VMware changes the licensing policy

After acquiring VMware in November 2023 — the dominating developer on the market — Broadcom announced dramatic changes in its licensing policy. 

VMware World Market share in December 2023 according to Statista.

VMware has moved away from its traditional perpetual licensing model. The company has stopped selling new perpetual licenses and is now focused on subscription offerings.  

All of these crucial changes are happening at a time when, according tо Forrester study published in October 2023, twenty percent of VMware customers have plans to leave VMware and search alternatives. One of them may be vStack —  an enterprise-level virtualisation platform based on hyperconvergence. vStack also has a service provider program (vStack SPP) which helps to provide cloud services to subscription customers.

The company’s new portfolio will focus on two main offerings: VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) subscriptions. Many standalone products will now be end-of-availability (EOA), limiting replacement options within the new frameworks.

Customers will need to transition to the new model eventually when contracts are up for renewal, even if they prefer standalone products.

Add-on services for specific features suggest added costs for customers on top of the core VCF/VVF subscriptions. The “Bring Your Own License” model seems to add complexity rather than simplify licensing.

Support for Aria SaaS services is waning as VMware shifts focus to VCF/VVF. The sweeping licensing changes will require customers to realign their IT and budgets to the new subscription model, regardless of individual needs or preferences. This may disrupt operations and bring unforeseen expenses.