VMware Perpetual Licence Rights: What You Still Own After Broadcom

What a Perpetual Licence Actually Means

A perpetual software licence grants the licensee the permanent right to use the specific version of software covered by the licence. It is not a rental. It is not a subscription. It is an outright purchase of the right to run that software, indefinitely, under the terms of the original licence agreement.

This is a crucial distinction in the context of Broadcom's VMware acquisition. When Broadcom eliminated new perpetual VMware licence sales in December 2023, it changed only what future customers can purchase. It did not — and legally cannot — retroactively alter the rights of existing perpetual licence holders.

What Perpetual VMware Licence Holders Actually Own

The precise rights granted by a perpetual VMware licence depend on the licence agreement version applicable at purchase, but all VMware perpetual licences include the following core rights:

• Right to run the licensed version — The software version covered by your licence can be run indefinitely, on the infrastructure covered by that licence.
• Right to install on qualifying hardware — You may install the software on hardware that meets the licence terms (typically the number of CPU sockets covered by your licence).
• Right to create backups — You may create copies of the software for backup and recovery purposes.
• Right to run in production — Production use is permitted without time restriction.
• Right to choose your support provider — Your licence agreement covers the software; the support contract is a separate commercial agreement. You are not required to purchase support from VMware/Broadcom.

What perpetual licences do not include: the right to upgrades or new versions (this requires a current support contract or a new licence), access to VMware's support resources, or any entitlement to future software features.

The Critical Distinction: Licence Rights vs. Support Rights

This is where many enterprises misunderstand their position. There are two entirely separate contracts at play:

This separation is the commercial foundation of third-party VMware support. Your perpetual licence is yours. Your support contract is a separate, annual commercial decision. You can switch support providers without affecting your licence rights.

How Broadcom Is Pressuring Perpetual Holders

Broadcom's commercial approach toward perpetual licence holders is deliberately designed to create urgency and obscure the distinction between licence rights and support rights. Understanding these tactics is essential to resisting inappropriate commercial pressure.

Tactic 1: "Your version is end of life"

Broadcom has been accelerating end-of-life (EOL) declarations for VMware product versions. When a version reaches EOL, Broadcom stops providing updates and support for it. However, EOL does not affect your licence rights. You continue to have the right to run EOL software. What changes is that Broadcom will no longer provide security patches or bug fixes — which is precisely why third-party support providers exist.

Tactic 2: "You need to move to VCF to stay secure"

Broadcom's sales teams assert that running unsupported VMware versions creates security vulnerabilities that only VCF can address. This conflates two separate issues: the availability of new security patches (a support question) and your right to run the software (a licence question). Third-party support providers deliver security vulnerability analysis, workarounds, and patches for versions that Broadcom has declared EOL.

Tactic 3: "Your perpetual licence doesn't cover your current configuration"

Some enterprises receive claims that their perpetual licences do not cover expanded infrastructure, new server configurations, or virtualised environments. These claims require careful scrutiny. In most cases, perpetual licences issued before 2023 were CPU-socket based and cover the hardware configuration at time of purchase. Changes in hardware require new licences — but claims that existing perpetual licences are invalid should be reviewed by independent legal counsel.

Using Perpetual Licences with Third-Party Support: The Strategy

The combination of perpetual licences and third-party support is the most commercially effective response to Broadcom's pricing changes for organisations that do not have an immediate need to upgrade VMware functionality.

The mechanics: you continue running your VMware environment on perpetual licences. You do not renew with Broadcom. Instead, you engage a third-party support provider who takes on responsibility for security analysis, patching guidance, bug fixes, and operational support. Your annual support cost drops from Broadcom's rates to 40–50% of that amount.

The strategic benefit extends beyond cost. Maintaining your existing environment under TPS gives you 2–3 years of operational stability while your organisation evaluates its long-term virtualisation strategy — whether that's Hyper-V, KVM, Nutanix AHV, a cloud-based VMware service, or eventual VCF adoption on terms you control.

Related reading: Broadcom Pricing Impact Analysis · VMware Third-Party Support Service · Case Study: 78% Cost Reduction

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