Broadcom shifted VMware toward a simplified, subscription-led product lineup after acquiring the company. Some customers and industry groups say the resulting licensing and partner-program changes have raised costs and made switching harder. The European Commission approved the acquisition in 2023 subject to a targeted interoperability remedy; that merger decision did not settle later licensing complaints. A separate EU information-request proceeding concerning VMware licensing was recorded in 2026, but it is not a finding that Broadcom’s pricing is unlawful.
What changed in VMware’s commercial model?
In December 2023, Broadcom announced a simplified VMware portfolio and a shift toward subscription products, alongside trade-in incentives for customers moving from perpetual products. Broadcom described the simplification as a response to customer and partner feedback that its offers and go-to-market approach were too complex. That is the company’s stated rationale, not evidence that customers saved money.
The practical question for an existing customer is not simply whether VMware now sells subscriptions. It is how the new offer compares with the customer’s current entitlements, contract, support arrangements and renewal terms. The materials available here do not provide a universal price list, customer-level quotes or an independently verified before-and-after comparison.
Why are customers and industry groups objecting?
Customer feedback reported by Beltug
Beltug, a Belgian business-technology association, said it gathered feedback from around 20 organizations before meeting the Commission’s competition directorate, DG COMP, on 23 July 2026. Its summary, published on 17 August, describes members reporting substantial price increases, lock-in concerns, contract extensions, evaluation of alternatives and migration programmes. The organizations represented sectors including healthcare, banking, insurance, education, government, payroll and critical infrastructure.
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This is a small stakeholder consultation, not a representative survey of VMware customers, so it does not establish a market-wide average increase. Beltug also notes that older contracts can defer the full effect until renewal, and that end users may have limited visibility into changes to hosting-provider arrangements. It says DG COMP asked about the end of bring-your-own-licence rights for certain hosting providers and the termination of VMware Cloud Service Provider and White Label programmes.
Beltug’s account emphasizes the difficulty of responding: its members described migration as theoretically possible but operationally complex, risky and expensive. They reported optimization and migration programmes, but the account does not provide tested migration results or a customer-by-customer comparison of total costs.
CISPE’s separate complaint about cloud-provider programmes
CISPE, a cloud infrastructure providers’ association, complained about planned changes to Broadcom’s European cloud-provider ecosystem and requested interim measures. As reported by ITPro in 2026, CISPE asked for the termination of the programme to be suspended, providers to be readmitted and the White Label programme to be restored. CISPE alleges that licensing changes, bundling, up-front payment demands and minimum commitments have increased costs. ITPro also attributes to CISPE a claim that costs rose by more than 1,000% in some instances. That figure is an allegation about some cases, not an independently verified rate for VMware customers generally; the same report says Broadcom rejected the allegations.
ITPro quoted Beltug CEO Danielle Jacobs saying that in 2024 VMware changed prices, licensing, ordering processes and other terms within weeks, without customers receiving enough information or time to adapt. That is Jacobs’s characterization of customers’ experience, not a judicial or regulatory finding.
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What did the European Commission decide about the acquisition?
The Commission’s merger review examined whether the acquisition could harm competition, including whether interoperability between VMware server-virtualization software and Broadcom hardware could disadvantage rival Fibre Channel host bus adapters. It first raised serious doubts, opened an in-depth review and later issued a Statement of Objections. On 12 July 2023, it declared the transaction compatible with the internal market subject to a targeted interoperability remedy involving VMware virtualization software and rival Fibre Channel host bus adapters. The decision summary was published in the Official Journal on 23 May 2025.
The Commission’s 2025 Competition Merger Brief explains why that approval should not be read as approval of every later commercial practice. Respondents had raised fears of higher prices or reduced support for customers with perpetual licences unless they moved to subscriptions. The Commission treated those concerns as relating to VMware’s existing market power and a change in commercial strategy, rather than structural changes caused by the transaction for merger-control purposes. The brief also gives Broadcom a 60–70% share of the Fibre Channel host bus adapter market in 2021; that figure concerns that hardware market, not VMware’s share of virtualization software.
In short, the 2023 decision addressed the merger and its identified competition concerns, with a specific remedy. It did not determine whether subsequent licensing changes were lawful or resolve later complaints.
What is the EU examining now?
A separate EU record concerns a Commission decision of 26 February 2026 requiring production of documents under Article 18(3) of Regulation 1/2003 in Case AT.40924 – VMware software licensing. Broadcom and VMware International challenged aspects of the request and sought interim relief regarding its reach over documents located outside the EU and legal advice protected under non-EU rules. The court record concerns the information request and interim relief; it is not a final substantive ruling that Broadcom’s pricing is unlawful.
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The CISPE complaint is another distinct track: it is a request for intervention based on CISPE’s allegations, not proof that the Commission has found an infringement. The merger approval, the information request and the association complaint are separate procedures and should not be conflated.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Key dates and what each one means
| Date | Event | What it does—and does not—show |
|---|---|---|
| 15 November 2022 | Broadcom notified the Commission of its proposed VMware acquisition. | Start of the merger review. |
| 20 December 2022 | The Commission opened an in-depth proceeding after its initial review raised serious doubts. | A preliminary competition concern, not a final prohibition. |
| 12 April 2023 | The Commission issued a Statement of Objections. | Formal concerns during the merger review, before the final decision. |
| 12 July 2023 | The Commission approved the transaction subject to a targeted interoperability remedy. | The merger outcome, not a ruling on every later licensing term. |
| December 2023 | Broadcom announced portfolio simplification and a subscription-led transition. | Broadcom’s stated commercial plan. |
| 2025 | The Commission’s merger brief discussed concerns about licensing changes. | It distinguished commercial-strategy concerns from merger-related structural effects. |
| 26 February 2026 | The Commission issued the document-production request in Case AT.40924. | A step in a separate licensing proceeding, not a final finding of wrongdoing. |
| 23 July and 17 August 2026 | Beltug met DG COMP after gathering member feedback; its public summary followed. | Stakeholder-reported experience from around 20 organizations, not a representative market survey. |
Should a VMware customer renew or migrate?
There is no evidence here that supports a universal recommendation to renew or switch. The right choice depends on contract terms, workload needs, the replacement environment and the cost and risk of moving. Treat a renewal quote as a customer-specific decision rather than inferring a likely increase from reports about other organizations.
- Compare total renewal cost: confirm the licensing metric, included products, bundles, support and update terms, and any upfront or minimum-commitment requirements.
- Map existing rights: establish what the current contract allows, when it expires, and how perpetual licences and associated support or updates are treated.
- Model migration effort: account for workload dependencies, engineering and retraining, testing, downtime exposure, and the risks of running a transition alongside existing systems.
- Check provider dependencies: determine whether the environment relies on a hosting provider, partner or programme whose terms are changing.
- Compare timing: weigh the cost of renewing against the time needed to assess alternatives; delaying the decision may leave less room to plan before a contract renewal.
Ask for written, itemized terms and compare them with a migration plan built for the organization’s actual workloads. The accounts summarized by Beltug establish that some consulted organizations are evaluating alternatives and beginning migrations, but they do not establish that a particular alternative is cheaper or less risky for any given customer.
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