Introduction 

For the past twenty years, House of Brick has been one of the industry’s most vocal champions of VMware virtualization and workload management technology. We pioneered the demonstration of enhanced High Availability (HA) architectures with Oracle RAC running on VMware at the VMworld conference in 2006. When Oracle started causing trouble for their customers running on VMware, House of Brick was there to defend and support our clients from these bullying tactics. We literally wrote VMware’s best-practices playbooks for virtualizing Oracle and MS SQL Server databases. 

In 2020, House of Brick joined forces with Opscompass to capture our experience and expertise into a scalable, automated, compliance monitoring software solution that watches for and alerts on usage events that cause elevated costs and risk.  

We continue to be ardent supporters of VMware technology to this day. The acquisition of the VMware by Broadcom, however, has introduced a customer perception and relationship dynamic that House of Brick and Opscompass have been compelled to address with our services and SaaS product portfolio. 

This article outlines the key concerns that we have been working on with our worldwide customers, their potential impact, and the steps we have taken to mitigate those risks. The professional and managed services from House of Brick, and the innovative tools from Opscompass will provide you with the immediate support, and ongoing compliance and optimization monitoring you need to ensure that your on-premises and cloud platforms are performing optimally for the lowest cost possible. 

Understanding the Rising Customer Frustration Broadcom’s VMware 

As a provider of software solutions ourselves, we understand and support software vendors’ rights to establish licensing and usage parameters that reward them for their investment. It is our aspiration, and one we would expect the entire industry to embrace, that these licensing and usage parameters are well aligned to the customer’s benefit and satisfaction. Of course, a software vendor who violates customer trust will not likely have a long tenure of success.  

With Broadcom, we understand their desire for a subscription-based pricing model. We have a similar pricing model at Opscompass. It provides more stability in revenues for the company, and fosters investment in continuing product innovation. Problems arise, however, when the vendor’s communications, policies, reversals, and price increases are done in a manner that convey that the customer is of secondary importance. We have found that customers are never upset about paying for solutions that bring value to their organizations. They always get upset, however, when they perceive (rightfully or not) that the vendor is trying to take advantage of the customer commitment to enrich themselves. 

The following section reviews some of the concerns that our customers are expressing with their VMware software deployments, and with Broadcom’s perceived heavy handedness in customer interactions. House of Brick and Opscompass solutions to address each concern are discussed. 

Customer Concerns on VMware Licensing & Usage  

1. Outsized Cost Increases 

• Challenge: The shift to a subscription-based licensing model has resulted in dramatic price hikes, with customers like Toshiba reporting renewals increasing 1,000% or more. These increases stem from Broadcom’s focus on higher-margin subscription bundles and the elimination of cost-effective perpetual licenses, significantly straining budgets. 

• Implication: The financial burden is particularly acute for small and medium sized businesses, which may need to reallocate funds, cut services, or explore alternative virtualization platforms, incurring additional migration costs. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: Even as we have supported VMware’s outstanding technology, we have supported our customers in optimizing their VMware costs. House of Brick offers a VMware cost optimization assessment that can provide clear savings recommendations in a few weeks. Coupled with the Opscompass ability to track your IT inventory across all platforms, we are able to identify cost savings better than ever before. 

2. Forced Bundling 

• Challenge: Broadcom has streamlined VMware’s product portfolio into four bundles, including VMware Cloud Foundation and vSphere Foundation. They now require customers to purchase comprehensive packages that often include unnecessary features. This contrasts with the previous modular approach, where organizations could select only the components they needed. For example, a mid-sized company needing only vSphere virtualization may now be forced to buy additional tools like NSX or vSAN, inflating costs and complicating deployments.  

• Implication: This bundling strategy suggests that Broadcom may be embracing a revenue over customer flexibility mindset. We have seen how this leads to massive customer discontent. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: House of Brick experts can work with you to determine the precise product options that would be best. We do not get any revenue from our partner’s sales of software, hardware, or services, so we are able to recommend the optimal solution. Whether that is remaining on VMware, or migrating to an alternative platform, Opscompass monitors your environment for compliance and risk. 

3. Frustration & Confusion from Change/Change Back Whiplash 

• Challenge: Broadcom’s pattern of announcing significant changes and then reverting after backlash has created confusion and eroded trust among VMware customers. Notable examples include the discontinuation of the free ESXi hypervisor, followed by the reintroduction of a limited free version after user outcry. More recently was the planned increase in license minimums from 16 to 72 cores. This plan was reversed back to 16 cores on April 10, 2025, due to industry criticism.   

• Implication: This uncertainty complicates strategic decision-making, increases administrative overhead, and fosters skepticism about Broadcom’s long-term reliability as an enterprise partner. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: As a vendor-neutral solution provider, House of Brick and Opscompass can help you see through the fog of change, and determine which components of your applications, databases, platforms, license entitlement, and system usage truly matter for your organization. 

4. Deteriorated Support Quality 

• Challenge: Since the acquisition, VMware support quality has declined, with customers reporting slower response times and less experienced support engineers. Broadcom appears to prioritize larger, high-value clients, leaving smaller customers dissatisfied.  

• Implication: Reduced support quality may increase operational risks, including extended outages and higher troubleshooting costs. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: While House of Brick is not a third-party support vendor for VMware, we are quite good at diagnosing problems, and helping customers develop actions to address those problems. This comes from our broad understanding of the entire system stack, and how the various layers of that stack interact with and impact each other. Opscompass has captured that holistic expertise to monitor on-premises and cloud platforms, and watch how they drift over time. This drift detection allows us to quickly see where problems arose. 

5. Stricter Licensing Terms 

• Challenge: Broadcom has introduced stricter licensing terms, including delaying detailed subscription information until close to renewal dates, then presenting longer contract terms and higher prices. A 20% late-renewal penalty further pressures customers to renew promptly, even under unfavorable conditions. Additionally, the reduction in authorized resellers and partners limits access to discounts and trusted advisors.  

• Implication: These conditions reduce negotiation leverage, increase financial pressure, and complicate vendor management, particularly for organizations with limited procurement resources. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: House of Brick’s expertise in enterprise software licensing allows customers to only purchase the quantity that is absolutely needed, without wasted shelf-licenses. We support VMware license cost optimization and management. To automate the management and renewal process, the license management feature of Opscompass will notify you of upcoming renewals, and allow you to model cost-saving opportunities. 

6. Longer Subscriptions Delay Alternative Considerations 

• Challenge: The mandatory subscription model, typically with multi-year terms, increases dependency on Broadcom and delays organizations’ ability to explore alternative virtualization platforms with open source alternatives like KVM or Proxmox, or commercial options like Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV), or Microsoft Hyper-V. This extended commitment limits strategic flexibility, as organizations must continue paying for VMware licenses despite growing dissatisfaction with Broadcom’s pricing and support. The prolonged subscription periods also tie up IT budgets, hindering investments in innovative or competitive solutions. (Please note that while Oracle VirtualBox promotes itself as free, our customers have been getting surprise demands from Oracle for costly subscriptions because they inadvertently installed an extra feature.) 

• Implication: This creates a strategic risk, trapping organizations in an expensive ecosystem and delaying transitions to potentially more suitable platforms, impacting long-term competitiveness. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: House of Brick and Opscompass have been supporting customers who want to migrate between hypervisor platforms, or from on-premises to cloud environments for many years. Our recently published white paper on using Opscompass to migrate a customer to Nutanix AHV highlights our partnership with Nutnix to provide customers with the most advanced operating environments for their enterprise workloads.  

7. Loss of Partner Ecosystem 

• Challenge: Broadcom’s discontinuation of the VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program and the dumping of smaller registered VMware resellers has led to the dismantling a previously robust partner ecosystem. These partners provided tailored support and competitive pricing to organizations of all sizes. Previously, these partners offered localized expertise, discounts, and flexible licensing options.  

• Implication: The loss of partners reduces access from trusted sources, increases operational complexity, raises costs, and limits access to customized solutions. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: House of Brick’s long-standing partnership with VMware was never about resale revenue for us. Focusing on the customer’s needs as our guiding priority has allowed us to recommend solutions that minimize overall cost, while ensuring system performance, availability, and configuration integrity. 

8. Lack of Innovation 

• Challenge: Customers fear that Broadcom’s focus on profitability could stifle VMware’s historically strong innovation track record. Previously, VMware invested heavily in R&D, introducing features like advanced virtualization and hybrid cloud capabilities. Concerns arise that Broadcom’s cost-cutting measures may prioritize short-term revenue over long-term technological advancements. This perception is fueled by Broadcom’s history of streamlining acquired companies for profit. 

• Implication: A lack of innovation could erode VMware’s competitive edge, forcing organizations to seek alternative platforms to meet evolving IT needs, impacting long-term strategic planning. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: While we love VMware technology, Broadcom does not have an exclusive right to innovation. Often, the best solution is a combination of best-in-class from multiple sources. Managed Opscompass combines the expertise of House of Brick with the multi-platform visibility of Opscompass to provide the holistic asset intelligence solution you need. 

9. Product Line Changes 

• Challenge: The sale of VMware’s Horizon end-user-compute product line to KKR, rebranded as Omnissa, has introduced uncertainty for users dependent on this desktop virtualization solution. Customers face potential disruptions in service delivery, support, and compatibility as Omnissa establishes itself independently. This change reflects Broadcom’s strategy to divest non-core assets, but it leaves affected users navigating an uncertain vendor landscape. 

• Implication: Specific to Horizon users, this creates risks of service interruptions and increased costs, requiring careful planning to maintain operational continuity. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: Similar to the previous risk, the best solution is often a combination of solutions from multiple sources. Opscompass provides our customers with a consolidated visibility framework for managing multiple platform sources at the same time. 

10. Disproportionate Impact on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses 

• Challenge: Broadcom’s licensing changes, particularly the steep cost increases and discontinuation of entry-level products like the VMware Essentials Kit, disproportionately affect SMBs compared to larger enterprises. The Essentials Kit previously offered an affordable virtualization solution for small businesses with limited IT budgets. Its removal, combined with price increases, forces SMBs to either absorb unsustainable costs or seek alternatives.  

• Implication: SMBs face heightened financial and operational risks, including potential service cuts or costly migrations, threatening business continuity and competitiveness. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: Many solution providers limit themselves to only helping customers of a certain size. Of course, our customer base includes many of the Fortune 500 list of companies, but we love helping the small and medium-sized businesses as well. Our VMware Cost Optimization Assessment with House of Brick and Opscompass scales from small to very large customers. 

11. Unwillingness to Consider Contract Revisions 

• Challenge: Broadcom has adopted a rigid “take it or leave it” approach to VMware contracts, refusing to consider customer-proposed revisions or “redline” changes, which are standard in enterprise software procurement. Typically, organizations negotiate contract terms to align with their operational needs, compliance requirements, or risk management policies. Broadcom’s inflexibility contrasts with VMware’s pre-acquisition flexibility, frustrating procurement and vendor management professionals. 

• Implications: The lack of negotiation flexibility increases financial and legal risks, limits customization to meet organizational needs, and may push customers toward competitors offering more collaborative terms. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: One of the most popular solutions offered through Managed Opscompass is our Audit Defense and vendor negotiation support. We have successfully navigated so many hundreds of vendor negotiations, whether for license purchases, renewal support, audit defense, or dispute resolution, that we know the vendors’ playbooks and which strategy to deploy in each circumstance. Our vendor support list includes VMware, Oracle, Microsoft, Quest, Adobe, Red Hat, SUSE, IFS, and more. 

12. Security Implications of Enforced Update Rollbacks 

• Challenge: Broadcom is enforcing their IP rights, and we have no argument with their right to do so. We encourage customers to strictly adhere to their software agreements. The sudden aggressive nature of Broadcom’s demands however, is putting customers in a difficult situation. Customers with perpetual licenses and expired support contracts are being required to roll back crucial security updates. This has the potential to introduce security vulnerabilities or force the customer into an unplanned license subscription. 

• Implication: The unplanned rollbacks have the potential to introduce serious security risks, while the alternative of unplanned subscriptions may strain budgets. 

House of Brick & Opscompass Support: We can help sort through the options of 1) complying with these demands, 2) negotiating a favorable path forward, and 3) migrating to a new platform. Opscompass can help with the visibility and intelligence you need to make an informed decision. 

No matter what your experience is with the changes happening at VMware, House of Brick and Opscompass have the experience and solutions to help you. If you want to discuss your situation with a seasoned expert, reach out and schedule a meeting with us, or schedule a demo of Opscompass to see the power that Asset Intelligence can add to your organization.