FINAL WORD

Since Broadcom’ s acquisition of VMware, the company has undergone changes, switching their licensing scheme to a subscription-based model.

At the same time, we have seen the changes brought about by VMware’ s acquisition leave Edge customers in need of a new solution. Diminishing options have left IT leaders in the lurch, however hyperconverged infrastructure, hyperconverged infrastructure may be able to remedy their Edge computing woes.

Enterprise IT as we know it is currently undergoing a transformation, as companies begin to embrace the benefits of hyperconverged infrastructure. In turn, the doors are open for channel partners to take advantage of the current chaos and build their expertise in the latest solutions that can solve their customers’ dilemmas.

With its wide array of computing solutions, VMware dominated the market as the go to, for IT infrastructure on the Edge. However, since Broadcom’ s acquisition of VMware in November 2023, the company has undergone huge changes, switching their licensing scheme to a subscriptionbased model.

Previously, customers could purchase perpetual licenses which would allow them to use VMware with a one-time payment, but the new subscriptionbased model requires ongoing payments tied to complicated packages containing applications and features that most businesses simply do not need at the Edge.

This update has increased costs and priced out a large proportion of their customers, leaving VMware loyalists exploring alternative IT solutions that offer more flexible pricing models with comparable capabilities.

While the VMware fiasco continues, we have also seen a shift in attitudes towards cloud computing. In more use cases, cloud computing is unable to fulfil Edge needs and even with extensive innovations in technology, it is not always the ideal solution for Edge customers.

A lack of both reliability and low latency calls into question the often-costly expense of deploying cloud solutions. Cloud can be unpredictable for Edge businesses due to connectivity issues and the fact that clouds sometimes suffer complete outages.

These in turn could potentially disrupt real-time operations, simultaneously reduce responsiveness while risk service outages in remote locations. Low latency is crucial for businesses operating on the Edge, yet often the cloud is unable to sufficiently deliver due to the massive volumes of time-sensitive data that must be processed in real time to meet operational needs.

Together, these two trends squeeze Edge strategies from both sides. Cloud is frequently no longer viable for on-site workloads at the Edge while VMware is becoming more expensive and harder to manage. IT leaders are now looking for new infrastructure solutions that meet the needs of Edge computing including processing data locally on-site and avoiding cloud dependency, without carrying the costly VMware-style licensing.

As the market churns, channel partners have an opportunity to capitalise on this. With the influx of companies seeking alternatives, channel partners are wellplaced to provide the answers and offer their customers IT infrastructure that will fulfil Edge computing requirements in a costeffective manner, encouraging VMware’ s dissatisfied customers to make a change.

INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS 69