VMware has been a pillar in virtualization since the late 1990s, with its first product Workstation launched in 1999. Since then it has expanded with ESXi for datacenters and advanced cloud platforms. Their products are used to consolidate servers, isolate workloads, migrate virtual machines seamlessly with vMotion, and secure networks via software-defined infrastructure (SDN) with NSX.
Over the years VMware has adapted to the evolving cloud landscape - offering solutions for both private and public clouds such as vSphere+, vCloud, Tanzu, and Aria (formerly vRealize). Exploring their GitHub repos reveals projects ranging from container integration and API scripts to open-source tools like open-vm-tools and Ansible collections for VMware automation.
After Broadcom’s acquisition in November 2023, VMware shifted to a subscription model for software while desktop products - Workstation and Fusion - have been released free for home use. Today the company is a central player in hybrid cloud, virtualization, and SDDC strategies, supporting both established infrastructure and modern cloud technologies.
