Digital Event Horizon
Broadcom has been sending cease-and-desist letters to owners of VMware perpetual licenses with expired support contracts. The move aims to push VMware users to buy subscriptions to VMware products bundled together at increased costs, sparking controversy among customers and industry experts.
Broadcom, parent company of VMware, has been sending cease-and-desist letters to customers who haven't renewed their support contracts. These letters warn users they're no longer entitled to maintenance releases, updates, or patches from VMware. The letters have sparked controversy among VMware users, with many expressing frustration and concern over the sudden shift in Broadcom's approach to customer support. The move aims to push users to buy subscriptions to VMware products at increased costs. VMware perpetual license holders are receiving these cease-and-desist letters from Broadcom. The controversy highlights the complex relationships between tech companies and their customers, as they balance profit with customer expectations.
Broadcom, the parent company of VMware, has been sending cease-and-desist letters to customers who have not renewed their support contracts. The letters, reviewed by Ars Technica, inform users that they are no longer entitled to receive maintenance releases, updates, or patches from VMware.
These letters have sparked controversy among VMware users, many of whom have expressed frustration and concern over the sudden shift in Broadcom's approach to customer support. Some users have reported receiving these letters even though they had not issued any updates since their support contracts expired.
The cease-and-desist letters also warn recipients that failure to comply with post-expiration reporting requirements may result in a breach of agreement and could lead to auditing by VMware and other available contractual or legal remedies. This has raised concerns among small-to-medium-sized companies and channel partners who have had to reduce or end business with VMware.
In recent months, Broadcom has sought to rein in the use of VMware products that it considers unwarranted. For example, it engaged in a since-resolved legal battle with AT&T over the telecom's right to renew support services and accused Siemens of pirating VMware software.
The move aims to push VMware users to buy subscriptions to VMware products bundled together at increased costs. Some customers have opted to continue using VMware unsupported, often as they research alternatives such as VMware rivals or devirtualization.
VMware perpetual license holders receive cease-and-desist letters from Broadcom.
The controversy surrounding these letters has raised questions about Broadcom's business plan and its approach to customer support. While the financial success of VMware since its acquisition by Broadcom suggests that its business plan will remain steadfast, sending cease-and-desist letters to VMware users risks further harming its reputation with current and former customers.
In an interview with Ars Technica, Dean Colpitts, CTO of Members IT Group, a managed services provider in Canada, expressed frustration over the fact that Broadcom retains the right to perform audits whenever it chooses. However, he noted that it is unlikely for a customer to hide something, given the self-reporting nature of the agreement and the lack of security checksums or other measures to detect tampering.
The controversy surrounding these letters highlights the complex relationships between technology companies and their customers. As companies like Broadcom seek to increase revenue through subscription-based models, they must balance the need for profit with the expectations of their customers.
In this case, the cease-and-desist letters have sparked a heated debate among VMware users and industry experts about the implications of Broadcom's actions and the future of customer support in the tech industry.
Related Information:
https://www.digitaleventhorizon.com/articles/Broadcoms-Cease-and-Desist-Letters-A-Controversial-Move-in-VMwares-Post-Acquisition-Era-deh.shtml
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/05/broadcom-sends-cease-and-desist-letters-to-subscription-less-vmware-users/
https://technewsjunkies.com/tech/broadcom-issues-cease-and-desist-notices-to-vmware-users-without-subscriptions/
Published: Wed May 7 17:02:42 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
