Hello all,
Okay...blogging is so out. I get it. I should tictac, youface, flutter, or some other social media. I am one of the old school guys which is why this post is so painful to me.
VMWare was purchased by Broadcom in November 2023. There was a lot of speculation around 2022 about what Broadcom would do to VMWare. Many of VMWare users talked about the end of the world scenarios with VMware while the talking heads told everyone to "calm down and nothing is going to change. It will still be the same VMWare everyone loves." (I think Broadcom had their fingers crossed behind their back.) (and, btw, I am not too keen on having a non-US company (debatable) owning such a vitally integrated technology product but that is for another blog).
Since then, we are right now in the midst of witnessing the total annihilation of VMWare as a viable and affordable solution in the hypervisor space. Most everything that was predicted by the people that loved VMWare is coming true. Broadcom's sweeping changes have shook not only VMWare users but the entire computing industry. So what have they done.
1. VMWare staff leaving in droves. Broadcom is following their playbook after purchasing the once giants Computer Associates (CA) and Symantec, by doing "A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification" notice filed in Colorado said 184 employees were to be cut in Broomfield. Then another 2800, then another ???. I'm pretty sure we aren't done yet. Where have I seen this before?....hum.... The acquisition of Novell by Attachmate. Novell who?
2. "Broadcom simplifies licensing for better support and service." Translated....bend over, this is going to hurt....A LOT. They have completely ended the perpetual license agreement, with yearly support, as an option and are forcing all users to a 'better more streamlined" option. I can tell you personally that this left me with a 36% cost increase ONLY if I signed up for 3 years. It was 54% if I only signed for 1 year.
3. Broadcom strategy switches to Global Enterprise Customers (total of 600). Why? Because it is another page in the Broadcom playbook, and because they can. So many Global Enterprises have bought into VMWare as THE leader in the hypervisor space. What does that mean? It means that the giant Global Enterprises will have to pay the exorbitant prices (for a time) simply because it will cost too much money and take too much time to migrate to another product.
What this means for the small and medium sized business? Broadcom doesn't care. It's business. Pay up or go away!
4. They have discontinued the free hypervisor. While it is slimmed down from all the license models, this option was a keystone in bringing VMWare to popularity. Small and mid-sized companies could run the hypervisor without all the frills, bells and whistles for free, and learn how to use it before actually buying the product. This free option got people hooked on it for what it could do. It also was a huge benefit for technicians to start using it. There has been huge following in the VMWare Users Group (VMUG) community. Long time supporters are leaving in droves.
5. Broadcom axes Carbon Black along with End User Computing, EUC; Horizon. Out of all the things they are doing, this one hurts the most. I have been been a champion of Horizon since the early days, and to see it getting the axe is a shame. However, I have a hope based on past product history.
6. Long establish relationships with hardware vendors, such as Dell, are gone. It use to be you could partner with your hardware vendor and get a pretty good price on VMWare by purchasing or upgrading your hardware. Those days are gone. Broadcom has nixed all of those relationships and instead are try to spin it as being "vendor agnostic" What that really means is "We want more of your money."
Ultimately, this marks the rapid destruction of VMWare. What hope could I have?
There are a group of us that were defenders to the death of Novell. We watched the once King of the Hill software company crumble into disintegration. We watch them and listen to the talking heads tell us that nothing is going to change, but in fact, things are going to get better, only to watch Novell get torn apart from the inside out. What is happening to VMware by Broadcom is not new. Attachmate, Microfocus, and now Opentext, all have had a go around of selling off patents and intellectual property in order to line the pockets of the owners.
So you see, Broadcom is simply doing the same thing to VMWare as has happened to Novell. They will force everyone to pay a high cost to use their product. Eventually everyone will make a plan to move off of them which will leave what little is left to be sold off as intellectual property to a point where we all say, VMWare who?
Speaking as one that went down with the ship with Novell, it is time to evaluate and migrate to another platform asap. With Novell, it was a slow death. With VMWare, unless there is a course correction, it will be done in less than 3 years. Anyone with VMWare experience or certification will only be useful to the point of being able to migrate companies to other hypervisor platforms.
VMWare hit a corporate iceberg. I, for one, am not going to wait until the lifeboats are full.
Let me know what you think.
Tom
Stockholders Line their Pockets
The End of End User Computing (Horizon and Carbon Black)
Dramatically Simplifies Licensing - Ha!
This guy nails it - even if it is older info
Why it Sucks to be a VMWare customer right now
