● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 neutral
Survey: 90% of VMware Users Exploring Alternatives Due to Licensing Costs
Key points
- 90% of VMware users are exploring alternatives.
- Increased licensing costs are the primary driver for seeking alternatives.
- 73% of participants prioritize cost savings in virtualization decisions.
- Operational complexity and multi-vendor management are significant barriers.
VMware Users Seek Alternatives
Rimini Street's "2026 IT Virtualization Survey" reports that 90% of 300 surveyed organizations worldwide are exploring alternatives to VMware. This trend is largely attributed to higher licensing costs after Broadcom's acquisition of VMware.
Cost Increases and Priorities
Since Broadcom's takeover, some VMware customers have reported cost increases of up to 1,000%, with many seeing hikes between 100% and 300%. The survey highlights that 73% of participants consider cost savings a top priority in their virtualization roadmap decisions. Additionally, 54% cited Broadcom's termination of support for perpetual license holders as a reason to explore alternatives.
Barriers to Transition
Organizations exploring virtualization options face several challenges. The most frequently cited barriers include operational complexity (40% of respondents), multi-vendor management challenges (38%), securing the increased attack surface (37%), and team skills requirements (37%).
Survey Context
Rimini Street, a third-party support provider for software like VMware, Oracle, and SAP, published the survey. While Rimini Street has an incentive to highlight challenges for VMware users, the survey was conducted by Unisphere Research, and its findings align with other recent reports regarding VMware customers.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
The daily brief
One email each morning: the day's tech stories, clustered across outlets and summarized. No account needed.
One email a day. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Today's brief
Spend a few minutes, get the whole day. Every topic's top stories in one hands-free rundown — listen, watch, or read the transcript.
▶ Play today's brief
New every morning, and the back catalogue is archived by date.
Reporting from
A survey by Rimini Street found that 90% of VMware users are exploring alternatives, primarily driven by increased licensing costs following Broadcom's acquisition. The survey indicates that cost savings are a top priority for organizations re-evaluating their virtualization strategies.