VMware Cloud Foundation: Surviving Broadcom

Survival in IT isn’t about avoiding change. It’s about buying time to change on your terms.

Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has reshaped the private cloud landscape—fast. Subscription-only licensing. No more perpetuals. SKU consolidation that forces bundled purchases. And most importantly: a pricing model that locks you into more than you use, for longer than you’d like.

At the heart of it: VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)—once a platform vision, now an architectural chokepoint for many.

Broadcom Isn’t Negotiating—But Not Everyone’s Panicking

Let’s be clear: Broadcom isn’t inviting customers into a pricing conversation. For most, the deal is the deal.

But not every enterprise is angry. In recent Buyer Room sessions, we’ve heard from customers who are unphased—or even pleased:

• They’ve already standardized on NSX, vSAN, and Aria

• Subscriptions align with how their IT budgets are managed

• In some cases, support has even improved under Broadcom

If that’s your current experience: great. But that doesn’t mean you should get comfortable.

Broadcom’s Rationale (Context, Not Endorsement)

Broadcom’s strategy is clear:
Simplify the portfolio, increase profitability, and focus on large enterprises willing to adopt the full VCF stack.

It’s a classic move from component vendor to platform business.
But that transformation transfers cost, complexity, and risk onto IT teams—many of whom were never asking for the full stack in the first place.

Your Survival Strategy: Two Phases

📍 Phase 1: Secure the Runway

• Lock in the minimum viable renewal to maintain operations

• Avoid net-new dependency growth, especially for bundled products you’re not actively using

• Map your VMware surface area—not just licenses, but where the tooling is embedded in automation, disaster recovery, and compliance

🚧 Phase 2: Engineer the Exit (or Exit Path)

Even if a complete shift is unrealistic in the short term, you can still start decoupling. Ask practical questions:

• Does every VM workload really need ESXi?

• Are you using vSAN features—or just storing VMs on it because it was bundled?

• Is NSX deeply integrated with vSphere? Or are you using it like an SDN overlay that could be replaced?

You don’t have to replace everything overnight. But you do need to define where VMware ends and your future begins.

Implementing in Enterprise IT

This isn’t just technical work—it’s political.

Shifting platform strategy means involving:

• App teams who rely on vSphere automation

• Security teams using NSX for segmentation

• Operations teams with existing Aria integrations

• Finance teams who now need to justify doubling platform costs

Even with a clear technical roadmap, internal buy-in is often the real constraint.

And let’s not forget the hardest part: tool retirement.

Broadcom’s pitch is that Aria can replace fragmented ops tooling. But in practice, most enterprises don’t retire those other tools—they just layer Aria on top.

That’s where real overpayment happens.

The Advisory Bench POV

Whether you’re negotiating a renewal, managing a stable VMware estate, or preparing to exit—the most resilient platform teams are mapping.

• Mapping what’s actually in use

• Mapping where they’re overpaying (tool sprawl, feature redundancy, unused bundles)

• Mapping how—and when—they’d migrate

This isn’t panic. It’s preparation.

Even happy VMware customers are one pricing cycle away from rethinking that position. The time to act is before you’re out of options.

That’s what we help teams do: draw the map, define the boundaries, and move on their own terms.

Read More:

• How does Broadcom's VMware acquisition affect your IT setup? - Simform: (https://www.simform.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-acquisition-impact-on-your-it-setup/) - Provides a good overview of the changes in licensing, bundling, and partner programs.

• Breaking Down the Impacts of Broadcom's VMware Acquisition - AHEAD: (https://www.ahead.com/resources/breaking-down-the-impacts-of-broadcoms-vmware-acquisition/) - Discusses financial, architectural, operational, business, and people impacts.

• Top VMware Cloud Foundation Competitors & Alternatives 2025 | Gartner Peer Insights: (https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/distributed-hybrid-infrastructure/vendor/broadcom-vmware/product/vmware-cloud-foundation/alternatives) - Another valuable resource for comparing alternatives, often with user insights.