VMware’s shifting landscape: A guide to ensuring stability, cost efficiency and roadmap flexibility

So why all the changes to VMware products and pricing? VMware claims that their approach to transitioning from a perpetual license model to a subscription model is to simplify their product portfolio and to better serve their customers with continuous innovation.³ In the next chapter, we’ll explore other possible financial reasons for the changes, but now let’s take a closer look at what VMware is offering.

VMware’s new product bundles

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF): Targeted at enterprises, this is now Broadcom’s flagship product. VCF integrates vSphere with intelligent operations management products.⁴ While this integration is intended to boost performance and availability, it likely includes products that may not add value to your organization’s specific business needs.

VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF): A more modest offering, designed to help small to mid-size organizations optimize workload management without committing to the full VCF suite.⁴

VMware vSphere Standard: Provides core virtualization features that meet basic virtualization workload needs, but tends to miss the scalability, reliability and provisioning services most enterprises need.⁵

VMware vSphere Essentials Plus: Offers essential virtualization capabilities, but lacks support for add-ons, making it only suitable for those that are just beginning their virtualization journey.⁵

VMware offerings

The transition to a subscription model tends to favor Broadcom more than its customers, and in our opinion seemingly offering the company greater revenue predictability and financial stability. And on the other end, customers may encounter higher costs without a corresponding increase in value. For customers, the crucial question will be whether the benefits, such as access to new updates and features, will justify the recurring expense.

We expect that very few customers will require all the products included in VMware’s VCF and VVF bundles. What we’re observing is that previously lower-priced products are now bundled with higher-priced ones, potentially without the corresponding business need.

We find that most enterprises having more than 10,000 cores, under the new model, VMware costs are expected to increase dramatically. In addition, global IT spending is forecasted to be “more than $5 trillion in 2024, with 10% year-on-year growth of spending on data center systems.”⁶ While VMware remains important for optimizing data center efficiency, strategic budgeting is essential. Redirecting resources towards innovative technologies that enhance the customer experience or enable businesses to leverage data strategically will potentially drive greater business growth.

As you consider VMware’s new bundled pricing, it’s important to evaluate whether the subscription model aligns with your current and future needs. While it should give access to continuous updates and support, it also includes new products that may not provide adequate ROI for your business needs.

VMware bundled pricing

Since Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, alternative hypervisor solutions have gained traction, challenging VMware’s long-standing dominance (in a ControlUp survey, 84% of all hypervisors in the dataset were running vSphere).⁷ While VMware is known for its mature ecosystem and integrations, rising costs and concerns about vendor lock-in are pushing IT leaders to explore alternatives, particularly open-source options, that offer better cost efficiency and flexibility.

Another recent survey highlights a significant shift among VMware customers, with “17.8% of respondent considering sticking with VMware despite higher costs.” Meanwhile, the majority are actively considering alternatives like KVM-based solutions (58.8%), followed by Microsoft Hyper-V (11.9%) and Xen-based options like XCP-ng (11.5%).⁸ There’s clearly a growing preference to move away from VMware and explore open-source alternatives.

Multi-hypervisor solutions are also gaining in popularity, providing organizations with greater flexibility in their IT infrastructure. By leveraging multiple hypervisors, businesses can take advantage of the unique capabilities of different vendors, tailor their virtualization environment to specific needs and enhance resilience.¹²

As the market diversifies, now is not the time to be locked in with a single vendor. Given virtualization’s crucial role in modern infrastructure, it’s essential to take the time to thoroughly evaluate alternative solutions to ensure they meet your needs effectively.

Let’s face it, your perpetual licenses are likely serving you well, giving you the level of flexibility to control your budget and roadmap without facing unexpected price hikes. If getting locked into a subscription-based model doesn’t align with your current IT strategy, you have some viable alternatives.

You can manage your licenses independently, allowing you to retain control over your existing setup. Although this may save money in the short term, self-support carries risks, such as limited access to specialized expertise and increased potential for instability, which are particularly significant if your business depends on VMware for mission-critical operations.

Exploring alternative hypervisors is another avenue. However, this route entails thorough evaluation and making sure these alternatives fit within your existing infrastructure. Gartner estimates that this process could take anywhere between 18-60 months.⁹ Given the need for testing, integration and performance compatibility, this isn’t surprising.

Third-party support with Rimini Street

To avoid the VMware cost increases, independent outsourced support services should be a consideration. With Rimini Support for VMware, you can continue to leverage your current setup knowing that you have access to a team of dedicated VMware experts to support you in maintaining uptime and mitigating risks.

Let’s talk security – Broadcom has announced1 that they will provide security patches for high-severity vulnerabilities (CVSS scores 9.0 and higher) for perpetual license customers of VMware vSphere versions 7.x and 8.x.¹⁰ While this provides some reassurance, clients must determine how to incorporate these patches into their existing vulnerability management program. It’s also worth noting that VMware may not address vulnerabilities with high-severity scores2 (CVSS 7.0-8.9).¹¹

Rimini Street’s comprehensive security approach

Rimini Protect™ services and solutions, however, are designed to complement and enhance your existing security strategy. Our personalized services and solutions can help mitigate risks beyond Broadcom’s scope, all without requiring code changes to the protected software.

We closely monitor many sources for indicators and intelligence about potential threats and weaknesses that may impact your VMware products. By targeting weakness areas (CWEs), we proactively protect against entire categories of vulnerabilities (CVEs) of all severity levels. Additionally, our personalized approach allows us to address vulnerabilities specific to your environment.

A multi-faceted approach to securing your VMware deployments

It’s also important to consider that securing a VMware deployment requires a multi-faceted approach covering the entire VMware technology stack, including:

• The core hypervisor layer (ESXi)
• Virtual machines (VMs)
• Applications hosted by the VMs
• Databases used by applications, VMs and vSphere
• The Java-based server managing VMs (vCenter Server)

Rimini Street can help you protect against both known and unknown threats quickly and easily without disrupting your operations or requiring extensive downtime and regression testing.

The Broadcom VMware acquisition has already reshaped the virtualization market, presenting new opportunities and challenges while inviting new competitors. As you navigate the changes, be sure to keep the following in mind:

Stay informed. Continuously monitor new developments in the hypervisor space, including market share changes and innovations. Keeping a pulse check on these dynamics will help you make informed decisions.

Evaluate your options carefully. Before jumping into the new VMware bundles, assess whether they offer real value to your organization. You still have the option to retain your perpetual licenses without diminishing support and security.

Prioritize security. Implement robust security measures designed for your organization, beyond just Broadcom’s zero-day patches. Protect your systems from both known and emerging threats to maintain a secure environment.

We encourage you to leverage insights from this guide and recognize the value of retaining your current licenses. Many organizations are considering shifting their VMware support to third parties.

Rimini Street specializes in delivering expert support services that allow you to retain your existing licenses while benefiting from comprehensive security and support practices.

Poll conducted by Rimini Street on LinkedIn showing primary support strategies VMware customers (n=19) are considering given the impending price hikes.

Learn more about Rimini Support, Rimini Protect and Rimini Consult for VMware.

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