VMware Explore played host to a lot of discourse on multicloud and artificial intelligence-related announcements filtering out from the company’s ecosystem.

Equally important, however, are edge-related developments that stand to expand VMware Inc.’s operational model to cater to the increasing number of relevant verticals.

“One of the underappreciated announcements here [that] flew under the radar a little was the edge announcement, the software-defined edge,” said Zeus Kerravala (pictured), founder and principal analyst at ZK Research. “If they can use that position then to expand that VMware operational model — which, let’s face it, a lot of IT pros love — to then expand to the edge, I think that creates an opportunity for them that’s as big as their current total addressable market.”

Kerravala spoke with theCUBE industry analysts Dave Vellante and Lisa Martin at VMware Explore 2023, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the software-defined edge idea and how it plays into VMware’s larger edge-computing blueprint. (* Disclosure below.)

An Edge Cloud Orchestrator to unify things

Secure access service edge is cloud-delivered networking paired with security. It includes components such as Secure Access, Cloud Firewall, Cloud Web Security and software-defined wide area network.

A key unveiling during the event was VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator, an intended replacement for the company’s SASE Orchestrator. It will enable a unified management platform across VMware’s Edge Compute Stack and SASE, simplifying edge compute control, networking, security and infrastructure.

“I think that creates a massive opportunity for them,” Kerravala explained. “And then from there, I’ll be curious to see if they can attach some of the network connectivity with their SD-WAN portfolio and then security. So, it winds up becoming a bit of a land-and-expand, where the core is where they’ve landed and now can they expand into these emerging areas.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of VMware Explore 2023:

(* Disclosure: This is an unsponsored editorial segment. However, theCUBE is a paid media partner for VMware Explore 2023. VMware Inc. and other sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage do not have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE