VMware Deployment Model Differences – On-Prem vs SaaS (VCF vs vSphere+)

VMware Deployment Model Differences – On-Prem vs SaaS (VCF vs vSphere+)

VMware Deployment Model Differences

Broadcom’s new “cloud-smart” messaging suggests VMware can seamlessly blend on-premises infrastructure with cloud services.

In practice, however, VMware’s two flagship models run very differently. This guide breaks down the deployment and operational contrasts between VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and vSphere+, focusing on where they run, how they connect, and what that means for daily management, upgrades, and support.

It’s a clear-eyed comparison of a full-stack on-premises VMware deployment versus the newer hybrid SaaS-linked model under Broadcom’s umbrella.

Pro Tip: Both solutions still run on your servers—only one of them takes its cues from the cloud.

Read our strategic guide, VMware Licensing Models Compared – Cloud Foundation vs vSphere+.

Step 1 – VMware Cloud Foundation: Full-Stack, On-Prem or Hosted

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is a complete software-defined data center (SDDC) stack that enterprises can deploy with maximum control. It includes tightly integrated compute (vSphere), storage (vSAN), network virtualization (NSX), and management components (like the Aria suite for operations and automation).

VCF can run entirely on-premises in your data center, or it can be consumed as a managed service on supported public clouds (for example, via certain VMware-as-a-Service offerings on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud).

In both cases, the core architecture remains the same – a full-stack private cloud environment.

A hallmark of VCF is the SDDC Manager, an on-premises management tool that automates and coordinates the lifecycle of the entire stack. SDDC Manager handles provisioning, patching, and upgrade rollouts across vSphere, vSAN, and NSX in a synchronized way.

This ensures all components remain compatible and up to date, though it means updates tend to be large coordinated events rather than ad-hoc patches.

Operationally, running VCF is an internal responsibility – your IT team maintains control over everything from hardware up through the virtualization stack (even if a cloud provider hosts the hardware, it’s your instance of the software).

This model appeals to organizations that need maximum control, compliance, and data sovereignty. You decide when to upgrade, keep all data in-house, and avoid dependency on an external management service.

Pro Tip: VCF gives you cloud-like capabilities on-premises — but you still own the rack and all that runs on it.

Read how to migrate from legacy to modern, Migrating from Legacy vSphere to vSphere+.

Step 2 – vSphere+: On-Prem Compute, Cloud-Managed Control Plane

vSphere+ takes a different approach: your workloads and hypervisors stay on-prem, but the management plane moves to VMware’s cloud.

In this model, you continue to run ESXi hosts and vCenter Servers in your data center as usual, but you connect those vCenters to a cloud-based VMware management console.

This is done via a secure Cloud Gateway appliance that links your local vCenter(s) to the VMware Cloud Console, a SaaS portal.

Through that cloud console, administrators get a centralized view of all connected vSphere environments and can perform management tasks, monitor usage, and even initiate updates across sites from the cloud.

The key aspect of vSphere+ is that it introduces cloud-managed services on top of on-prem infrastructure. Your virtual machines and data remain in the data center, but things like configuration policies, analytics, or certain new features are delivered as cloud services.

For example, you might leverage VMware’s cloud-based insights or capacity analytics that aggregate data from all your sites. Persistent internet connectivity becomes important because vSphere+ requires an ongoing connection to VMware’s cloud to unlock its full capabilities.

If the link is down, your on-prem workloads aren’t interrupted, but you lose the central cloud visibility and some management functions until connectivity is restored.

The vSphere+ model is designed for a hybrid world: it provides distributed environments with a single pane of glass and SaaS-backed enhancements while still utilizing on-prem compute resources.

Pro Tip: Your VMs remain on-site in the data center — it’s the control plane that shifts to the cloud.

Read our cost comparison, Cost Over 3 Years – Subscription vs Subscription (vSphere+ vs VCF).

Step 3 – Deployment Model – VCF vs vSphere+

The table below highlights how VCF and vSphere+ differ across key deployment and architecture aspects:

Pro Tip: VCF keeps control local; vSphere+ hands off significant control to a cloud service.

Step 4 – Operational Implications

Choosing VCF vs vSphere+ leads to different day-to-day operational realities.

For vSphere+, a reliable internet connection becomes a lifeline for management.

If connectivity drops, you can still administer VMs directly via each vCenter, but the unified cloud console won’t reflect current data, and centralized actions will pause.

This dependency means you must plan for network redundancy and be comfortable with a third-party (VMware) momentarily limiting your visibility during outages. Additionally, by desig,n vSphere+ continuously streams certain telemetry and usage data to VMware’s cloud.

In return, you get centralized policies, aggregated analytics, and one-click updates from the cloud interface – significantly simplifying multi-site management. The trade-off is an external dependency: part of your operations relies on VMware’s infrastructure being reachable and functional.

For VCF, operations are self-contained. Internet access is optional, so you can run a VCF-based cloud fully isolated if security or compliance requires. All management tooling (SDDC Manager, vCenter, etc.) runs within your environment.

This affords complete autonomy – external outages or cloud service issues won’t directly impact your ability to manage resources. However, the flip side is increased on-prem complexity. Lifecycle tasks in VCF are broad in scope: when you patch or upgrade, you’re often updating the entire SDDC stack in one go, which can be a heavy lift.

Your IT team needs deep expertise to maintain and troubleshoot the full range of components. In short, VCF puts everything in your hands, which is powerful but requires strong internal operational readiness.

Pro Tip: Using a cloud-based control plane adds convenience, but it sacrifices the isolation and independence of a fully local stack.

Step 5 – Upgrade & Lifecycle Differences

Another major difference between VCF and vSphere+ is how software updates and upgrades are handled over time.

With VCF, upgrades are an “all-at-once” orchestrated affair. The SDDC Manager coordinates updates across all components of the stack simultaneously to ensure compatibility (for example, updating vCenter, ESXi, vSAN, NSX, and management tools in a controlled sequence).

These updates come as validated bundles, and you typically cannot apply patches to one piece (say vCenter or NSX) independently of the others.

This guarantees a stable, known-good configuration but means that planning and testing an upgrade is a significant project. Enterprises often schedule VCF upgrades infrequently and carefully, since many moving parts are involved and a failed update could affect the whole private cloud environment.

With vSphere+, the lifecycle is more continuous and flexible. Because vSphere+ focuses on the vCenter and ESXi layer (and leverages a cloud service), updates can be applied per-cluster or per-site through the VMware Cloud Console as needed.

For instance, you might update one vCenter at a time via the cloud workflow, without impacting other sites. VMware can also deliver smaller patches or new features via the cloud more regularly, so you get a stream of minor improvements rather than giant version leaps.

This incremental approach reduces the burden on your team for each update and can improve security (patches are applied sooner). The catch is that your ability to receive and apply these updates depends on the VMware cloud service – if the cloud console is unreachable, those cloud-mediated updates have to wait.

Nonetheless, vSphere+ users often experience an easier update process, similar to “evergreen” SaaS services, where the software is kept up-to-date in the background or with minimal user involvement.

Pro Tip: Think of VCF upgrades like orchestrating a symphony – complex but unified. In contrast, vSphere+ updates are more like a steady stream, delivered in smaller pieces.

Step 6 – Support Model and Ownership Boundaries

The support and responsibility structure also diverges between a traditional VCF deployment and vSphere+’s subscription model.

With VCF, you operate under a classic enterprise support model. Your internal IT team has full ownership of the environment. They handle routine maintenance, monitoring, backups, and first-line troubleshooting.

When issues arise that require vendor help, you open a support case with VMware (or a partner) just as with any on-prem software. Because everything runs locally under your control, you have complete visibility for troubleshooting. You decide when to involve support and can often diagnose issues with on-prem logs and tools.

This model fits well for organizations that demand clear SLAs under their own control or must run in air-gapped environments. You also control the timing of any fixes or patches that VMware provides – nothing is applied until you choose to deploy it.

With vSphere+, support is inherently tied to the SaaS subscription. VMware takes on responsibility for the cloud-based control plane – they ensure the VMware Cloud Console is up, running smoothly, and updated on their end. Your team, meanwhile, is responsible for the on-prem infrastructure (the servers, hypervisors, and local configurations). This is a shared responsibility model similar to public cloud services.

If something goes wrong in the cloud service (for example, an outage in the management console), VMware’s engineers work to resolve it. You might have to wait, potentially unable to fix it yourself.

Your support entitlements as a subscriber mean VMware will handle issues on the cloud side and assist with on-prem problems too, but there’s an ownership boundary: you can’t, for instance, patch the cloud console or alter how it operates – you must rely on VMware.

Also, troubleshooting can be trickier if connectivity is lost; without that link, you may have limited insight into what the cloud service is doing or missing data that VMware support normally uses.

In summary, vSphere+ transfers some control (and trust) to VMware’s operations. Many routine tasks are simplified for you, but when part of your management lives outside your organization, part of the support naturally does as well.

Pro Tip: If your control plane lives offsite in the cloud, a portion of your support and troubleshooting lives there too, outside your direct control.

Checklist – Operational Readiness: On-Prem vs Cloud-Connected Models

Before choosing one of these models, evaluate your organization’s readiness and requirements:

• Data Isolation Needs: Do you require full data isolation, or can you tolerate a constant connection to a vendor’s cloud service for management?
• Internet Reliability: Is reliable, continuous internet access available for all sites and vCenter servers in your environment? (vSphere+ depends on it.)
• Management Preference: How critical is having a single, centralized management interface versus keeping management purely local for each cluster/site?
• Compliance Requirements: Are there compliance, regulatory, or audit constraints that would restrict sending telemetry or management data to a third-party cloud?
• In-House Expertise: Does your IT team have the skill and capacity to handle VCF’s comprehensive lifecycle management (covering compute, storage, and network)?
• Shared Responsibility Comfort: Are you comfortable with a shared-responsibility model where VMware operates part of your infrastructure (the cloud control plane), or do you need full control end-to-end?

Pro Tip: Make the decision based on your organization’s risk appetite and operational capabilities — not just on the latest marketing trend.

5 Rules for Managing VMware in the Cloud-Connected Era

1️⃣ Cloud management offers convenience – but not complete control. Don’t assume a SaaS console covers every aspect; know what you still must manage yourself.
2️⃣ Know your data flows. Be aware of every bit of data and telemetry leaving your environment for cloud services, and ensure it aligns with policy.
3️⃣ Autonomy vs. ease is a trade-off. VCF gives you autonomy and self-sufficiency, whereas vSphere+ trades some of that autonomy for ease of use and centralized convenience.
4️⃣ Plan for internet dependency. If you embrace cloud-managed infrastructure, build in redundant connectivity and contingency plans for when the cloud link is down.
5️⃣ Align with needs, not hype. Choose your VMware deployment model to match your regulatory requirements and operational needs — not because it’s “the next big thing.”

Pro Tip: Where your management plane resides ultimately defines the boundary of your risk and control.

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