VMware’s latest chapter involves leading the multicloud and modern application markets, according to CEO Raghu Raghuram.

“Going forward, multicloud is at the center of gravity for everything we do,” Raghuram said during his opening keynote at VMworld.

And then he announced VMware Cross-Cloud, which is a set of integrated services that the vendor says provides customers the flexibility to build, run, and secure applications across any cloud.

“There are three key advantages you get with VMware Cross-Cloud services,” Raghuram said. “First: Go faster. With Cross-Cloud services, you can accelerate your cloud journey. Second: Spend Less. You get big gains and cost efficiency. And third: Be free. With Cross-Cloud services you get maximum flexibility and choice across any cloud.”

The services include five key pieces:

• A platform for building and deploying cloud-native apps;
• Cloud infrastructure for operating and running enterprise apps;
• Cloud management for monitoring the performance and cost of apps across multiple clouds;
• Security and networking that spans customers’ multicloud environment to connect and secure apps;
• And a digital workspace to accommodate the distributed workforce and manage edge-native apps.

Not coincidentally, VMware also announced new products or updates across all of these five areas.

The vendor originally announced Tanzu Application Platform, its cloud-native app platform currently in beta, at its SpringOne developer event last month. Today, VMware announced new capabilities including more developer tooling and a framework for platform operators to configure policies of deployed workloads to ensure that all workloads follow best practices.

For cloud infrastructure: VMware announced Project Arctic, a tech preview, that natively integrates cloud connectivity into vSphere and allows IT admins to access Cross-Cloud services through vCenter.

Project Ensemble is VMware’s new unified control plane for VMware Cloud. It’s also a tech preview, and it provides a unified view across vRealize Cloud Management Services to monitor app performance and cost.

At VMworld, the vendor added API and Kubernetes security capabilities to cover multicloud security and networking.

And finally, VMware announced a new Edge Compute Stack — an integrated virtual machine and container-based stack for edge-native apps.

“What is Cross-Cloud all about at the end of the day? It’s about giving you the power to make your own decisions and control your destiny,” Raghuram said. “I call this enterprise sovereignty.”

Similar to data sovereignty, which involves controlling enterprise data where it resides, “enterprise sovereignty speaks at a higher level about preserving your freedom of choice, both now and in the future,” he said. “At VMware, we give you the freedom and control.”

This multicloud push makes sense, says ESG Senior Analyst Paul Nashawaty in a blog about VMware’s next chapter. ESG’s own research found 48% of respondents indicated their organizations have a cloud-first approach. “Management of heritage and cloud-native applications, as well as microservices, are a large part of success for IT organizations,” Nashawaty wrote. “Like most vendors, VMware is taking on multicloud and application management services as their next area of evolution.”

But, he adds, “VMware has its work cut out” as it pursues this future vision and it’s not the only vendor looking to “crack the multicloud code.”

Nashawaty suggests that VMware increase its partnerships in this space to achieve this multicloud goal. “Their partnerships will not only accelerate their go-to-market strategy and drive adoption but will also create less competition for them,” he wrote.

Raghuram’s goal to be “the Switzerland of multicloud” is the right direction for the vendor, Gartner Research VP Sid Nag said.

After trying — and failing — at public cloud with vCloud Air, VMware’s vSphere-based public cloud computing service, the vendor needs a way to remain relevant in a multicloud world. Providing this common management plane across private data centers, public clouds, and now distributed edge clouds is VMware’s best bet, he added.

“They are amping up the whole VMware Tanzu offering, which I think is a good move on their part around cloud-native and container strategies because that also shows the industry that they’re not just beholden to the VM model but also embracing the container model,” Nag said. “Those things collectively portray VMware as a cloud player rather than a legacy virtual-machine vendor.”

Still, while VMware’s Kubernetes-based Tanzu platform “looks promising,” the vendor faces tough competition, Nag added.

“We’ve got Google Anthos, Microsoft Arc, IBM Satellite with the whole Red Hat OpenShift Strategy from IBM,” he said. “It’s not like it’s going to be a cakewalk for VMware to say we’re going to embrace multicloud. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but that’s their destiny. They have to go after it.”