Broadcom and Google have announced a license portability scheme for business customers to run VMware workloads on Google Cloud. This latest development comes after Broadcom’s takeover of cloud and virtualization specialist VMware late last year. Under the arrangement, customers can purchase subscriptions of the latest incarnation of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) software from Broadcom and use them to operate instances in Google Cloud VMware Engine or within their datacenter.
The license portability scheme is intended to provide customers with more flexibility and choice in how they deploy and manage their virtualized workloads. It allows customers to keep their rights to the software subscription when deploying VCF on Google Cloud, and transfer remaining values to Google Cloud VMware Engine. The agreement also enables customers to move virtual machines and workloads between their datacenters and Google Cloud.
Broadcom has been trying to reassure both VMware partners and users that all changes are for the best, as rivals circle to scoop up any defectors. Post-merger switches to subscription-only licensing and thinning out of the company’s portfolio have prompted some concerns among customers. However, Prashanth Shenoy, VMware’s vice president of Product and Technical Marketing for Cloud offerings, has defended these moves, stating that subscription is the model all major enterprise software providers are on today and that offering a few lower-priced offerings with more value makes business sense for customers, partners, and VMware.
Despite reassurances from Broadcom and VMware, some service providers have expressed concerns about the changes. One provider stated that Broadcom’s consumption-based vRAM licensing model for service providers has been replaced with a model based on the number of physical cores on the host server. Additionally, the company has made it a condition of its partner program for Cloud Services Providers (CSPs) to commit to licensing a minimum of 3,500 cores. This has led some service providers to speculate that Broadcom is only interested in working with the largest and most profitable customers and resellers.
VMware’s rivals have sensed an opportunity to pick up disaffected CSPs, resellers, and customers. Cloud platform developer Virtuozzo has announced a free migration program for VMware cloud providers to switch to its stack instead. Scale Computing is offering a Seamless Switch promotion that honors remaining VMware contracts at no charge for up to 12 months if customers migrate to its platform.
In conclusion, the license portability scheme announced by Broadcom and Google provides business customers with more flexibility in deploying and managing their virtualized workloads. However, concerns remain among service providers about Broadcom’s licensing model and its interest in working with only the largest customers. The announcement of migration programs by VMware’s rivals suggests that there may be opportunities for disaffected CSPs to explore alternative solutions.