The news
Most VMware customers are weighing alternatives because of rising licensing bills, according to a survey that third-party support provider Rimini Street (RMNI) released on October 6, 2026. The study, run by Unisphere Research, found that 90% of respondents were considering VMware alternatives because of higher licensing costs.
The survey covered 269 executives, managers and professionals at VMware user organizations and was conducted between December 2025 and February 2026, according to Rimini Street. Because the sponsor sells support services to companies leaving vendor-run maintenance, its findings are best read as a directional signal rather than a neutral market census.
Beyond cost, 54% of respondents said the end of support for perpetual licenses was a reason to look elsewhere, and 73% named cost savings as a top priority in virtualization decisions. Some 60% were considering running more than one hypervisor, the software layer that lets one server host many virtual machines, and 48% said they had no plans to move assets to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), Broadcom's bundled private cloud platform.
Moving is not simple. Respondents cited operational complexity (40%), managing multiple vendors (38%), securing a larger attack surface (37%) and team skills (37%) as barriers, Rimini Street said. Two-thirds (66%) said they were using or considering third-party support.
Separately, The Register reported on October 8 that IBM (IBM) is offloading hundreds of its VMware cloud customers to 11:11 Systems, a Broadcom partner. According to the outlet, IBM lost VMware resale rights in October 2025 when Broadcom (AVGO) narrowed its partner program, and non-partners face a March 2027 deadline to stop running VMware clouds. IBM did not respond to The Register's questions.
Brett Diamond, chief executive of 11:11 Systems, told The Register that the customers run VCF versions 7 and 8 and that his company plans to move them to VCF 9 before support for version 8 ends. The outlet said this is 11:11's eighth acquisition of a VMware service provider.
The numbers
- Respondents considering alternatives over licensing costs
- 90%
- Survey sample
- 269 respondents
- Considering a multi-hypervisor strategy
- 60%
- No plans to move assets to VCF
- 48%
- Using or considering third-party support
- 66%
- Deadline for non-partner VMware clouds (per The Register)
- March 2027
Why CEOs should care
For CIOs, the two stories point in the same direction: VMware decisions are being forced by contracts and deadlines, not by technology roadmaps. Customers hosted on IBM's VMware cloud should confirm in writing who now operates their environment, what service levels and prices carry over, and whether a move to VCF 9 is required and on what timetable.
CFOs should treat virtualization as a multi-year budget line rather than a one-off renewal. The survey's barrier data, especially complexity and skills, suggests migrations take longer and cost more than the licensing savings alone imply. Finance teams should model three paths side by side: staying on VCF, moving to another hypervisor or public cloud, and a mixed approach, including the cost of retraining staff and running two platforms during the transition.
CISOs have a stake too. More than a third of respondents worried about a larger attack surface when running several platforms. Any multi-hypervisor plan needs consistent patching, monitoring and identity controls across every environment before workloads move, not after.
The bigger picture
Broadcom's VMware strategy has favored fewer, larger customers and partners, and the market is reorganizing around it. Hosting providers that qualify as Broadcom partners, such as 11:11 Systems, are absorbing customers from those that do not, while rivals and third-party support firms court users who want to leave.
The Register noted that Gartner predicted in September 2026 that 55% of enterprises would begin proof-of-concept tests of alternatives by 2029, and that Tesco announced plans in June 2026 to replace VMware. Broadcom told the outlet it was working to provide more choice and address customers' most complex challenges.
What’s next
The March 2027 cutoff for non-partner VMware clouds and the end of VCF 8 support will push more hosted customers into decisions over the next year. Watch for further provider consolidation, Broadcom's next pricing moves and whether large enterprises turn survey intentions into completed migrations.
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