VMware Inc. — long entrenched in hundreds of thousands of private data centers — is now getting its cloud legs. Its own secure public cloud platform vCloud Air basically flopped. Will its Amazon Web Services Inc. partnership shore up its future in cloud or accidentally hand-feed its customers to AWS?

Despite the trend away from data centers toward cloud, VMware is actually thriving lately. Two years ago, “VMware was not in favor,” said Dave Vellante (@dvellante) (pictured, right), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio. “The stock was half of what it is today. License revenue was down one percent.”

Vellante analyzed VMware’s move into cloud today, along with co-hosts John Furrier (@furrier) (center) and Stu Miniman (@stu) (left), at VMworld 2017 in Las Vegas. (* Disclosure below.)

“Fast forward to today. It’s growing at 10 to 12 percent a year; license is up 13 percent; it’s throwing off operating cash flow at $3 billion a year,” Vellante said. “Wall Street’s talking about VMware now being an undervalued stock.”

Does this signal a shift in customer mindset? Do they want to bring the cloud operating model on-premises instead of migrating their businesses to cloud? VMware appears to think so.

Today, at the opening VMworld keynote, speakers emphasized true private cloud over hybrid cloud. In fact, the term “hybrid cloud” barely came up, Furrier noted. This echoes the sentiment of a special Wikibon.com report on true private cloud. According to the authors, true private cloud is growing, with a total addressable market of $240 billion.

“Businesses are configuring the cloud to the realities of the data, and most of the data is on-prem,” Vellante said.

VMware’s cloud identity crisis

But VMware is not betting against public cloud by any means. AWS Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy joined VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger onstage today to discuss the companies’ partnership. They just completed the technological integrations in a “sprint,” according to Miniman. Availability is limited, and questions remain. For instance, “Is this Amazon sticking a straw into 500,000 data centers and saying, ‘Come on in. We’ve got great services?'” Miniman asked.

With new VMware Cloud Services addressing security, cost management and more, plus its NSX virtualized network and security platform, VMware clearly aspires to more than riding AWS’s coattails. These might help ensure that “VMware has a bigger seat at the table, not just saying, ‘Wait, my customers are shifting. Where are they going?'” Miniman said.

Ultimately, customers will not shift to public or hybrid cloud if vendors don’t make them dead simple to use, Furrier stated. “They’re going to go back to their comfort zone, which is the true private cloud,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of VMworld 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for VMworld 2017. Neither VMware Inc. nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE