VMblog: If you were giving a VMware Explore attendee a quick overview of your company, what would you say? How would you describe your organization's mission and core focus areas in 2025?

Liam Sosinsky: At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In 2025, that mission is grounded in three key focus areas: infrastructure modernization, AI-driven innovation, and consistent operations across hybrid environments-all delivered without compromise.

We're helping customers modernize their infrastructure with performance, flexibility, and AI-readiness at the core. Azure is pushing the boundaries of cloud performance with innovations like Azure Boost, enabling up to 6.6 million IOPS and 200 Gbps networking-ideal for high-performance workloads including AI, analytics, and business-critical applications.

For VMware customers, we offer powerful, cost-effective pathways to the cloud. Through our VMware Rapid Migration Plan, customers can take advantage of a 20% discount on 1-year reserved instances (available through December 31, 2025), and lock in pricing and savings for up to three years when they migrate to Azure VMware Solution (AVS). We also support existing investments through programs like the Azure Hybrid Benefit, which allows customers to reuse on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses in Azure-plus receive up to three years of free security updates for 2012 versions.

Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is fully compatible with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), and customers who have purchased VCF subscriptions are eligible for discounted AVS pricing when they bring their portable subscriptions to AVS, helping them extend the value of their on-prem investment to the cloud.

To help customers accelerate their migration journey, we offer a range of support programs designed to reduce complexity and cost. Azure Migrate provides comprehensive tooling, expert guidance, and potential funding opportunities to streamline every stage of cloud adoption. For those looking to jumpstart modernization, we're offering up to $240k in Azure credits to help offset initial costs. We also work closely with customers through our AVS Express TCO Analysis, delivering a detailed assessment of the business and financial impact of moving to Azure VMware Solution. And for those wanting to test the waters, we provide a 30-day AVS pilot-three nodes at no cost-available through qualified partner-led projects.

VMblog: As a VMware Explore 2025 sponsor, what does your sponsorship presence look like this year? Will you have a significant team in Las Vegas? What's your booth #, your booth theme, and what interactive experiences do you have planned for attendees?

Sosinsky: As a Diamond sponsor at VMware Explore 2025, Microsoft is showing up in a big way. We'll have a team of over 20 experts onsite-including product team members, Global Black Belts, solution engineers, and technical specialists-all available at Booth 107 to support customers and share best practices for every stage of their cloud journey.

Our booth theme centers around modernizing VMware environments with Azure-and we're bringing that to life with a full schedule of in-booth theater sessions. Topics will include VMware migration with HCX, external storage and BCDR, networking, security, and AI integration with Azure VMware Solution (AVS).

Beyond the booth, we're leading a 90-minute tutorial, four breakout sessions, and two ‘Meet the Experts' sessions, offering attendees multiple ways to learn, engage, and get hands-on insights from our team.

For deeper conversations, attendees can also book 1:1 meetings with Microsoft experts onsite to explore migration strategies, technical roadmaps, or partnership opportunities.

VMblog: What drove your company's decision to sponsor VMware Explore 2025? Why is this event considered essential for your go-to-market strategy and customer engagement?

Sosinsky: Sponsoring VMware Explore 2025 is a strategic priority for Microsoft because it puts us directly in front of one of our most important customer segments: organizations running VMware who are actively evaluating their path to the cloud. Many of these customers also rely on Microsoft technologies, and this event creates a unique opportunity to engage them and help support their cloud journey.

VMblog: What are the most pressing technology challenges that enterprises are grappling with in 2025? Can you share specific examples from your customer interactions?

Sosinsky: In 2025, enterprise customers running VMware on-prem are facing a few big challenges, and Microsoft is focused on helping them navigate this journey on their own terms with Azure VMware Solution (AVS). Many organizations are eager to modernize legacy workloads and move toward cloud-native architectures-but the risks tied to downtime and complex dependencies often slow things down. AVS makes it easier by letting customers lift and shift their VMware environments to Azure without refactoring, so they can modernize gradually while maintaining operational continuity and tapping into native Azure services when they're ready.

We're also seeing growing pressure around managing multi-cloud complexity and rising costs. With AVS, customers can streamline operations in Azure, using the VMware tools and skills they already have while gaining better visibility, policy control, and cost management through Azure's native capabilities. Security is another major priority-especially with ransomware on the rise and compliance requirements tightening. AVS integrates with Microsoft's security portfolio, including Defender for Cloud and Sentinel, to help strengthen defenses and simplify compliance. And finally, for teams feeling the pinch of a growing skills gap, AVS allows them to keep working in a familiar environment while gradually adopting automation, infrastructure-as-code, and AI-assisted tools to build cloud expertise over time.

VMblog: Can you provide a high-level overview of your company's technology portfolio? What's the core message and value proposition that attendees will hear from your team this year?

Sosinsky: At Microsoft, our technology portfolio is built to meet customers wherever they are on their cloud journey-whether that's lifting and shifting VMware workloads, modernizing applications, or managing hybrid environments with consistency and control.

The core message this year is flexibility and choice. For VMware customers, the fastest and most seamless path to the cloud is through Azure VMware Solution (AVS)-a fully managed, first-party Azure service that replicates your on-premises vSphere environment in the cloud. It allows you to migrate workloads "as is" without the need to refactor, retrain, or retool. AVS is cost-effective too-VMware technology is included with Azure compute, and everything can be procured directly through Microsoft.

For customers who have already renewed their VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) subscription, AVS fully supports the new VCF bundle and allows for the use of those licenses on Azure VMware Solution, offering a flexible path to Azure when you're ready. This ensures your existing investment continues to deliver value, with the added benefits of cloud scale and agility.

For applications that are cloud-ready or require minimal changes, customers can modernize with Azure-native services like Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Container Apps, or Azure App Service-gaining access to modern DevOps practices, scalability, and innovation.

For workloads that must stay on-premises, Azure Arc extends Azure's security, governance, and management capabilities to VMware environments, creating a unified approach to managing hybrid infrastructure.

VMblog: When discussing your solutions, what specific capabilities make your offerings stand out in the market? What are your key differentiators and competitive advantages?

Sosinsky: Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) private cloud in Azure. It stands out because it combines the best of both worlds-giving customers the familiar VMware environment they know, while unlocking the power of native Azure services like AI, machine learning, and data analytics. This means businesses can start modernizing right away without having to completely change how they operate.

Another big advantage is cost savings. With the Azure Hybrid Benefit, customers can use their existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses in Azure at no extra cost-and even get free security updates for older versions. Plus, AVS is a fully managed service, so Microsoft takes care of the infrastructure, freeing up customers to focus on their applications and business priorities instead of managing hardware.

Security and compliance are top priorities, and AVS benefits from Azure's strong security tools like Microsoft Defender and SIEM, helping protect workloads and meet regulatory requirements. And with Azure's massive global presence-offering AVS in over 35 data centers worldwide-customers can run their VMware workloads close to their users for better performance and compliance. On top of that, AVS supports hybrid cloud, making it easy for organizations to connect their on-premises environments to Azure and migrate workloads at their own pace.

VMblog: How do your solutions specifically address the needs of VMware environments and implementations? What pain points do you solve for organizations running VMware infrastructure?

Sosinsky: Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is built to meet VMware customers where they are, solving key pain points like complex migrations, operational disruption, and rising infrastructure costs. It enables organizations to lift and shift VMware workloads to Azure without refactoring-preserving existing tools, skills, and processes.

AVS delivers a fully managed VMware environment in Azure, simplifying hybrid operations, improving cost predictability, and enhancing security through integration with Microsoft Defender and Sentinel. It also supports phased modernization, allowing customers to adopt Azure-native services at their own pace-all while maintaining business continuity and compliance.

VMblog: If you were delivering the VMware Explore keynote, what critical industry topics would you address? What major technology shifts and trends do you see shaping enterprise IT through 2025 and beyond?

Sosinsky: If I were delivering the keynote, I'd focus on three big themes that are shaping the future of enterprise IT: AI infrastructure, the evolution of multi-cloud, and cybersecurity resilience.

AI is transforming how businesses operate-from data centers to the edge. But it's not just about running AI workloads; it's about having the right infrastructure in place to support them at scale. That means optimized GPUs, streamlined data pipelines, and intelligent automation baked into the stack.

At the same time, multi-cloud strategies are growing up. What started as opportunistic use of different clouds is becoming much more intentional. Organizations are looking for better workload portability, cost visibility, and increasingly, sovereign cloud solutions to meet strict regulatory requirements.

And of course, security remains at the core of everything. It's no longer just a layer you add on-zero trust, built-in resilience, and the ability to adapt quickly to new threats have to be part of the infrastructure from day one.

VMblog: What interactive elements, giveaways, or prize opportunities will you have at your booth? Are you participating in any show-wide contests or promotions?

Sosinsky: Absolutely-we've got some great experiences and giveaways planned at Booth 107! Stop by for live demos and expert-led sessions in our In-Booth Theatre, where you can dive into various topics and plan your VMware migration.

In the mornings, grab a complimentary espresso from our Coffee Cart to kickstart your day, and in the afternoon, swing by for a refreshing scoop of gelato.

You can also complete a short questionnaire to receive exclusive Microsoft-branded gear, or stay for a session to be entered into our hourly raffle for even more prizes. Whether you're looking to learn, connect, or just recharge, there's something for everyone at our booth.

VMblog: As an event sponsor, what advice would you give to first-time VMware Explore attendees to help them maximize their conference experience?

Sosinsky: For first-time attendees, VMware Explore can feel overwhelming-in the best possible way. There's so much valuable content, so my biggest piece of advice is to go in with a focused plan. Identify your top priorities-whether it's cloud migration, AI, security, or modernizing your VMware footprint-and build your schedule around those themes.

Register for sessions early-don't wait until you're onsite. Microsoft-led sessions, in particular, tend to fill up fast, often a week before the event even begins.

Be sure to take advantage of hands-on labs, expert-led tutorials, and breakout sessions. These offer a great chance to explore real-world scenarios, learn from others' experiences, and get practical, actionable insights. And don't overlook the informal side of the conference-stop by sponsor booths, strike up conversations, and connect with fellow attendees. Some of the most valuable takeaways come from those spontaneous hallway chats.

VMblog: How has the adoption of AI and machine learning technologies impacted your product roadmap and the solutions you're bringing to VMware Explore 2025?

Sosinsky: AI and machine learning are reshaping the way our customers build, deploy, and manage their infrastructure-and they've had a significant impact on Microsoft Azure's product roadmap. At VMware Explore 2025, we're showcasing how Azure VMware Solution (AVS) enables customers to integrate advanced AI capabilities into their existing VMware environments without starting from scratch.

By running VMware workloads natively in Azure, customers can easily tap into Azure's powerful AI and ML services-whether it's embedding Azure OpenAI Service into business apps, analyzing large datasets with Azure Machine Learning, or accelerating model performance using Azure's GPU-powered infrastructure. AVS makes it possible to bring these innovations to legacy workloads while maintaining operational continuity.

We're also embedding AI into the platform itself. Tools like AI-assisted security with Microsoft Defender and Copilot experiences across Azure management interfaces help simplify operations, detect anomalies faster, and reduce the burden on IT teams.

VMblog: With the growing emphasis on multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies, how are you positioning your company to help organizations navigate this complex landscape?

Sosinsky: As hybrid strategies become the norm, Microsoft is uniquely positioned to help organizations simplify complexity and stay in control. Azure VMware Solution (AVS) provides a consistent VMware environment natively in Azure, allowing customers to run, manage, and scale their workloads using familiar tools while gaining access to powerful Azure-native services for cost optimization, security, and innovation.

To extend this consistency even further, Azure Arc brings Azure's security, governance, and management capabilities directly to VMware environments-whether on-premises or in other clouds. This gives IT teams a unified control plane across diverse environments, reducing operational overhead and improving visibility.

Together, AVS and Azure Arc enable true hybrid flexibility. Customers can run workloads where it makes the most sense, support disaster recovery, and gradually modernize without disruption-all while maintaining centralized control, strong security, and cost predictability.

VMblog: Security and compliance remain top concerns for IT leaders. How do your solutions address these challenges within VMware environments, and what new security capabilities are you showcasing?

Sosinsky: Security and compliance are top priorities for VMware customers, and Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is designed with those needs at its core-leveraging Azure's comprehensive security infrastructure. AVS integrates tightly with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, providing advanced threat detection, real-time monitoring, and continuous security assessments. It also connects with Microsoft Sentinel, Azure's cloud-native SIEM and XDR platform, enabling proactive threat hunting and automated incident response.

AVS supports Zero Trust architecture by enforcing strong identity controls, micro-segmentation, and network isolation-minimizing attack surfaces and helping protect critical workloads.

When it comes to compliance, AVS inherits Azure's extensive portfolio of certifications, including ISO 27001, SOC, GDPR, HIPAA, and FedRAMP. This makes it easier for organizations in regulated industries to meet stringent compliance requirements. Notably, this year AVS achieved DoD Impact Level 5 authorization in Azure Government, further underscoring our commitment to secure, mission-critical environments.

Backed by Microsoft's global threat intelligence and security expertise, AVS delivers enterprise-grade protection for VMware environments-enabling organizations to reduce risk, streamline compliance, and innovate with confidence.

VMblog: Looking beyond VMware Explore 2025, what are your company's key strategic priorities for the remainder of the year? What should customers and partners expect from you in the coming months?

Sosinsky: Looking beyond VMware Explore 2025, our key strategic priority is to help customers modernize beyond simple ‘lift and shift' migrations. For the remainder of the year, we're focused on evolving Azure VMware Solution (AVS) to run on Azure Fleet Native infrastructure within Azure Virtual Network private clouds. This shift will deliver significantly lower latency and tighter integration with Azure native services, enabling customers to build more performant and seamless hybrid environments.

We're also deepening our integrations with leading third-party ecosystem partners. Whether it's storage solutions from NetApp and Pure Storage, or business continuity and disaster recovery offerings from Veeam, Zerto, and JetStream, we're committed to ensuring AVS customers can protect, manage, and optimize their workloads-without friction or the need for costly replatforming.

In parallel, we're expanding global reach. AVS is now available in 35 Azure regions, with South Korea added in May and Spain launched this month, and more regions coming soon. It's all part of our mission to give customers more flexibility, more capabilities, and more confidence as they move forward on their cloud journey.