A new survey of VMware customers reveals a strong desire to maximise the value of perpetual licenses. A Rimini Street report, Insights and Strategies on VMware: Navigating the Evolving Hypervisor Market, found 79% of respondents were satisfied with their VMware software, and most would continue using their perpetual licenses if support were available.
The Rimini Street-sponsored research was conducted in the third quarter 2024 canvassing 110 plus VMware customers. The research explored how they are navigating changes in pricing structure and new subscription bundling since Broadcom’s acquisition of the hypervisor provider.
The analysis of the data revealed that nearly all VMware customers surveyed are proactively seeking paths to take control of their VMware roadmap, focusing on opportunities to lower cost, buy more time, and bring greater stability to their organisation amidst changes in the hypervisor market.
The majority of survey respondents (79%) stated their current perpetually licensed VMware software meets their business needs. With VMware customers being compelled to give up their perpetual licenses and switch to a subscription model, along with changes in how products are bundled, the resulting significant price increases for many customers has led to organisations seeking alternative hypervisors.
However, the survey results also indicate 99% of the respondents would consider continuing to utilise current perpetually licensed software if they could acquire support.
Given these dynamics, customers are motivated to seek VMware alternatives over time. Ninety-six percent of survey respondents stated they see value in roadmap services to help assess VMware alternatives. In fact, 98% of respondents are already using, planning to use or considering alternatives for at least a part of their VMware estate. With growing concerns around market uncertainty and Broadcom policies, 92% of those surveyed anticipate additional VMware price increases within the next 12-18 months.
“Giving up control over perpetual licenses due to forced vendor subscription models is like turning in keys to your paid-off home to rent the same house from a landlord,” said Rimini Custom VP Rodney Kenyon. “The results of this survey highlight that while VMware customers are happy with their software, they are concerned with price increases and changes in licensing, and are seeking alternative strategies.”
“Rimini Street has helped thousands of organisations around the world extend the life and value of their current enterprise software releases, including VMware,” he added. “For organisations that prefer to maintain their existing VMware environment rather than pursue an alternative solution, third-party support offers a powerful option.”
Seventy-one percent of respondents identify cloud-native solutions as the top influence on the hypervisor market, with 70% of respondents citing AI as a major impact. The hypervisor landscape is undergoing a transformation, led by new cloud-native technologies, AI innovations and new computing options. With notable changes coming to market in the next few years, perpetual licensees have greater incentive to keep running their systems longer as they explore new solutions to meet their evolving needs.
You can read the full report here.
