VMware Inc.’s offerings, such as Wavefront, vRNI, NSX and AppDefense, are geared to support architectures in the evolving era of the software-defined data center. As the company’s customers realize that not everything is going into the public cloud, they are prioritizing solutions to meet business needs. VMware is moving rapidly to capitalize on preference in the enterprise for a hybrid solution, according to Dom Delfino (pictured), senior vice president of worldwide sales and systems engineering. software-defined data center at VMware Inc.

“All the customer meetings we’re having today, it’s about software defined. It’s about building the same experience that they get in the public cloud, which is fast and easy, in the on-prem data centers as well,” Delfino said.

Delfino visited the set of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, and spoke with co-hosts Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and John Furrier (@furrier) at this week’s VMworld 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. They discussed the balance between public cloud and data center needs and tools to combat growing cybersecurity threats. (* Disclosure below.)

What goes into the public cloud now? Burstable workloads, temporary workloads and new app development, as Delfino sees it. But when there’s a need for record retention or regulatory compliance, such as HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules in the healthcare industry, then an on-prem model may be more suitable for the time being. There’s more incentive to have a foot in both worlds.

“Now customers who have been on that journey with us for the past year realize that they can offer the same thing on-prem as well and take advantage of both,” Delfino said.

Security becomes a huge enterprise issue

As ransomware is becoming a major topic of corporate discussion, not just in the C-suite but in the boardroom as well, cybersecurity has elevated to a top position in the information technology ecosystem. VMware’s answer to questions about platform security is AppDefense, a tool designed to provide IT departments with a way to identify discrepancies as a possible security breach.

“It’s not even a battle anymore; it’s a war now for our customers,” Delfino said. “I’ve got to think that AppDefense is the coolest thing that we’ve got out this year.”

The onslaught of ransomware attacks is reshaping enterprise thinking about how to defend against attacks that have crippled, and even bankrupted some companies. “Those are big reality-checkers for you if you’re the one sitting behind the keyboard that’s got to defend your environment and rebuild it,” Defino 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