Broadcom's VMware unit plans to release an updated vSphere Standard virtualization platform, addressing widespread customer discontent over pricing and product availability. The move marks a strategic reversal from Broadcom's post-acquisition playbook, which prioritized high-margin enterprise bundles over the SMB segment.
The problem is straightforward: Broadcom's 2023 acquisition of VMware ended perpetual licenses and introduced subscription-based bundles, particularly VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). Small-to-medium businesses found VCF unaffordable and complex. More damaging, VMware sales teams consistently pushed VCF as the only viable option, telling customers that vSphere Standard was unavailable.
Paul Turner, VCF's chief product officer, confirmed the bias. "We had too big a focus on VCF," Turner told The Register. "We corrected this." He acknowledged that sales incentives explicitly encouraged teams to steer customers toward the higher-priced bundle.
vSphere Standard has not been updated since 2022, despite a major vSphere refresh alongside VCF 9 in 2025. Turner attributed the delay to prioritizing VCF's security capabilities—a choice that left the entry-level product gathering dust for three years.
Ram Velaga, president of Broadcom's Infrastructure Software Group, explained the original strategy: positioning VCF as a private cloud alternative to public cloud services. Introducing a low-cost virtualization product "could have distracted customers," Velaga said. That bet has backfired. Disgruntled SMBs have migrated to Nutanix, Proxmox, and Microsoft Hyper-V.
Broadcom will detail the updated vSphere Standard in October at VMware's Explore conference in Frankfurt.
The damage to channel relationships may be irreversible. Dean Colpitts, CTO of Canadian managed services provider Members IT Group, said his firm—a 19-year VMware reseller—was cut from the program last year. "Broadcom has burned all the bridges," Colpitts told Ars Technica. Even if the new vSphere Standard simplifies migration from vSphere 8, he said, "they have already shown both customers and partners they can't be trusted."
Market sentiment reflects that erosion. Sumit Bhatia, co-author of analysis on VMware's Broadcom transition, said the updated product shows Broadcom heard the feedback. But damage is done: "Three years of neglect, quote refusals, and VCF-only sales tactics have already pushed many SMBs toward competitors." Bhatia concluded that "trust, not features, is the real deficit" for VMware. The company must now demonstrate commitment to smaller customers beyond a product update.
