengthened its security posture. By following a phased and controlled approach, the client was able to uplift critical systems without compromising operational continuity or breaching security requirements. The modernised environment now supports improved performance, greater scalability and enhanced resilience across mission-critical operations.

Our involvement extended across the full lifecycle of the uplift, from initial assessment through to implementation, validation and ongoing support. This included hardware upgrades, security refresh activities, continuous monitoring enhancements, cloud security integration and firewall management. As a result, the organisation now operates with a more robust and future-ready technology foundation that aligns with federal security frameworks and supports evolving operational needs.

The uplift not only addressed immediate technical redundancy but also positioned the organisation for long-term capability growth. With strengthened controls, improved visibility and modernised infrastructure, the client is now better equipped to manage emerging threats, adopt new technologies and maintain secure operations within its protected and top-secret environments.

Key Benefits:

Strengthened security posture across protected and top-secret environments
Reduced operational risk through phased, low-disruption delivery
Modernised infrastructure aligned with federal security frameworks
Improved system performance, scalability and resilience
Enhanced monitoring, cloud security and firewall management
Clear roadmap enabling long-term maintainability and future capability growth

Building a Multi‑Region VCF 5.2 Cloud Platform for Modern Service Delivery

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 10:55:30 GMT

Challenge

The organisation faced a critical inflection point as its existing VMware infrastructure approached end‑of‑support status. Over several years, the environment had grown organically, resulting in a patchwork of mixed vSphere versions, inconsistent configurations, and operational inefficiencies. This fragmentation created challenges in maintaining platform stability, ensuring compliance, and delivering a consistent customer experience across their cloud services portfolio. As a cloud services provider operating across multiple Australian data centres, the business needed a modern, scalable, and supportable platform capable of meeting both internal operational requirements and the evolving expectations of its clients.

Compounding the issue was a limited level of internal experience with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). While the organisation had strong operational knowledge of traditional vSphere environments, the shift to a fully integrated VCF architecture, encompassing SDDC Manager, NSX, vSAN, and lifecycle automation represented a significant leap in complexity. The business required not only a technical uplift but also a strategic transformation in how cloud infrastructure was deployed, managed, and consumed.

The challenge, therefore, was twofold: replace the ageing infrastructure with a greenfield VCF 5.2 platform designed for multi‑tenant cloud operations, and ensure the internal team could confidently operate and extend the new environment moving forward.

Solution

A comprehensive, multi‑phase solution was developed to deliver a robust, future‑ready cloud platform aligned with VMware best practices and the organisation’s long‑term service strategy. The engagement began with detailed architectural design workshops, focusing on multi‑site resiliency, workload segmentation, tenant isolation, and lifecycle automation. These sessions ensured the platform design aligned with both technical requirements and business objectives, particularly around scalability, security, and operational simplicity.

The project team deployed several VCF 5.x instances across multiple availability zones and regions, establishing a consistent and repeatable architecture. Each instance was built using a greenfield approach, enabling clean configuration baselines and eliminating legacy technical debt. NSX was implemented as the core networking and security fabric, with a strong emphasis on zero‑trust principles. This included micro‑segmentation, distributed firewalling, and strict east‑west traffic controls for management and tenant workloads.

Cloud Director was deployed to provide a mature multi‑tenant cloud services layer, enabling the provider to deliver flexible, self‑service cloud offerings to clients. NSX Advanced Load Balancer (AVI) was integrated to support both management and tenant application load balancing, improving performance, resilience, and operational visibility.

To address the internal skills gap, tailored handover workshops and operational enablement sessions were delivered. These covered VCF lifecycle management, Cloud Director operations, NSX security design, and AVI configuration. By the end of the project, the internal team had the confidence and capability to manage, scale, and support the new platform independently.

Outcome

The project delivered a fully modernised, multi‑regional cloud platform spanning five availability zones across three geographically diverse regions. The new VCF‑based architecture provided a consistent, automated, and supportable foundation for the organisation’s cloud services, replacing the fragmented legacy environment with a unified and future‑proof solution.

Multiple clients were successfully migrated onto the new platform, benefiting from improved performance, enhanced security, and greater service flexibility. The adoption of NSX and AVI introduced a more resilient and scalable network architecture, while Cloud Director enabled the provider to expand its service catalogue with new multi‑tenant offerings.

Security posture improved significantly through the implementation of zero‑trust network policies, ensuring strict control over all management and tenant traffic. Operational efficiency also increased, with VCF lifecycle automation reducing manual overhead and minimising the risk of configuration drift.

The project not only modernised the technical platform but also uplifted the organisation’s internal capability. Through structured knowledge transfer and hands‑on enablement, the internal team gained the expertise required to operate and evolve the environment confidently. Ultimately, the organisation emerged with a stronger, more competitive cloud services platform and a clearer pathway for future growth.

Key Benefits:

Modern, fully supported VCF 5.2 cloud platform
Consistent architecture across multiple regions and availability zones
Stronger security posture through zero‑trust network design
Expanded multi‑tenant cloud service offerings via Cloud Director
Improved application resilience and performance with AVI load balancing
Reduced operational overhead through VCF lifecycle automation
Enhanced internal capability through targeted training and handover workshops
Future‑proof foundation for scalable cloud growth

Transforming a Federal Agency Through AI, Automation and Modern Data Strategy

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 10:13:57 GMT

Challenge

A federal government agency was operating within a legacy business intelligence and data environment that had become increasingly difficult to maintain, scale and modernise. Core systems were fragmented, slow and heavily reliant on manual processes, making it challenging for teams to retrieve accurate business data in a timely manner. As operational demands grew, the agency struggled to keep pace with expectations for real‑time analytics, secure data access and consistent governance.

The complexity of the existing data structures also limited the agency’s ability to adopt AI or machine learning. Without a clear strategy or the technical foundations to support automation, the organisation was unable to leverage predictive analytics or advanced modelling to improve decision‑making. This gap became particularly evident in areas requiring rapid geospatial insights, where delays in processing location‑based data hindered responsiveness during critical events.

Security and governance issues further compounded the challenge. With no unified framework in place, the agency faced difficulties managing data quality, ensuring compliance and maintaining trust in its information assets. To move forward, the organisation required a significant uplift in automation, governance maturity and AI readiness, along with the ability to generate geospatial insights at speed to support operational and emergency response functions.

Solution

To address these challenges, we undertook a multi‑year engagement designed to modernise the agency’s data ecosystem and build long‑term capability. Our first step was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the existing environment, identifying structural gaps, governance weaknesses and opportunities for automation. This allowed us to design a tailored roadmap aligned with the agency’s strategic objectives and operational priorities.

We deployed a multidisciplinary team consisting of Data Engineers, BI Specialists, Data Analysts, a Data Governance Consultant and additional engineering capability. A dedicated Change Manager was embedded to drive adoption, ensuring that new data-driven practices were understood, embraced and sustained across the organisation.

A major component of the engagement involved AI strategy development. Our contractors worked closely with agency leaders to define a clear AI vision, identifying high‑value opportunities for machine learning, predictive analytics and automation that could enhance decision‑making and operational efficiency.

We also focused on automating geospatial capability, modernising data pipelines and enabling automated processing of location‑based datasets. This significantly improved the agency’s ability to generate rapid geospatial insights, particularly for emergency response scenarios where time‑critical decisions are essential.

Finally, we strengthened the agency’s foundations through a comprehensive data strategy, including governance frameworks, scalability directives, data quality improvements, workforce training and skill gap analysis. This ensured the organisation had both the technical and cultural readiness to operate a modern, resilient data environment.

Outcome

By the conclusion of the engagement, the agency had transitioned from a fragmented legacy environment to a modern, scalable and future‑ready data ecosystem. The newly developed AI strategy provided a clear pathway for adopting machine learning and predictive analytics, enabling the organisation to make faster, more informed decisions.

The automation of geospatial data processes delivered a step‑change in operational responsiveness. Emergency response teams gained access to rapid, accurate location‑based insights, improving their ability to act decisively during critical events.

The comprehensive data strategy established a strong governance foundation, improved data quality and enhanced security, ensuring the agency could confidently manage and leverage its information assets. Staff capability was uplifted through targeted training and change management, empowering internal teams to maintain and evolve the new environment independently. Through our partnership, the agency is now better equipped to harness its data for strategic planning, operational excellence and innovation. The transformation has positioned the organisation to respond with agility, embrace emerging technologies and continue strengthening its data-driven culture.

Key Benefits:

Clear AI strategy with actionable machine learning and predictive analytics opportunities
Automated geospatial data processing enabling faster emergency response insights
Modern, scalable data architecture supporting long‑term growth
Strengthened governance, security and data quality
Improved workforce capability through training and change management
Faster access to reliable, high‑value data across the organisation
Enhanced operational agility and decision‑making
Strong foundation for future digital and data transformation