As VMware Inc. reinvents its technical vision and transforms into a cloud and subscription-based model, the company is looking to shape the future of enterprise cloud computing for the long haul.

“There’s a lot of changes we’ve got to make internally,” said Kit Colbert (pictured), chief technology officer of VMware. “Technologies, platform services we need to build out … and, I’m kind of sitting at the center of that … it’s big. There’s a lot of stuff to go and do … the level of innovation happening inside VMware, it’s just insane.”

Colbert spoke with Dave Vellante,, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during theCUBE on VMworld event. They discussed the current direction VMware is taking with its company structure and enterprise cloud product portfolio, as well as the plans it has laid out for the future. (* Disclosure below.)

VMware’s internal changes so far

VMware is ultimately working to become a software-as-a-service company with cloud at the forefront, according to Colbert. These proposed changes have necessitated some personnel reshuffles, a change in R&D ideology, and a renewed dedication to engineering excellence.

“I think that this notion of getting into multicloud, of becoming a real cloud services company is going to be probably the biggest one for us and the biggest transformation that we’re going to have to make. You know, we did extend from core compute virtualization to network and storage with the software-defined data center,” Colbert explained.

It doesn’t just stop at planning, though. VMware has gone to work and closed a number of nifty security and infrastructure acquisitions to bolster its intended cloud service subscription model.

The company’s plans for the future

VMware is at a crucial turning point, according to Colbert. In embracing the changing cloud landscape, with developments like edge computing and multicloud, the company is making big bets that it hopes will pay off in the near future.

“We’ve really needed to step up our game, and we have in terms of the types of tooling that we built. But really it’s about getting these developers engaged with that, to know that what matters most of all right now is that service availability, in addition to things like security, compliance, etc. But we also have monitoring systems to tell you, ‘Hey, there’s a problem,'” Colbert stated. 

Aside from the core technological aspect, the company is also making some crucial changes around its culture and hiring protocol, with equity and inclusivity as core considerations.

“As I said before, the ESG component — and in diversity, equity inclusion, in particular, in terms of our workforce — is extraordinarily important to me and something we’re going to be really pushing hard on. Women, minorities, they’re not very well represented, in general, in Silicon Valley. So it’s something that we all need to step up on,” Colbert said. 

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of theCUBE on VMworld event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for theCUBE on VMworld event. Neither VMware Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE