> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://complexityclarified.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # VMware / Broadcom: A Significant Update Affecting All VMware Clients - URL: https://complexityclarified.io/vmware-broadcom-a-significant-update/ - Published: 2023-12-21T17:03:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T17:44:19.000Z - Description: It's a brave new world. This week's Broadcom announcements affect every VMware client and deserve some analysis. - Author: Mark Belluz - Tags: Broadcom, VMware, Hybridcloud, Nutanix, Microsoft *Originally published on* [*LinkedIn*](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vmware-broadcom-significant-update-affecting-all-clients-belluz-fgvne/?ref=complexityclarified.io) *on December 21, 2023\. Kept as written at the time; see my* [***March 2025 update***](https://complexity-clarified.ghost.io/ghost/?ref=complexityclarified.io#/editor/post/6ac925fa77c68c000183a8be) *for more on how things played out.* It's a brave new world, and this week's announcements affect every client and deserve some analysis. Every week since the Broadcom acquisition of VMware there has been considerable news: - Week 1: [RIFs and resizing of the workforce](https://www.reuters.com/technology/broadcom-lay-off-1300-vmware-employees-following-takeover-2023-11-30/?ref=complexityclarified.io) - Week 2: a move from Outlook/Zoom for VMware email and collaboration to Google, in only a couple of days (mad respect) - Last week: [Hock Tan announced on the earnings call that Horizon/EUC and Carbon Black are up for sale](https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/broadcom-ceo-hock-tan-says-rich-catalog-of-microservices-on-the-way-to-vmware-customers?ref=complexityclarified.io) This week is no different, but this announcement affects every single VMware client. Total respect for the velocity at which this acquisition and integration are happening. Hock Tan is a legend and absolutely getting it done: ripping off the bandaid, making hard decisions, and implementing with velocity. So what's up this week? **TL;DR:** **Going forward there are only two products available from VMware for enterprise-level VMware deployments**. They're offered at fantastic prices versus the previous à la carte model, with significant benefits to all clients, but also massive impacts to data center architectures (most notably storage, but also networks). Winners here will be customers, Broadcom, Nutanix, Azure, and AWS. ## So What Happened? If you're a typical client of CAS, you run vSphere Enterprise Plus. It's the industry standard in enterprise virtualization. [Last Monday I learned that this product no longer exists as a standalone SKU](https://news.vmware.com/company/vmware-by-broadcom-business-transformation?ref=complexityclarified.io). But it wasn't until this week that I fully realized the implications, as I started to analyze actual customer renewal scenarios. Two major changes. First, vSphere is no longer a standalone product: you either buy vSphere Foundation (VVF) or the full software-defined data center, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). Second, it's available only as a core-based subscription, versus the socket/processor-based perpetual model. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/48/af4855d8-17cd-47c3-a3a2-df917c314f43/content/images/2026/10/image.png) The only two SKUs available to vSphere ENT+ Clients, as I understand it. Price per Core. Let me preface the rest of my analysis by saying I believe everything I'm sharing is public, and was received via channel updates and by working on in-flight customer transactions. We are a 20+ year VAR of their products with extensive knowledge of their license models. We love VMware, use it every day, and I am trying to provide unbiased advice and analysis here. Caveat: the situation is evolving and I have incomplete info as new details come out by the day. I've done my best to make informed assumptions. Feel free to correct me or share your opinions. ## So What Does This Mean? I've dealt with two types of customers: "naked" vSphere Ent+/vCenter shops, and vSphere Ent+/vCenter shops with other products (vSAN, NSX, vRealize/Aria). If you fall outside these and run your business on vSphere Standard or Essentials, those still exist. You're fine. ## Do I Have a Choice? Not to my knowledge. The old SKUs are no longer available effective in a few weeks, including from OEMs such as Dell, HPE, and Lenovo. I think clients have these immediate choices when their renewal comes due: 1. Buy vSphere Foundation or VMware Cloud Foundation subscriptions. 2. Downgrade to vSphere Standard eliminating the H/A capabilities that are table stakes in the enterprise; or 3. Migrate hypervisors or to the cloud. Option 1 is where I'm doing a ton of analysis right now (more below). Option 2 is not viable for most of my clients. Option 3, in short: on-prem, there are only two enterprise-class alternatives in my opinion, Nutanix's Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) and Microsoft's Hyper-V. For cloud, 99% of our clients will go either AWS or Azure. We have done countless migrations between these options, on-prem between hypervisors and to and from the cloud. ## The More Likely Outcome: Renewing Under the New Model Since most clients need to pull the trigger on their renewal in the next 1–12 months, I personally believe 90%+ of our clients will proceed with a purchase under this new model. Broadcom's prices for the amount of software you're getting are truly fantastic, and they lock you into a new 3-year Broadcom agreement, ensuring no price increase in the near term. Proceeding with the new license model can either: 1. buy you time to fully embrace the new VMware and its associated technologies, including software-defined storage and networking, or 2. buy you time to build a comprehensive migration plan, so in 3 years you've moved to your new destination. Keep in mind that **vSAN is included in every renewal**. Getting ahead of this can save you on any storage investments you have planned over the next 12–24 months. As anyone who has analyzed a storage bill of materials knows, the most expensive part of a storage purchase is the storage software, not the hardware, and it's been that way for 10+ years. You're now getting some portion of that as a vSphere Ent+ client, no matter what. ## Is There Other Good News? Yes. You May Save a Ton of Money. I'm 50–60% done with our first actual client analysis, for a vSphere Ent+ client that also runs NSX, Aria/vRealize, and some other VMware products, and it looks like the new Broadcom model **is going to save them a ton of money**. Back of the napkin, I'm estimating 20–30% less for their VMware ELA, for 2x the software. That software can then reduce their storage costs substantially. Total estimated ROI: $200K on VMware, plus $500K–$1M in additional storage and value-oriented savings, over the next 3 years. ## Update 2023: Based on feedback I received after publishing: Broadcom will still offer 1-year and 5-year options as well \[as of time of original writing, 2023\]. 2026: reposting this, I cannot believe how far reaching the implications were, and how well things fared!