VMware has announced the release of vSphere Express, a new base product for organizations seeking economical virtualization but not necessarily advanced. This product is presented as a way to attract SMBs that have lost interest in the main VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) product. VMware has promised to provide an economical version of vSphere that is more cost-effective than VCF, but without a precise price.

Prashanth Shenoy, Vice President of Product Marketing for VCF, stated that vSphere Express was developed to attract SMBs that do not need the more advanced features of the main offer but want a basic version of vSphere. Shenoy also emphasized that vSphere Express will be updated like VCF and VVF, showing a trend to maintain the quality level and update frequency of the product. The sale of vSphere Express was announced by TD Synnex, an IT distributor, which listed the product as $9,600 per CPU up to 128 cores. However, the cost does not decrease if fewer than 128 cores are used, making it difficult to adapt to small usage. Additionally, vSphere Express supports only discrete instances and does not allow centralized management, limiting the client's management capabilities. This new base offering of vSphere is presented as a way for VMware to return to its SMB market after losing time with VCF, highlighting VMware's passion for economical virtualization and its intention to return to this market. This marketing strategy aims to attract back the customers lost with VCF, claiming its love for economical virtualization and its intention to return to this market.