Broadcom Acquisition of VMware: Changes Ahead
Wondering How These Changes Impact You?
Find out how VMware's changes will impact your upcoming VMware renewal
Having a hard time keeping track of all of the changes Broadcom have made since their acquisition of VMware® in November 2023? You’re not alone. They have overhauled the virtualisation and cloud computing vendors entire product portfolio, replaced perpetual licenses with a new subscription model, ended the sale of Support and Subscription (SnS) renewals, and divested in entire divisions.
In this article, we have consolidated information from various VMware announcements and resources as well as discussions with our Territory Account Director to provide an updated overview of the changes VMware customers can expect, as well as curated links so you can find the answers you need more easily. It is important to note that changes are happening very rapidly, so you should speak to your VMware Partner directly to get the most accurate and up-to-date information about how these changes affect your VMware environment.
“A dramatic simplification of our product portfolio allows customers of all sizes to gain more value for their investments in VMware solutions. The portfolio simplification across all VMware by Broadcom divisions stems from customer and partner feedback over the years telling us our offers and go-to-market are too complex.”
Krish Prasad, Senior Vice President and General Manager, VMware Cloud Foundation Division
Changes to the Product Portfolio
The Future of Carbon Black
In a December 11, 2023, VMware announced their plans to streamline and simplify their portfolio. From very early in their acquisition discussions, Broadcom was clear that VMware’s End User Computing (EUC) Division and Carbon Black Product lines were not in their strategy for VMware moving forward.
Click here to read the December 2023 release.
March 2024
From early in their VMware acquisition discussions, it was clear that the Carbon Black cybersecurity unit was not a part of Broadcom’s strategy for VMware moving forward. In March, Broadcom officially announced their decision to merge their Carbon Black and Symantec product portfolios.
Click here to read the Forrester article for more insight into what to expect from this merge.
The Future of Horizon and Workspace ONE (VMware EUC)
February 2024
VMware’s End-User Computing Division (EUC Division) include the flagship products Horizon and Workspace ONE. Horizon is VMware’s desktop and application virtualisation platform and Workspace ONE is their Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) platform.
In February, KKR Investment announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Broadcom to acquire VMware’s End-User Computing Division (the “EUC Division”).
The transaction, valued at approximately $4 billion, would see the EUC Division become a standalone company.
April 2024
In an April release, OmnissaTM is announced as the furture brand name of VMware EUC. Omnissa currently remains part of Broadcom, but will become a standalone business under KKR ownership with the acquisition officially closes later this year.
Other Discontinued Products
JAN 2024 Update
In a January 2024 release, VMware provided details on the changes to their product portfolio. This detailed products that were being bundled as part of either VCF or VVF offerings, products being converted into add-on services available with VCF or VVF subscriptions, and standalone point solutions that were no longer available (i.e. had reached their End of Availability (EoA)).
Included in the list of EoA products are:
- Vmware vSphere Starter/Foundation
- VMware vSphere Acceleration Kits
- VMware vSphere Essentials Kit
- VMware vSphere Basic
- VMware vSphere Advanced
Click here for these details including a table breaking down the changes as of January.
We have basically been advised by Broadcom that if it has a “+”, it no longer exists.
In a January 2024 release, VMware provided details on the changes to their product portfolio. This detailed products that were being bundled as part of either VCF or VVF offerings, products being converted into add-on services available with VCF or VVF subscriptions, and standalone point solutions that were no longer available (i.e. had reached their End of Availability (EoA)).
Included in the list of EoA products are:
- VMware vSphere Starter/Foundation
- VMware vSphere Acceleration Kits
- VMware vSphere Essentials Kit
- VMware vSphere Basic
- VMware vSphere Advanced
Click here for these details including a table breaking down the changes.
The New Solution Offerings
As part of their simplified portfolio, Broadcom have split their VMware solutions into two primary offerings and two sub-offerings (editions (sub-offerings): VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF). In addition, there are also two stripped down VVF editions: VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus (VVEP) and VMware vSphere Standard (VVS). VCF existed prior to the Broadcom acquisition, but VVF, VVEP and VVS are all new bundles of previously standalone solutions.
- All four solutions are on a subscription model.
- Only 1-year and 3-year subscription terms are available.
- Subscriptions are based on core-count.
- There is a minimum 16 core per CPU requirement. That is, if your CPU only has 4, 8, or 12 cores, your subscription will be calculated at 16 cores for that CPU. To find out to calculate your core count, follow the instructions on this page and launch the script attached on the bottom of the screen.
- vCenter Server can only be purchased as part of a bundle with vSphere now.
- Add-on services available for purchase are dependent on the solution. If a specific add-on service is required but it is not included as part of the solution bundle, then the bundle must be upgraded to access that add-on service.
- VVF, VVS, and VVEP are all fully on-premise offerings. They are not connected to the cloud through vCenter Cloud Gateways like vSphere+ used to be.
What is Virtual Cloud Foundation (VCF)?
VMware Cloud Foundation is an advanced hybrid cloud platform. It provides a complete set of software-defined services for compute, storage, networking, security and cloud management to run enterprise apps—traditional or containerized —in private or public environments.
As part of its bundle, it includes the full Aria management and orchestration suite, vSphere Enterprise Plus (vCenter Standard, vSphere w/ Tanzu, ESXi), NSX Enterprise Plus, vSAN Enterprise, AON Enterprise, HCX Enterprise, Data Services Manager.
What is VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF)?
Labeled the “enterprise workload engine”, VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) is the new offering for data center optimisation in traditional vSphere environments.
VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) is an integrated solution that includes the following components as part of its standard suite:
- vCenter Standard
- ESXi
- vSphere with Tanzu
- vSAN Enterprise (100 GiB per core per host)
- VMware Aria Operations
- VMware Aria Operations for Logs
- VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
- VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator (Basic)
What is VMware vSphere Standard (VVS)?
VMware vSphere Standard (VVS) is an ‘edition’ of VVF. It is basically a reduced offering which only includes vCenter Standard and ESXi. The only add-on services available for VVS are VMware Live Recovery products (Live Site Recovery (LSR), and Live Cyber Recovery (LCR)).
What is VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus (VVEP)?
Similar to VVS, VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus (VVEP) is a reduced offering of VVF. This edition is the lowest subscription level available. It includes includes vCenter Essentials and ESXi. The only add-on servies available for VVEP are VMware Live Recovery products (Live Site Recovery (LSR), and Live Cyber Recovery (LCR)).
Customers can only buy a maximum of 2 kits that have a maximum of 3 hosts each, or 6 hosts together. These can be merged and managed by one vCenter.
How Does this Affect Your vSphere Environment?
Would like to understand how these changes will impact your upcoming VMware renewal? Get in touch.
Want to learn about alternatives to VMware and whether it is still the right solution for your business? Find out how VirtueUK’s IT Infrastructure Projects and Strategic Consultancy Services can help.
And stay tuned for our next article where where we look at some of the criticisms of these changes including how the new subscription model is impacting customers. Spoiler – customer renewal costs have risen by hundreds of percentage points hitting the education, not-for-profit, and small business sectors hard. VirtueUK have already seen customer renewal costs increase 300% over last year.
Find Out How These Changes Impact You
Wondering how VMware's changes will impact your upcoming VMware renewal?
Need help assessing if VMware is still the right solution for your business moving forward?
Contact Us
Need help assessing if VMware is still the right solution for your business moving forward?
Contact Us