Cloud Infrastructure Month

VMware reboots its partner program again – and it looks like smaller players are out

Second major change in 18 months will be most unwelcome for many - as will critical flaws announced today

EXCLUSIVE VMware has advised partners its current channel program will end, and it seems that smaller players won’t be invited back.

Australian IT service provider Interactive outlined the changes on Wednesday in a post that explained the changes with the following five points:

• Partner Reduction: The new program significantly reduces the number of authorised partners, being a by-invitation-only program. As a result on July 15, 2025 VCSP partners who are not invited to participate in the new Program for VCSP partners will be sent a notice of non-renewal.
• Transition Period Until 31 October, 2025: Non-invited partners can continue to transact until 31 October 2025. After that date, they may only service existing VCSP commitment contracts for the remainder of the current term. No new commitment contracts or renewals will be accepted for those partners.
• White Label Program Ending: Broadcom is also sunsetting the White Label model on 31 October 2025. The same transitional commercial conditions apply to White Label contracts as stated above.
• Immediate Impact: Departing partners are encouraged to work with authorised VCSP partners to ensure a smooth transition for customers who seek to renew a service at the end of their current term.
• Shift Toward Hyperscale Private Compute: Broadcom is reshaping its vision for private compute, whereby VMware Cloud Foundation 9 underpins a small number [of] hyperscale private cloud platforms in each region. A future where customers buy managed infrastructure from partners like Interactive to support their compute requirements.

Interactive also warned that customers whose partners are no longer part of the partner program could expect the change to effect:

• Your ability to renew licenses through your existing partner
• The support and service quality you’ve come to expect
• Potential delays or confusion during upcoming renewals or service requests
• Potential cost increases as partner consolidation may led additional costs for migration and re-onboarding, and reduced bundling options that previously allowed for greater cost efficiencies

The Register shared the above with VMware which did not dispute the contents and responded with the following statement:

VMware also told us that “Non-renewing partners can continue to support their existing customers until the end of their current commit contract term including co-termed capacity orders. Non-renewing partners are encouraged to work with authorized VCSP partners to ensure a smooth transition for customers who seek to renew a service at the end of their current term.”

This is the second major shakeup for VMware partners in eighteen months, after the Broadcom business unit’s January 2024 decision to terminate members that operated VMware-powered clouds that ran on fewer than 3,500 processor cores.

That change caused great unease. Axed service providers could not secure licenses to run VMware-powered clouds, leaving them with hardware they could not legally use for its intended purpose. Customers of axed partners faced forced migrations.

VMware responded to community concerns by creating a “white label program” that allowed small cloud operators – now known as “secondary partners” – to acquire licenses from the “primary partner” that remained in its channel.

The white label program will soon be history, meaning many VMware users will need to find a new home.

The Register understands that Broadcom’s changes mean some mid-size partners won’t be invited to the new program.

One such provider, Aussie Broadband, would not confirm to The Register that Broadcom has been invited into the new program.

“Aussie Broadband is aware of Broadcom’s announced changes to its Cloud Partner Program and can confirm that customers will see no impact to their continuity of service in the immediate term,” the company said by email. “We are continuing to review alternative long-term solutions, and will communicate any changes or impacts to our customers once more information is available.”

+COMMENT Justifiable anger and fear

Enterprise software buyers and channel players value vendors which offer consistency, predictability, and stability.

The VMware ecosystem now has good reason to fear Broadcom is capricious, because just last March the company hailed its revised partner program as ideal for customers and partners alike.

By changing its partner program twice within 18 months, Broadcom will therefore anger and disappoint many customers by forcing them to make a costly and complex cloud migration.

Partners that made the cut a year ago and have now been ejected will likely be furious – and with good cause because they will have invested in VMware practices that may soon be dust.

Broadcom always insists its decisions benefit its customers and recently celebrated Dutch bank ING going all-in on its public cloud vision as an example of how a large corporate sees value in its approach.

But The Register consistently hears that many VMware customers plan to quit the vStack, even if doing so means buying time by subscribing to Broadcom software they’ll never use. VMware pros tell us they’re developing skills in different fields.

Broadcom points to growing VMware revenue as evidence its approach is working.

Acquisitions are seldom quick or clean. While Broadcom can point to improved software and product development prowess, this one has been painful for VMware customers who surely now deserve a period of calm and predictability, even if that's not the best outcome for Broadcom shareholders. ®