VMware has decided to allow three years between new versions of Cloud Foundation.
VMware has announced that it will take three years between major new versions of its Cloud Foundation suite. At the same time, the support term is extended from five to six years. According to VMware, this is “based on customer feedback”, but analysts mainly see it as a way to cut costs and increase margins.
The Same Number of Updates
A major version of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) will be released every three years, with interim updates every nine months. Customers will receive the same number of updates as usual, but spread over a longer period. Each update will be supported for 27 months, with only the last in a cycle receiving 45 months of support.
According to VMware, this provides more predictability and flexibility for customers. Analysts from The Register believe it is primarily to keep costs low and reap higher profits.
No more Automatic Updates for Desktop
On Thursday, it was also announced that VMware Workstation and Fusion will no longer receive automatic updates. Users will need to manually download and install new versions via the Broadcom Support Portal.
Broadcom also wants to add more functionality to VCF through “supervisor services”. These run directly in the hypervisor core and enable the integration of AI applications or containers without major upgrades.
The new release cycle coincides with Broadcom’s preference for three-year subscriptions, allowing customers to align their purchase cycle with software updates.