The application of orchestration concepts to a telecom context may seem to require a substantial investment in R&D. In fact, there are many aspects of telecom orchestration which build on a telco software ISV’s established strengths. This research note calls out how the somewhat amorphous definition of telco cloud permits participation of multiple specialist vendors, large and small. We use our perspective on how VMware’s portfolio has evolved to illustrate one path – among many – to telco cloud orchestration and automation.