Break Free from the Chains: Empowering Your VMware Future with Origina

VMware customers have a choice where their software is maintained and supported.

By Rowan O’Donoghue
Origina Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder

At our flagship virtual event Empower 2024, we marked a significant milestone with the launch of our independent maintenance and support for VMware® software products.

For over 11 years, Origina has disrupted the status quo in the IBM enterprise software space, helping some of the world’s largest organizations liberate themselves from the shackles of unfair OEM support practices. These tactics force businesses into costly, risky upgrades that compromise brand integrity just to secure support and a basic right to run software they had already invested heavily in.

The launch of the new offering was also exciting for another reason: it’s a marker in our evolution as a business as we now look to extend our mission beyond IBM and the first step in providing support for VMware products that offers customers a choice — a real, transformative choice that was never available before.

Chaos maximizes software megavendor profits

The Broadcom acquisition has stirred up a storm of confusion, with various entities coming out of the woodwork to seize the opportunity to launch a support offering introducing further pressure on customers already struggling to identify the right path forward for their businesses. This chaotic landscape is just another testament to what megavendors do best — maximize shareholder value while turning the screws on their customers.

While I was based out of our U.S. headquarters last month visiting our American customers, I got a real glimpse into the daily challenges they were having managing their vendors. One customer even went so far as to describe the megavendors as akin to “software terrorists,” and lamented that their days were spent playing a game of chess defending against ever-changing enterprise software vendor tactics.

It’s just another good example of why we all need to wake up, take action, and stop tolerating these exploitative practices. This is not just confined to our professional lives; it permeates our existence as consumers, too.

Let me give you a real-life example. See if this resonates. My eldest son came to me a few months back asking if I had a tablet he could use to watch movies on a flight to Spain. I had an older (but not that old!) Apple iPad sitting in my home office drawer that was perfect for the task.

After dusting it off and charging it, I discovered it required the latest iOS version to install the Netflix and Paramount+ apps. Because my iPad was considered past its “best before date,” no updates were available for that model, effectively transforming a once perfectly functional device into an €800 paperweight.

I don’t know about you, but this really frustrated and angered me. I purchased this device, and I should have the right to maintain it for as long as I see fit and not have Apple take that right away from me because they consider it “out of date.”

Luckily, like many of our experts, I’m quite skilled at finding workarounds for problems like this, so he didn’t have settle for the web-streaming option on the plane to get him sorted.

This personal experience epitomizes the frustration of being at the mercy of unfair practices. This is why outside of Origina we play an active role in highlighting the industry plight of premature obsolescence in the IT industry and why we founded Free ICT Europe and Free ICT USA, organizations that champion the Right to Repair and putting control back in the hands of consumers and businesses.

VMware customers declare independence

The reality is that these vendors won’t change unless we hit them where it hurts — revenue. But this Broadcom acquisition might just be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, galvanizing customers to take control and seek liberation from these oppressive tactics.

While many customers will transition to subscription licensing, they are viewing it as a stepping stone toward regaining control and independence. What has been interesting to observe over the past few years is the growing shift toward open-source solutions as customers look to avoid falling into the same trap with a different vendor. With the status quo upended, we can see the enterprise virtualization platform space more vibrant and more competitive than it used to be.

At Origina, we are delighted to be able to help our customers with these challenges. Our mission is to provide value that transcends mere support to protect, extend, and enhance their software.

Here are four key strategies we are providing to help VMware customers navigate these turbulent waters.

1. Support for subscription licensing. Customers have asked us for help right-sizing their VMware estates to ensure transitions are appropriate to mitigate the significant cost increases. In reviewing these estates, we identify the best licensing and support model based on the needs of the business. We also help decode the new Broadcom bundles to ensure they extract the most value. Origina provides full support for those versions, facilitating stability and world-class protection against emerging threats.
2. Migration and transition expertise. For those moving away from VMware, we validate and soundboard architectural plans, assisting with the migration process. These projects are fraught with risks and complexities, so our VMware experts, who have years of migration and repatriation experience, ensure the process is a seamless and successful transition. We also provide the full support they need for their perpetually licensed products.
3. Future-proofing virtualization platforms. Many customers have yet to chart the future of their virtualization platforms, and that’s understandable since the issue is not the technology but rather the Broadcom changes that have forced the need to make an immediate decision. As an OEM-agnostic vendor, Origina offers the time and skilled resources needed to define your requirements, explore options, and identify the optimal future solution. Again, we provide full support your perpetually licensed estate as long as needed, allowing peace of mind and the ability to plan without any undue pressure.
4. Empowering control over software roadmaps. Rising to the challenge of growing demand from our customers for better options in maximizing cost efficiency, platform stability, and de-risking their IT environments, we have extended our solution offering to include managed services and private-cloud options. Customers who want to take back control of their virtualization platforms prefer a move to an open KVM-based platform away from those forced vendor options and to free up valuable resources to focus on value-added strategic initiatives as they navigate a competitive landscape.

Our philosophy is simple — our customers shape our future. I’ve been on the road since last December traveling the globe to visit as many customers as possible in person. We created our service offering to be high-touch and value-rich and to ensure we earn and retain the right to be at the table. It’s crucial we have a solid understanding of the circumstances and challenges our customers face.

By fostering this partnership approach, we ensure mutual success and relevance in an ever-evolving landscape. More than ever, myself and the team at Origina are committed to helping customers navigate the complexities of maintaining enterprise software estates.

So, you need ask yourself one question. Are you just going to accept this is the way it has always been done, or is now the time you break free from convention, take that decisive action, and do something about it? Don’t complain about megavendor practices — challenge them. Take control and leverage your responsibility to explore alternatives to the rip-and-replace mentality that has institutionalized the IT sector. Origina is here to empower you.

Rowan O’Donoghue is Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of Origina. Since the company’s inception, he has been instrumental in bringing strategic ideas forward that have shaped Origina, including its innovative global service model and platform. With over 30 years of experience in planning, directing, and implementing complex IT and operational excellence initiatives, Rowan is continually pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved through customer-focused software support. Before Origina, he worked in a variety of tech positions, including Technical Project Manager with Perot Systems, Senior Technical Consultant with Microsoft, and Technical Support Engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation.   

Take the next step. Learn how Origina’s VMware program can help you reclaim your IT future today.