Broadcom issues update on partner program, VMware portfolio changes

Broadcom has shared the reasoning behind changes made to the VMware software portfolio and its Broadcom Advantage Partner Program since its acquisition of VMware in November 2023.

In December 2023, Broadcom announced VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) had transitioned from perpetual to subscription licensing.

It also announced a simplification of the VMware portfolio from over 160 products to a smaller set of offerings focusing on VCF and VMware vSphere Foundation.  

Broadcom also created a VCF division to "deliver a single, integrated product across all core technologies," the company said.

In an announcement this week, the company said the changes aim to enable "faster innovation and increased value for customers while supporting more opportunities and better profitability for partners."

Broadcom touted the addition of subscription portability for VCF, saying it provides customers the flexibility to deploy on-premises and then take their subscription at any time to a supported hyperscale cloud or VMware Cloud Service Provider environment.

It claimed Google Cloud was the first to support VCF cloud portability and that other hyperscale and partner clouds are expected to follow.

“We are all anchored by one clear and consistent focus amidst these changes: how do we deliver on our commitment to create more value, better results and faster innovation for our customers,” said Sylvain Cazard, president of Asia Pacific, Broadcom.

“This decisive simplification of our VCF model enables us to do so by being the best platform for deploying a private cloud infrastructure that is ubiquitous, flexible and integrated across cloud endpoints.”

Broadcom said partners will play a critical role in helping the VMware customer base transition to the new subscription model and adopt VMware software for their private cloud infrastructure.

“Enterprises are grappling with increasingly complex business operating conditions, and a complicated, sprawling IT infrastructure is undermining growth and innovation rather than supporting it," said Prashanth Shenoy, VP of marketing, VCF division at Broadcom.

"For example, an average organisation can contend with hundreds of Windows apps in their environment with dozens of full-time employees or equivalent required to manage them."

“The changes we have made to our VCF model aim to drastically reduce complexity for our customers, partners and our teams, freeing up energy and resources to pursue more meaningful and value-added opportunities.” 

Changes to partner program

In February 2024, Broadcom announced updates to the Broadcom Advantage Partner Program for VMware cloud service providers, which included moving to a net margin model, simplified pricing, as well as new tools, resources and support.

The company claimed more than 18,000 VMware reseller partners have been invited into the Broadcom Advantage Partner program at their equivalent VMware tier since January 2024.

Broadcom this week said the program is designed to "build stronger relationships with our most valued partners, recognise them for their commitment to Broadcom, and provide them with the capabilities to grow their businesses through simplified pricing, improved margins, and richer benefits."

“VCF is our platform for innovation going forward"

The company's CEO Hock Tan said it has “looked at everything to identify what’s needed to create more value for our customers” and has “acted decisively to increase customer value since we closed the acquisition in late November.”

“VCF is our platform for innovation going forward. It’s the solution that will help us address the business outcomes our customers have expressed to me directly as their most critical priorities…With VCF, our customers will achieve a highly efficient cloud operating model that combines public cloud scale and agility with private cloud security and resiliency."

"And we believe it delivers this at a lower cost of ownership for the average enterprise customer, compared with the ever-increasing cost of a public cloud. The first 100 days were a strong start for VMware as part of Broadcom. There's much more to come.”