[German]VMware by Broadcom has informed its partners that the current partner program will end. The successor partner program can only be entered by invitation from Broadcom. It now looks as if smaller and medium-sized partners will fall by the wayside. Here is a brief overview of what is known and where Broadcom wants to go in the future.
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Old VMware partner program ends
Interactive, a provider from Australia, has announced changes to Broadcom VMware's Partner Program as of July 16, 2025 in the post Changes to Broadcom VMware's Partner Program: What you need to know (The Register noticed this, and I covered it in my German blog in time). Accordingly, Broadcom has announced that it will close the current Broadcom Advantage Partner Program for VMware partners on October 31, 2025. This is intended to reduce the number of authorized partners in the region (Interactive is based in Australia, and I don't know, if that's also the case in Europe).
According to Broadcom, this change is part of the company's ongoing efforts to align the VMware partner ecosystem with its strategic efforts and customer needs.
New partner program from November 1, 2025
The full details of the new partner program – known as the Broadcom Advantage Partner Program Framework – have not yet been announced. However, Interactive has already announced that it will continue to operate as an authorized VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) partner when the new partner program starts on November 1, 2025.
What is known about the changes
Interactive has already extracted the most important changes resulting from the Broadcom announcement for VMware partners on its website.
- Reduction of partners: The new program significantly reduces the number of approved partners as it is an invitation-only program. As a result, VCSP partners who were not invited to participate in the new program for VCSP partners should have received a notice of non-renewal on July 15, 2025.
- Transition period until October 31, 2025: Existing VMware partners not invited to the new partner program can continue to do business until October 31, 2025. After this date, they will only be able to service existing VCSP commitment contracts for the remainder of the current term. New commitment agreements or renewals will no longer be accepted for these partners.
- Expiration of the white label program: Broadcom will also let the white label model expire on October 31, 2025. The same commercial transition conditions apply to white label contracts as described above..
I already made my suspicions about the latter point known in March 2024 in the blog post VMware by Broadcom: (Vain) hope of the partners for a White Label "lifeline". The smaller (and medium-sized) VMware partners are now being shaved off. This is likely to affect some providers who offer hosting with virtual servers based on VMware products.
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What are the implications?
Ex (departing) VMware partners will no longer be able to conduct business for customers and will be required by Broadcom to work with authorized VCSP partners to ensure a smooth transition for customers who wish to renew a service at the end of their current term.
Customers who use VMware by Broadcom products could lose their previous sales partner. This could have an impact on the options for purchasing and renewing VMware licenses as well as support. There is also a risk that everything will become more expensive.
For customers, this means The former VMware partner either cooperates with authorized VCSP partners for license renewals, support or new orders. Or the customer goes directly to one of the authorized VCSP partners.
Interactive advises customers to review existing contracts and Software License Agreements (SLAs) and identify any key terms, renewal dates and support dependencies associated with current VMware license or partner agreements.
In my opinion, the bottom line for customers is more work, more uncertainty and possibly new contacts. For partners who are kicked out, the VMware virtualization business segment is likely to fall flat. The Register writes here that there is corresponding excitement among VMware partners and some customers. The Register also assumes that not only small VMware partners, but also medium-sized partners will be kicked out of the program because they no longer fit in with Broadcom's plans outlined below.
For European customers, I have found a reseller of used VMware licences, see my German blog post Partner-Reduzierung bei VMware: Gebrauchtlizenzen von ReUse als Ausweg
VMware by Broadcom plans
Broadcom's vision is to shift its business towards hyperscale private compute and reshape the whole thing. In doing so, Broadcom wants to support a small number of hyperscale private cloud platforms in each region with VMware Cloud Foundations 9. The idea seems to be that customers will buy managed infrastructure from VMware partners (like Australia's Interactive) to meet their virtualization needs.
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