What does the Broadcom acquisition mean for VMware’s future?

Despite the Broadcom acquisition, VMware remains a key technology for virtualisation and private cloud. But what strategic advantages does this offer businesses? In this article, we explain why continuing to use VMware can be beneficial and how Broadcom Pinnacle Partners like IONOS can support your future cloud strategy.

What has changed since Broadcom acquired VMware?

At the end of 2023, semiconductor company Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware—one of the largest deals in the IT industry. VMware, long a market leader in virtualisation software, is now part of the Broadcom Software Group and continues to operate under its own name. Immediately following the VMware acquisition, Broadcom implemented major changes, which included restructuring the licensing model, discontinuing several product offerings, and shifting its focus to large enterprises and strategic Pinnacle Partners. These moves have caused uncertainty among many companies that rely on VMware as the core of their IT infrastructure.

Note

Broadcom Pinnacle Partners like IONOS benefit from an exceptionally close partnership with Broadcom, gaining exclusive advantages that set them apart from other providers. They receive early access to new developments and technologies within the VMware ecosystem, ensuring prioritised support and services. They also help businesses future-proof their VMware infrastructure—whether through optimised licensing models, managed services, or strategic consulting for hybrid and private cloud solutions.

Migrating away from VMware is a complex and time-consuming process. IT analysts at Gartner estimate that it can take anywhere from 18 to 48 months. Organisations relying on external consulting and migration services must also factor in substantial service contract costs. To mitigate unnecessary expenses, Gartner advises early planning. The cost of transitioning from VMware can range between £250 and £2,500 per virtual machine, depending on the specific use case and the level of external support required. Considering these challenges, maintaining a VMware-based infrastructure could be the more strategic choice.

Why stick with VMware?

VMware is more than just a virtualisation provider, even after the Broadcom acquisition. While it continues to be closely linked to virtualisation, businesses should take a broader view of VMware’s role within Broadcom since 2024:

  • Network provider
  • Storage provider
  • Management tools provider
  • Virtualisation technology provider

This perspective is essential, as Broadcom is likely to place greater emphasis on these areas. Businesses that continue to rely on VMware without tapping into Broadcom’s broader portfolio may miss out on significant technological advancements and enhanced service offerings. Furthermore, migrating networks (along with its security systems), storage (including disaster recovery solutions), and management tools is far more complex than merely replacing hypervisors. Businesses may encounter unforeseen investment risks when undertaking such migrations.

How to use VMware without dependency risks

Even for those who do not view Broadcom and VMware as a single, integrated IT provider, there are strong reasons to continue using VMware:

  • Proven virtualisation technology: VMware ESXi remains a powerful bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on server hardware with minimal overhead, ensuring high efficiency and performance.
  • Management tools: VMware vCenter allows businesses to centrally manage and monitor virtual machines, simplifying the administration of large server environments.
  • Hybrid-cloud capabilities: VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) enables businesses to run applications across on-premises, private, and public cloud environments, providing flexibility in deploying IT resources.
  • Security and compliance: VMware offers built-in security solutions and comprehensive compliance management, which is critical for regulated industries and companies with strict security requirements.
  • Investment protection: Companies have invested heavily in VMware technologies over the years. A transition to another platform would not only be expensive and time-consuming but also require a cultural shift among IT personnel.
  • Customer support: Despite dissatisfaction with pricing changes, many businesses have not yet moved to a different provider. VMware’s customer service, professional services, and multi-level support remain strong incentives.

While alternative solutions exist, VMware continues to be a reliable and high-performance virtualisation choice for enterprises. The acquisition by Broadcom has created challenges, but VMware’s stability and robust feature set ensure it remains a valuable option.

VMware as a private cloud from a Pinnacle Partner

Most VMware users can no longer purchase services directly from the vendor. On-premises VMware deployments lack the flexibility and scalability of cloud solutions and require dedicated in-house expertise. When comparing Private Cloud vs Public Cloud, the latter involves sharing resources with many anonymous ‘neighbours’. A private cloud, however, can be the optimal choice, providing distinct advantages through Broadcom Pinnacle Partnership:

  • High expertise and technological know-how: Pinnacle Partners possess extensive technological knowledge and expertise in handling complex customer requirements within the VMware ecosystem. As strategic partners of Broadcom, they receive early access to platform information and are the first to benefit from new innovations.
  • Support for cloud transformation: Pinnacle Partners play a crucial role in guiding customers through their cloud transition with their methodological expertise. They assist in implementing a highly efficient cloud operating model that combines the scalability and agility of the public cloud with the security and performance of a private cloud.
  • Infrastructure modernisation: With Managed VMware Cloud Foundation Services (VCF), Pinnacle Partners contribute significantly to infrastructure modernisation.
  • Managed and secure hosting environment: Pinnacle Partners leverage their expertise to provide tailored hosting environments for VMware services. Many aspects of management overhead are handled by Pinnacle Partners, ensuring optimised service delivery.
  • Business continuity: Broadcom collaborates closely with Pinnacle Partners to ensure the long-term and secure provision of necessary licenses at competitive market prices.
  • White-label option: Some Pinnacle Partners support the VCSP White Label model, providing registered sub-partners with licenses, support, and optional hosting services. This enables them to offer VMware services under their own brand and integrate VMware products into their portfolio.
  • VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF): Pinnacle Partners, such as IONOS, can deploy VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) as a private cloud infrastructure. This helps customers modernise their individual infrastructure while enhancing technical resilience and innovation capacity.
  • Sovereign Cloud Services: VMware Pinnacle Partners are fully equipped to provide sovereign cloud services that meet data residency, compliance, and other legal requirements. Providers such as Arvato Systems and IONOS will introduce new managed VMware Cloud Foundation Private Cloud Services, including Sovereign Cloud Services, to ensure data residency and compliance with regulatory controls.
Private Cloud powered by VMware
The highly secure private cloud
  • Total control over your data
  • Benefit from the highest security standards
  • No vendor lock-in for maximum flexibility

VMware use case: Broadcom Pinnacle Partner IONOS

A private cloud from a Broadcom Pinnacle Partner provides outstanding benefits. The IONOS Private Cloud is built on a VMware environment, allowing businesses to migrate virtual machines (VMs) to other platforms while avoiding vendor lock-in. Customers retain full control over where and how they store their data and workloads.

The private cloud runs on IONOS’s high-performance hardware with automatic maintenance. In case of hardware failure, replacements are handled automatically without customer intervention, ensuring full data integrity and uninterrupted operations.

IONOS follows a Pay-as-you-go approach with no long-term contractual obligations. However, businesses can opt for longer-term agreements for cost predictability. Here are the key benefits of IONOS Private Cloud:

  • Higher security and data protection
  • Dedicated hardware: The IONOS Private Cloud operates exclusively on dedicated physical infrastructure that is reserved for the using company. This minimises the risk of data leaks, eliminates Noisy Neighbors, and enhances security compared to public clouds, where resources are shared among multiple customers.
  • ISO-certified data centres: The infrastructure is hosted in ISO-certified high-tier data centres that meet stringent security standards and comply with the GDPR.
  • High availability and reliability: Service-level agreements (SLAs) with high uptime guarantees ensure the availability and reliability of services running on VMware.

Ultimately, a Broadcom Pinnacle Partner like IONOS offers an ideal alternative for businesses that want to avoid migration challenges while ensuring operational continuity.

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