Broadcom has been dragged to the European Commission for allegedly strangling smaller cloud providers who built their businesses on VMware.
A lobbying trade body for smaller cloud providers wants interim measures that block Broadcom from terminating the VMware Cloud Service Provider programme, calling it a death sentence for some suppliers and an illegal squeeze on customer choice.
Broadcom shuttered the scheme, and sources reckon it hits hundreds of cloud service providers across Europe while narrowing options for enterprises buying VMware software and services.
The Cloud Infrastructure Service Provider in Europe trade group, CISPE, which represents nearly 50 tech suppliers, filed a complaint today with the Commission’s Directorates-General, accusing Broadcom of bully-boy tactics.
It wants authorities to halt what it calls “ongoing abuse” as the VCSP programme is wound down and access to VMware subscriptions is tightened.
CISPE, Secretary General Francisco Mingorance, said: “Businesses, both cloud providers and their customers, are being irreparably damaged by Broadcom’s unfair actions, which we believe are illegal.”
“After imposing outrageous and unjustified price hikes immediately following the acquisition of VMware, Broadcom is now applying the ‘coup de grace’. We need urgent intervention to force them to change. The only way to stop bullies is to stand up to them.”
CISPE claims that since Broadcom completed its $69 billion takeover of VMware in October 2023, prices have risen tenfold, payment is demanded upfront, and products are bundled regardless of customer need.
It says minimum commitments are being set on potential rather than actual consumption, which can turn a service contract into a nasty bit of gambling.
The VCSP programme officially closed in January, and transactions must be completed by 31 March, after which only a select group of suppliers can sell VMware subscriptions.
Across Europe, that reportedly means hundreds of businesses lose authorisation, and some whose operations were built around VMware face handing customers to a rival or paying for a painful migration.
Broadcom hit back with a statement: “Broadcom strongly disagrees with the allegations by CISPE, an organisation funded by hyperscalers, which misrepresent the realities of the market. We continue to be committed to investing significantly in our European VMware Cloud Service Provider partners… helping them offer alternatives to the hyperscalers and meet the evolving needs of European businesses and organisations.”
