Broadcom Sends Cease-and-Desist Letters to VMware Perpetual License Holders

Broadcom has been sending cease-and-desist letters to owners of VMware perpetual licenses pinch expired support contracts, Ars Technica has confirmed.

Following its November 2023 acquisition of VMware, Broadcom ended VMware perpetual licence sales. Users pinch perpetual licenses tin still usage nan package they bought, but they are incapable to renew support services unless they had a preexisting contract enabling them to do so. The arguable move intends to push VMware users to bargain subscriptions to VMware merchandise bundles, pinch associated costs that person accrued by 300 percent or, successful immoderate cases, more.

Some customers person opted to proceed utilizing VMware unsupported, often arsenic they research alternatives, specified arsenic VMware rivals aliases devirtualization.

Over nan past weeks, immoderate users moving VMware unsupported person reported receiving cease-and-desist letters from Broadcom informing them that their statement pinch VMware and, thus, their correct to person support services, has expired. The letter, reviewed by Ars Technica and signed by Broadcom managing head Michael Brown, tells users they are to extremity utilizing immoderate attraction releases/updates, insignificant releases, awesome releases/upgrades extensions, enhancements, patches, bug fixes, aliases information patches, prevention for zero-day information patches, issued since their support statement ended.

The missive tells users that nan implementation of immoderate specified updates “past nan Expiration Date must beryllium instantly removed/deinstalled," adding: “Any specified usage of Support past nan Expiration Date constitutes a worldly breach of nan Agreement pinch VMware and an infringement of VMware’s intelligence spot rights, perchance resulting successful claims for enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees.”

Some customers of Members IT Group, a managed services supplier successful Canada, person received this letter, contempt not receiving VMware updates since their support contracts expired, CTO Dean Colpitts told Ars. One customer, he said, received a missive six days aft their support statement expired.

Similarly, users online person reported receiving cease-and-desist letters moreover though they haven't issued updates since losing VMware support. One personification connected Spiceworks’ organization forum reported receiving specified a missive moreover though they migrated disconnected of VMware and to Proxmox.

Some users who reported receiving a missive from Broadcom said they ended up getting ineligible teams involved. Ars has besides seen disorder online, pinch immoderate group reasoning that nan missive intends Broadcom perceives that they've surgery their statement pinch VMware. However, it seems that Broadcom is sending these letters to companies soon aft their support contracts person expired, sloppy of whether they proceed to usage (or not use) VMware.

Broadcom didn't respond to a petition for comment.

Broadcom Warns of Potential Audits

The cease-and-desist letters besides show recipients that they could beryllium taxable to auditing: “Failure to comply pinch [post-expiration reporting] requirements whitethorn consequence successful a breach of nan Agreement by Customer[,] and VMware whitethorn workout its correct to audit Customer arsenic good arsenic immoderate different disposable contractual aliases ineligible remedy.”

In response, Colpitts told Ars:

"The 1 point that does benignant of piss maine disconnected is nan truth that Broadcom retains nan correct to still execute audits whenever they choose. But ... that's utter BS anyways. If a customer wanted to hide stuff, it could easy beryllium done (disclaimer: I person ne'er done this, but since it's each self-reporting successful clear matter pinch nary information checksums aliases thing to observe tampering, it would beryllium easy to do)."

Since Broadcom ended VMware's perpetual licenses and accrued pricing, galore users and transmission partners, particularly small- to medium-size companies, person had to trim aliases extremity business pinch VMware. Most of Members IT Group’s VMware customer guidelines is now moving VMware unsupported. The managed services provider's biggest interest location is ensuring that unit don't accidentally use patches to customers, Colpitts noted.

In caller months, Broadcom has sought to rein successful imaginable usage of VMware products that it considers unwarranted. For example, it engaged successful a since-resolved legal conflict pinch AT&T complete nan telecom’s correct to renew support services and has accused Siemens of pirating VMware software.

Broadcom’s changes to really VMware is distributed person resulted successful various firms ditching VMware and doubting Broadcom's attraction for customers. While Broadcom’s financial success since acquiring VMware suggests that its business scheme will stay steadfast, sending cease-and-desist letters to VMware users risks further harming its estimation pinch existent and erstwhile customers.

This communicative primitively appeared on Ars Technica.