As expected, Broadcom is starting the formal termination of collaborations with the broad European partner network.
Broadcom is starting to phase out its Advantage Partner program for VMware Cloud Service Providers (VCSPs). Hundreds of European parties are affected by the decision, including partners who have been working with VMware for more than a decade.
However, the decimation of the partner program does not come as a surprise: Broadcom has been moving in this direction since 2024. In the US, there are barely nineteen partners left, whereas before Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, there were more than a thousand. Now it is Europe’s turn.
Deadlines
The Register was able to view an email with more details. In it, VMware formally announces that the Broadcom Advantage Partner Program for VMware Cloud Service Providers is being discontinued. No VCSP partner contracts will be renewed after the expired deadline of January 26, 2026.
read also
Broadcom Continues its Vendetta against Smaller VMware Partners (and Customers)
VCSPs may still conclude contracts, as long as they do not exceed the current contract term between Broadcom and the VCSP itself. Broadcom advises partners in the program to complete any sales in the pipeline before March 31, 2026.
For European cloud service providers, the decision is a heavy blow. They have to look for alternatives to offer their customers. Those customers, in turn, are also forced into a corner. Either they try to migrate to an alternative together with their partner of many years, or they have to turn to one of a handful of chosen partners that will remain in the near future. There, they often face new bundles of products and changed licensing conditions that significantly increase the prices of an existing VMware environment.
Simplification
Broadcom itself speaks of a simplification in the market. The company has not yet announced how many VCSPs have been chosen to remain. In a tone-deaf reaction, Broadcom says it wants to work more focused and deeply with VCSPs who have ‘demonstrated a commitment to their cloud services built on VMWare’. This explanation will undoubtedly come as a blow to the many small European parties that have been loyal partners of VMware for ten or fifteen years, and are now being sidelined.
read also
CISPE Challenges EU Court’s Approval of Broadcom’s Acquisition of VMware
Broadcom, for its part, states that the plan will offer more value, stronger execution and a more streamlined experience for Broadcom customers. Broadcom invites partners who are being sidelined to contact the chosen partners to transfer their customers. That suggestion apparently does not count on a lot of enthusiasm.
CISPE requests annulment
CISPE, which, among other things, defends the interests of VCSPs in Europe, has been asking for the approval for the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom to be reviewed for some time. The legal claim is based on the fact that the European Commission did acknowledge at the time that the acquisition would entail market risks, but did not impose any mitigating conditions.