Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has triggered one of the most significant transformations in the managed services landscape in more than a decade. From November 2025, Broadcom will reset the VMware Partner Programme, introducing a new framework that fundamentally changes how Managed Service Providers (MSPs) deliver VMware Cloud Services.
For many, the practical path forward isn’t replacement - it’s stabilisation. The goal now is to protect what’s already in place, optimise existing VMware investments, and prepare for a compliant, secure future under Broadcom’s new model.
As one of eight VMware Pinnacle Partners in the UK, The Iomart Group are working directly with MSPs to navigate this transition with clarity and confidence.
Here are the top five questions MSPs are asking - and guidance on how to plan your next steps.
1. What exactly is changing in the VMware Partner Programme?
Broadcom is retiring the Broadcom Advantage Partner Programme and discontinuing the White Label licensing model that previously enabled MSPs to deliver VMware Cloud Services on their own infrastructure.
From 1 November 2025, MSPs will no longer be able to increase existing VMware commitments or license new environments independently. By 31 March 2027, all existing contracts under the old model will expire.
After that date, VMware Cloud Services can only be delivered through VMware Pinnacle Partners - a smaller group of trusted providers who are fully aligned with Broadcom’s new VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) strategy.
Timeline of Key Dates
| Date | Event / Milestone | Impact on MSPs |
| July 2025 | Broadcom announces the closure of the Advantage Partner Programme and the planned removal of White Label licence resell. | Only eight Pinnacle Partners will remain in the UK, with around 150 non-renewing partners formally notified of programme changes. |
| 31 October – 1 November 2025 | Broadcom officially closes the Advantage Partner Programme and retires the White Label licensing model. The new Pinnacle Partner Programme launches. | MSPs lose the ability to increase existing VMware commitments or add new customer deployments. Without an authorised route to transact VMware services, non-renewing partners face stagnant growth, customer retention challenges, and compliance risk. |
| 31 March 2027 | Existing contracts under the legacy programme expire. | MSPs must transition to a Pinnacle Partner platform to maintain continuity, protect customer relationships, and ensure compliance with Broadcom’s new model. |
After March 2027, only Pinnacle Partners will be authorised to provide VMware Cloud Services.
2. Why is Broadcom making these changes?
Broadcom is restructuring the VMware partner ecosystem to create a more focused, capable, and compliant network - one that aligns with its ambition to challenge hyperscalers through a modern private cloud strategy.
The new model is built around three key principles:
- Capability: Accelerating adoption of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and its advanced capabilities, including integrated security, data services, containerisation, edge computing, and private AI.
- Focused alignment: Streamlining the partner ecosystem to reflect Broadcom’s new delivery model, ensuring VMware Cloud Foundation is delivered consistently, compliantly, and with the technical support MSPs need to succeed.
- Efficiency and consistency: Partnering with organisations that can scale, innovate, and deliver a consistent VMware Cloud experience across every customer environment.
These changes are designed to modernise and streamline the VMware ecosystem, but for many MSPs, they also mark a period of uncertainty. That’s where Pinnacle Partners like Iomart can help: providing stability, continuity, and a trusted roadmap for the future.
3. What Do MSPs Gain by Working with a Pinnacle Partner?
Broadcom’s changes inevitably bring disruption, but they also open up an opportunity for MSPs to future-proof their VMware business by aligning with an authorised Pinnacle Partner.
Partnering with a Pinnacle Partner like Iomart enables MSPs to maintain stability, strengthen customer trust, and continue growing their VMware-based services within the new model.
Continuity:
Ongoing access to VMware Cloud Services beyond 2027. Iomart helps MSPs identify the most appropriate route forward to minimise disruption and maintain service stability.
Commercial confidence:
Continue to support existing deployments and onboard new customers through a compliant route, protecting recurring revenue and enabling continued business growth.
Compliance:
Guaranteed alignment with Broadcom’s updated licensing and governance model, giving your customers confidence that every workload remains fully supported and compliant.
Optimisation:
Greater visibility and control over VMware licence usage, cost, and performance, ensuring resources are used efficiently and transparently.
Technical excellence:
Access to certified VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) specialists who can support migrations, assess current-state environments, and help you unlock new value-add services for your customers.
Partner-first approach:
Through co-sell and branded delivery models, Iomart protects your customer relationships while providing the infrastructure and compliance framework to underpin them.
Now is the time to stabilise, optimise, and secure your position within the VMware ecosystem, and working with a Pinnacle Partner ensures you can do so with confidence and control.
4. How can MSPs reduce the risk of disruption?
The most practical way to de-risk your VMware future is to act early.
Transitioning under Broadcom’s new framework takes time, and the sooner you start, the more control you’ll have over timelines, customer communications, and contract continuity.
Key steps to take now:
- Audit your current VMware footprint. Identify workloads, licensing models, renewal dates, and dependencies.
- Stabilise your existing environment. Understand what you have today and ensure it’s optimised for performance, security, and compliance.
- Engage a Pinnacle Partner early. Early collaboration means a smoother transition, with less customer impact and more commercial flexibility.
- Communicate with customers. Keep your end users informed and reassured that their VMware workloads will continue seamlessly.
Every MSP’s environment is different, but the path to stability is the same: early action, clear planning, and partnership with an authorised VMware provider.
5. How can The Iomart Group help?
As one of eight VMware Pinnacle Partners in the UK, The Iomart Group is authorised by Broadcom to deliver VMware Cloud Services directly to customers and MSPs.
We’re here to help you stabilise your VMware licensing today and safeguard your business for the future, bringing together deep technical capability, proven compliance, and a partner-first mindset.
Our support includes:
- Contractual assurance: VMware continuity beyond March 2027, backed by Broadcom compliance.
- Technical depth: Certified VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) expertise to support seamless migrations and modernise your VMware environment.
- Commercial alignment: Co-sell and branded delivery options that protect your revenue and your customer relationships.
- Operational simplicity: We manage the underlying VMware platform so you can focus on delivering managed services.
- Partner-first approach: Every MSP is unique. We take time to understand your business model, respect your client relationships, and create solutions that work for you.
Our Expert Engagement Model
Our engagement process is designed to be collaborative, transparent, and low-disruption, ensuring continuity at every stage of transition.
- Review, Assess and Plan - We start with a detailed assessment of your VMware workloads, licence structure, and exposure, building a bespoke migration plan tailored to your goals.
- Migration Execution - Our technical experts support you through each stage of workload migration to a compliant VMware Cloud solution.
- Post-Migration Optimisation - Once you’re live, we help fine-tune performance, reduce costs, and provide ongoing management and support to keep your environment stable and efficient.
Our mission is simple: to help MSPs remain confident and competitive through change, ensuring your VMware strategy is built for stability today and success tomorrow.
The Bottom Line
The VMware Partner Programme reset is a once-in-a-decade change, and for many MSPs, it brings more questions than answers. But one thing is clear: staying within the VMware ecosystem is the most reliable path to protect continuity, customers, and revenue.
At Iomart, we’re ready to help you make sense of the change, stabilise your VMware environment, and safeguard your strategy for the future.