VMware Perpetual License Support: Hybrid Licensing Advice for Your Post-Broadcom Strategy

The clock’s ticking on your VMware support agreement. How would your team benefit from more time to decide where it goes next?

VMware customers are “beleaguered,” according to Forrester, and the reason for their fatigue is clear. Company analysts predict one in five “exhausted” customers will move away from the virtualization platform following Broadcom’s decision to stop sales and support of VMware perpetual licenses, and Gartner research indicates the number of customers using competing products will effectively double by 2027 due to Broadcom’s measures.

VMware is far and away the market share leader in its category, meaning even a single percentage point of churn ultimately equates to thousands of customers. But it’s not just outbound VMware users who are left to deal with Broadcom’s sweeping licensing and support changes. Businesses with perpetual licenses that want to stick with the platform must now determine how to manage the move to Broadcom’s corresponding bundles and value-add extras. And what will they do for support?

VMware Customers Face Loss of Support and High Costs

Many of the products existing (pre-acquisition) Broadcom customers use are perpetually licensed, meaning they can technically use them for as long as they want. However, VMware by Broadcom isn’t required to provide support or updates beyond a predefined period established in their service agreement. Following the cancelation of associated sales and service, most VMware customers with perpetual licenses won’t have the option to renew support for their existing products via upgrading or on a stand-alone basis.

Instead, VMware by Broadcom encourages customers to trade their perpetually licensed products for one of two subscription-licensed bundles containing similar products and functionalities. Whether a company plans to move on completely or migrate to a corresponding bundle, stakeholders must figure out how to manage the change before their current agreement expires and they lose access.

Much has been said about the cost increases customers, particularly those using a small handful of perpetually licensed VMware products, potentially face now that their options have been slashed from thousands of à la carte options to two bundles. And the tight timelines Broadcom places on its newly acquired customer base only add to the pressure.

Establishing Runway with Hybrid Licensing for VMware

These challenges are not impossible to overcome. In many cases, migrating and re-platforming customers can even come out in a better position than before. Whether a company plans to move to new products, switch to a new subscription-based bundle, or employ some combination of the two, the thing they typically need most is time to review their options and make calculated choices with minimal impact instead of rushing to create and complete a plan before support ends.

A hybrid approach to licensing can help companies optimize their response by introducing new VMware perpetual license support options. Under this model, perpetually licensed VMWare customers can consult an independent software maintenance vendor to decide which products need to be traded in for a bundled alternative and which can be supported by the independent vendor.

Many perpetually licensed VMware products can be maintained in place indefinitely, even without support from VMware itself. Once the customer has decided which perpetually licensed VMware products will stay and which will receive independent support, the vendor can offer the following:

• Providing interoperability validation. The independent maintenance vendor confirms all components of the revised estate will work well together and identifies any challenges customers might encounter as part of the migration/re-platforming process.
• Right-sizing license usage. In many cases, customers with current perpetual licenses might be over- or underutilizing their current entitlements, both of which carry steep potential costs. An independent software maintenance vendor takes the role of advocate and advisor here, helping customers find opportunities to reduce their cost on one side and license audit risk on the other.
• Providing VMware perpetual license support and maintenance. Once the plan is carried out, the independent vendor becomes the primary point of contact for VMware questions and issues.

Hybrid licensing gives customers the freedom and the time to choose the best migration or re-platforming strategy for their specific needs without being locked into a single enterprise software vendor or solution. It creates a plan that ensures all new components work together seamlessly to keep VMware products stable, secure, and maintained.

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