By Poorna Rajidi and Jeremy Winkler, VCF Division, Broadcom
Shortly after VMware was acquired by Broadcom, we announced the addition of a new VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) license portability entitlement. This change allows customers to deploy VCF subscriptions, and any associated add-ons, to any compatible endpoint whether that’s in their own data center, a hosting provider, a cloud service provider or hyperscaler cloud environment. What wasn’t readily apparent, and what’s important to understand, is that previously, this was not possible. Under the former VCF public cloud restriction, customers were only able to use and/or deploy VCF on the cloud by purchasing integrated solutions from cloud service providers. This is, in fact, very new, and represents a marked change from the way VCF licensing entitlements used to work.
What we have done is removed restrictions that used to govern where and how you could deploy your VCF software, offering customers unprecedented flexibility and choice. Let’s say that again…Broadcom has removed restrictions on where customers can deploy their VCF software. Today, and moving forward, there are no limitations for your VCF software which is a move that we believe brings even greater value and utility to the VCF platform.
Flexibility, Simplicity and Cost Savings with Enhanced Portability
This new entitlement unleashes flexibility, simplicity and cost savings for customers as follows:
- Software investment protection so that subscriptions to VCF, and associated add-ons, are not rendered obsolete when customers transition from one deployment model to another (e.g., from on-premises to public-cloud endpoints, from one public cloud to another public cloud, or self managed to third party managed).
- Simplicity through a single, consistent VCF software subscription model and pricing applicable to any deployment model of choice, and
- Platform/destination-agnostic private cloud infrastructure software where customers are entitled to the same software innovation, updates/upgrades & support, irrespective of the deployment models (subject to adherence to hardware compatibility requirements)
License Portability with Integrated VCF-based Cloud Solutions
One question that may be on your mind is this: does VCF License Portability apply to the various integrated VCF Cloud Services that exist in the market today? The answer here is a resounding YES, provided the cloud service provider in question has agreed to support License Portability to their environments. Both Google Cloud and Microsoft have already announced intent to support VCF License Portability, and Broadcom has undertaken initiatives to work with a full range of cloud service providers to allow customers the option of using their VCF License Portability entitlements as part of the cloud provider’s fully integrated solution.
One of the driving factors behind this initiative is to enable a consistent and seamless experience from one environment to another. We are fully committed to making VMware Cloud Foundation a private cloud platform that is ubiquitous, flexible and integrated across cloud endpoints. We have gone through great effort to standardize our VCF platform and make the same software stack available everywhere. The partners behind each of these fully integrated managed solutions will be required to self certify that they have conducted testing to ensure consistent customer experience.
Customers intending to use license portability with cloud service providers who offer VCF integrated managed solutions should consult with Broadcom sales representatives for more information. In all License Portability scenarios, customers continue to be the licensee of VCF and will have full control of their licenses and compliance requirements outlined in the VMware Cloud Foundation Specific Program Documentation (SPD).
Applicability & Eligibility
The License Portability entitlement applies to new end user licenses to VCF (version 5.1 or above) purchased after December 13, 2023. It also applies to any VCF add-ons purchased and used with VCF (e.g. vSAN). The entitlement only applies to subscriptions purchased by the end customer directly from Broadcom or an authorized reseller partner. It does not apply to VCF licenses obtained through a cloud service provider, a value-added OEM partner or an embedded software partner. Customers are encouraged to verify that the endpoint they choose is technically capable and using hardware that is certified in the VMware Compatibility Guidelines to run VCF to avoid product performance issues.
Summary
The new License Portability entitlement for VCF and its associated add-ons expands customer options, and enables consistent deployment experience across all environments, enhancing VMware Cloud Foundation’s value proposition as an industry-leading private cloud platform. License Portability empowers customers with more choice as to where they can deploy and run their enterprise workloads and simplifies IT planning, allowing customers to defer or change deployment destination decisions to a time of their choosing without worry when making software purchases. With License Portability, VCF customers gain the comfort of knowing they will have consistent experience across various deployment destinations, helping to accelerate innovation, improve TCO and lower their business risk.
For more information about license portability, reach out to jeremy.winkler@broadcom.com or poorna.rajidi@broadcom.com.
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