In the wake of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, the landscape of VMware’s licensing and pricing is becoming clearer.
Broadcom has made a decisive more away from perpetual licenses towards a subscription model, a trend that’s becoming a software industry standard.
This transition has led to the discontinuation of several VMware products, making it essential for users to evaluate their current product usage and consider the available subscription alternatives. vSphere Enterprise Plus has been succeeded by options such as VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF).
The licensing structure has undergone a transformation too, moving from processor to core-based licensing, mirroring Microsoft’s strategy initiated with the Windows 2016 Windows Server release. This VMware model requires licensing for every core in the server, subject to a minimum of 16 cores per processor.
The possibility of converting perpetual licenses to subscriptions was mentioned, with Broadcom expressing an intent to assist customers in this transition. However, we are yet to see this in practice.
As for pricing, there has been a notable increase. Recent quotations indicate the vSphere Foundation Subscription is priced at £154.00 per core, while the vSphere Standard Subscription is £57.15 per core.
Here is how the cost calculation breaks down for vSphere Foundation:
For a server with 2 CPUs, each with 16 cores, the annual cost is calculated as:
Total Cost=Number of Cores × Cost per Core
Total Cost= (2×16) ×£154.00
Total Cost=£4,928.00
And for vSphere Standard:
For the same server configuration, the annual cost for the Standard subscription is:
Total Cost = (2×16) × £57.15
Total Cost=£1,828.80
With these changes, it is worth considering whether VMware remains the best fit for your needs or if exploring alternatives like Nutanix, Hyper-V, or cloud-based infrastructure might be more beneficial. What is your perspective on VMware’s new direction? Are you contemplating a switch or a move to the cloud?
The SAM Club are working proactively with our clients on their VMware renewals to ensure they are kept up to date with any new information to help them with the decision process. Contact us if you would like to know how we can help you manage your software assets.
