Since #acquiring #VMware in November 2023, #Broadcom has embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of software #licensing at the firm,
which has drawn widespread criticism from customers.

Broadcom stated it would continue to support customers under a #perpetual #licensing #agreement for the period defined in the contract,
but following this customers would need to exchange any remaining licenses for #subscription-#based products.

This has left both cloud service vendors and customers in limbo, according to CISPE, without any solid information on how, when, or if they will be able to license VMware products essential for their operations from April 2024.

Moreover, even if they are able to relicense the VMware software, a number of customers reported dramatic #price #hikes of as much as 12 times.

CISPE's characterisation of the move was far less charitable, arguing Broadcom is using VMware's market dominance, controlling almost 45% of the virtualization market, to charge exorbitant rents from cloud providers.

Several CISPE members admitted that without the ability to license VMware products they will be unable to operate and will go bankrupt, with some stating that over 75% of their revenue depends on VMware virtualization tech.

https://m.slashdot.org/story/426323