VMWare: Are the wheels coming off the ‘go to’ brand for Business?

We all have brands that we trust – and it’s no different for businesses and the IT providers they choose.

At one time VMWare was the Mercedes of cloud computing and virtualization technology. Back in the early days of computer technology, most IT managers trusted the saying that ‘no one ever got fired for choosing IBM’, and many of the generation that followed felt the same about VMWare. It was the simple, safe, ‘no brainer’ choice. But all that could be changing.

Just as Mercedes owners who bought a classic car decades ago are now facing mounting costs to keep it on the road, VMWare bills are also getting bigger for many customers.

You only have to dip into social media or visit IT expos to hear gripes about VMWare, and the complaints have grown in the recent months. A common complaint is unexpected price hikes announced only a few weeks before some customers were due to renew their licences which has caused budget and cash flow problems for businesses in this situation.

What’s changed?

A turning point that’s been highlighted by many in the industry is VMWare being acquired by Broadcom in November 2023. Changes implemented under the new ownership – including licence fee increases – sparked more complaints about costs, and in April this year Broadcom attracted the attention of EU antitrust regulators (never a good sign for any brand) regarding VMWare’s licensing changes.

In non-EU jurisdictions – including the UK and Isle of Man – there are similar concerns. Computer Weekly (widely respected as a trusted IT news source, not least because of its series of exclusive reports which ultimately led to the UK Post Office/Horizon scandal being exposed) recently reported about how VMWare’s price hikes are affecting some UK education authorities. The report says one charitable education trust in London is now facing a 260% (no, that’s not a misprint – 260%!) increase and was only informed about the massive hike SIX WEEKS before the licence renewal date. If you think that’s bad, back in January ITAM Review reported that some customers had reported hikes of 1200%!

?In response to this wave of negative customer feedback and media coverage, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan issued this statement in which he said that the company is listening and had plans in place to address customer concerns.

Time will tell whether this move will pacify those who may be thinking of switching providers – but it’s clear that for some it may be too little, too late. It’s easy to find posts on social media about business owners and IT managers saying they will be ditching VMWare as soon as their current agreement expires. Its status as the ‘go to’ brand looks to be in doubt, not only due to its current challenges but because more and more customers are realising that there are much better alternatives out there.

Our solution: All of the features, none of the fuss

We offer a solution that has all the features of VMWare – but with the added advantages that it’s more flexible and scalable, while also being more cost-effective. Crucially for many ex-VMWare customers, we offer much more certainty about future costs.

Underpinning all of these USPs are a team of highly-qualified professionals who work to the highest industry standards (Domicilium’s accreditations include ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems and ISO 27001 Information Security Management certification), and our secure, resilient, and environmentally friendly data centre.

Our customers also benefit from the peace of mind which comes from knowing we have more than 30 years’ experience behind us, and the knowledge that we are trusted by clients operating in the world’s most demanding industries (including iGaming where downtime is simply never an option).

Why clients choose us

Clients who have migrated to us from VMWare have done so because we offer a solution which has feature parity with VMWare, but with the added advantage that it can also be tailored to meet their specific needs.

We understand concerns about migration potentially being challenging, but we have the know-how and experience to make sure it goes smoothly. Unlike some of our competitors, our ethos is all about systems evolving, not simply replacing one system for another. When it comes to ongoing support, our solution is built to last – but we balance this with the need to address the understandable concerns that all businesses have about vendor lock-in.

All of this explains why many VMWare customers are turning to us to provide the ideal combination of technical excellence, value, billing transparency, and customer support which they are looking for. In short, they’re choosing Domicilium because we’re big enough to deliver world-class solutions and service, and small enough to care about their unique needs.

We know it’s never an easy decision to switch from your current big brand provider but – as many of our customers have done already – you can trust us to make it a smooth and hassle-free process. In our experience, those who have made this decision have no regrets – apart from wishing they had done it sooner!

Visit: https://www.domicilium.com/ today for more information.