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   From: dumped@broadcom.com   
      
   Companies have been discussing migrating off of VMware since Broadcom’s   
   takeover a year ago led to higher costs and other controversial changes.   
   Now we have an inside look at one of the larger customers that recently   
   made the move.   
      
   According to a report from The Register today, Beeks Group, a cloud   
   operator headquartered in the United Kingdom, has moved most of its   
   20,000-plus virtual machines (VMs) off VMware and to OpenNebula, an open   
   source cloud and edge computing platform. Beeks Group sells virtual   
   private servers and bare metal servers to financial service providers. It   
   still has some VMware VMs, but “the majority” of its machines are   
   currently on OpenNebula, The Register reported.   
      
   Beeks’ head of production management, Matthew Cretney, said that one of   
   the reasons for Beeks' migration was a VMware bill for “10 times the sum   
   it previously paid for software licenses,” per The Register.   
      
   According to Beeks, OpenNebula has enabled the company to dedicate more of   
   its 3,000 bare metal server fleet to client loads instead of to VM   
   management, as it had to with VMware. With OpenNebula purportedly   
   requiring less management overhead, Beeks is reporting a 200 percent   
   increase in VM efficiency since it now has more VMs on each server.   
      
   Beeks also pointed to customers viewing VMware as non-essential and a   
   decline in VMware support services and innovation as drivers for it   
   migrating from VMware.   
      
   Broadcom didn't respond to Ars Technica's request for comment.   
      
   Broadcom loses VMware customers   
   Broadcom will likely continue seeing some of VMware's older customers   
   decrease or abandon reliance on VMware offerings. But Broadcom has   
   emphasized the financial success it has seen (PDF) from its VMware   
   acquisition, suggesting that it will continue with its strategy even at   
   the risk of losing some business.   
      
   Beeks is just one company that has moved away from Broadcom's VMware. But   
   its story underscores the ongoing challenges Broadcom has in pacifying   
   customers who have felt disrupted by the changes it has implemented.   
      
   Ignacio Llorente, CEO at OpenNebula Systems, told Ars that "several   
   relevant organizations" are moving from VMware to OpenNebula but that he   
   couldn't disclose specifics. He added:   
      
   In our experience, recent price increases have prompted these companies to   
   explore alternative solutions. At its core, this is a matter of trust—many   
   organizations feel they can no longer rely on VMware or other vendors that   
   distribute proprietary components.   
      
   Like Beeks, other VMware customers have claimed costs for working with   
   VMware skyrocketed due to Broadcom ending perpetual license sales (a move   
   Broadcom has claimed was planned before Broadcom bought VMware) and   
   combining VMware's previously bountiful SKUs into a small number of   
   bundles. Ars spoke to numerous customers who have said that their VMware   
   costs increased 300 percent under Broadcom.   
      
   Similarly to Beeks, AT&T previously claimed that Broadcom proposed new   
   pricing that would have resulted in AT&T’s VMware costs increasing by   
   1,050 percent. AT&T sued Broadcom for not renewing perpetual license   
   support, but the companies have since settled.   
      
   Broadcom sought to appease small- and medium-sized businesses with a new,   
   more SMB-friendly subscription tier announced last month. The move came   
   amid concerns that Broadcom was primarily interested in enterprise-size   
   customers for VMware and was overlooking the needs of smaller firms. But   
   Broadcom’s changes have already pushed many customers to research   
   alternatives to VMware, including rivals like OpenNebula.   
      
   And with customers struggling to juggle new, higher costs associated with   
   using and selling VMware, we can expect more companies to find ways to   
   decrease dependence on VMware, just as Beeks has.   
      
   https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/12/company-claims-   
   1000-percent-price-hike-drove-it-from-vmware-to-open-source-rival/   
      
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