Broadcom/VMware: Beltug brings business users’ concerns to the EC

DG Comp recently invited Beltug to share the experiences and concerns of Belgian business users regarding Broadcom/VMware practices. The Commission was particularly interested in understanding the impact of:

• the unilaterally ended right of enterprises and public bodies to bring their own licence (BYOL) to the hosting provider of their choice
• the termination of the VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) and White Label programmes

Before meeting with DG COMP on 23 July 2026, Beltug gathered feedback from around 20 organisations across a broad range of sectors, including healthcare, banking, insurance, education, government, payroll services and critical infrastructure. Beltug consolidated this feedback in a report for DG COMP that can be downloaded, above.

While few to none of the end users explicitly referred to BYOL restrictions or the termination of the VCSP and White Label programmes, this does not reflect a lack of concern but instead a lack of visibility into licensing and provider ecosystem changes. Many organisations remain protected by contracts signed before the Broadcom changes and may only fully experience the consequences at renewal.

The findings showed that:

• Virtualisation remains a critical dependency factor: While many organisations are actively evaluating alternatives, VMware is still widely viewed as offering a mature ecosystem, strong functionality and broad support capabilities.
• Customers are buying time: Several organisations reported that they are extending contracts, using this time to explore longer-term options and reduce dependency where possible. This suggests that some of the most significant market effects may only become visible as existing contracts reach renewal.
• Vendor lock-in remains the dominant concern: Migration is theoretically possible but operationally complex, risky and expensive. The challenge is often not the absence of alternatives, but the cost, effort and business risk associated with moving away from an established platform.
• There are significant pricing concerns: Members have reported substantial price increases following Broadcom’s changes, which have already triggered optimisation initiatives and migration programmes. Respondents highlighted that the financial impact is significant enough to require Board-level discussions and may influence investment decisions in other strategic initiatives.

Our warm thanks to the members who participated in this consultation! Their willingness to take part at short notice during the summer period highlights how problematic the Broadcom/VMware situation is for many organisations.