The VMware Countdown: What MSPs & Resellers Need to Know

Time is running out for VMware partners. Major changes are underway that will permanently transform how you sell, deploy and profit from VMware solutions. Are you prepared for what’s coming?

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No New customer business! White label resell is to existing customers only.

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April 2027 marks the point where your customer relationship moves, from your platform to someone else's, regardless!

We have an answer to a problem we all share and would welcome a discussion. Interested?

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The Impact Is Already Being Felt

Broadcom's acquisition of VMware wasn't just a change in ownership—it's a complete transformation of the partner ecosystem. Understanding what's already happened and what's coming is critical for survival.

A Timeline of Disruption

Early 2024

VCPP programme scrapped, forcing smaller MSPs into tighter programmes with little notice and mandatory 3-year commitments.

Mid 2024

Licensing collapsed into subscriptions, reducing flexibility whilst shifting costs up-front and creating messy renewals.

July 2025

VCSP becomes invite-only. Partners not invited will see their VMware revenue line enter run-off mode.

October 31, 2025

White-label route ends completely. This partner route to market will disappear.

November 1, 2025

"No new customers" rule takes effect. Your pipeline closes—only existing contracts can be supported.

April 2, 2027

Whatever arrangement you were forced into in 24, by working through one of the selected few comes to an end. You need to pass your customers over to an Authorised VMware Cloud Service Provider to be moved to their cloud. In effect handing over your customer and revenue for a cut.

For many MSPs and resellers, these changes mean the clock is already ticking on your VMware business model.

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Operational Tripwires Creating Hidden Costs

The result? An increased administrative burden and unpredictable costs that erode already tight margins. For smaller MSPs especially, these operational challenges compound the strategic disruption.

Compliance Reports

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New reporting requirements demand more time and resources from your team, with penalties for non-compliance. Each report requires detailed documentation that many smaller MSPs simply don't have the staff to handle.

Usage Meter Upgrades

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Mandatory upgrades to usage tracking systems mean unexpected downtime and integration challenges. These aren't optional—they're required by you now that you have to deal through a partner.

Narrowed Hosting Rights

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Restrictions on where and how you can host VMware solutions limit your ability to optimise infrastructure for cost and performance. This directly impacts your margins.

Per-Core Licensing Rules

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New licensing models have made cost predictability nearly impossible, turning fixed-cost services into variable expenses that can't easily be passed to customers under existing contracts.

The "Fewer" Partner Strategy

The new VMWare is deliberately consolidating its partner ecosystem, focusing on fewer, larger partners, forcing everyone else to deal through them. This strategy explicitly excludes smaller MSPs and regional players that have historically been the backbone of VMware's reach.

After October 31, 2025

VCSP Invited Partners

Invitation only programme members

Existing Partners (No Invitation)

Current partners without future pathway

Former VCPP Partners (Now Excluded)

Previously included, now completely excluded

Very Select Few Authorised Partners

A select few in control of your customers on their cloud is expected to cause bottleneck and disruption

What This Means for Your Business, if you don't have a viable alternative.

For Uninvited Partners

From 27 you will need to hand your customers over to the selected partners to use the VMware cloud

Your VMware revenue becomes a declining asset

No new customer acquisition after Nov 2025

Existing customers will face migration pressure

Staff with VMware expertise become less valuable

Even Through Invited Partners

New contractual terms likely less favourable; you will have to accept them

Higher revenue commitments

Reduced margins (see above)

Increased operational overhead (see above)

Loss of direct customer relationship

The message is stark: you need an exit strategy from VMware dependency — and you need it now. Working through an invited partner does not mean business as usual — it means adapting to a fundamentally different relationship, with heightened cost and churn risks.

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Your Migration Options

Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has fundamentally reshaped how MSPs deliver, price, and sustain virtualisation services. This isn’t just a licensing change — it’s a structural shift in how providers manage control, cost, and customer ownership.

There’s no single right answer — but there are three credible paths forward.Each carries trade-offs between speed, independence, and commercial sustainability.

At DataVita, we’ve lived through this transition — designing, testing, and running an alternative ecosystem in production. Here’s what we’ve learned.

Option 1 – Move to Public Cloud 

Shift workloads to AWS, Azure, or GCP

Migrating to hyperscale cloud can simplify operations and remove the burden of managing physical infrastructure.

However, for most MSPs, public-cloud economics and governance become complex quickly. What begins as simplicity often turns into challenges around workload visibility, pricing intricacy, and compliance overhead.

Option 2 – Build an Alternative Virtualisation Stack

Explore platforms such as Proxmox, Nutanix, OpenStack, OpenNebula, or Harvester

These platforms give MSPs a route to regain control, protect margin, and extend hardware life.

 But replacing VMware isn’t just a hypervisor project — it’s an ecosystem rebuild that must preserve continuity, interoperability, and customer confidence.

Option 3 – Move Under a VCSP-Invited Provider 

Operate within Broadcom’s approved partner ecosystem

For some, joining a Broadcom-approved VCSP partner offers short-term continuity and access to the new licensing model.

 It’s the quickest way to stabilise service delivery — but it often means losing commercial control and operating inside a closed ecosystem. 

What We’ve Learned

Our Perspective

We’ve already travelled this path. 

Over the past 12 months, DataVita has engineered and productionised an alternative virtualisation stack that maintains compatibility, backup continuity, and customer control — enabling migration at scale without service interruption.

Our goal isn’t to sell a platform, but to help other MSPs navigate this transition with clarity, technical assurance, and commercial independence.

If you’re assessing your strategy — exploring alternative platforms, evaluating VMware dependency, or proving parity before migration — we’re happy to share what we’ve learned or discuss partnership and white-label opportunities.

We’ve built, tested, and proven the alternative — and we’re happy to share what we’ve learned.

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