If you manage a VMware environment today, you may not have felt the impact of recent changes yet. But behind the scenes, VMware’s licensing model, platform direction, and lifecycle timelines have been shifting.
While some of these changes only surface at renewal, others – such as end-of-support milestones – can require action much sooner. If organisations wait until renewal to engage, there’s a real risk they could slip into an unsupported state or continue paying for a service that no longer provides security updates, patches, or technical assistance.
With so much change to keep track of, it’s not always easy to understand what really matters, particularly while continuing to run critical services.
This article sets out what’s changing for end-customer VMware environments, what’s coming next, and why engaging with it early helps protect continuity and control.
What’s already changed
In recent years, VMware has moved towards subscription licensing and a more streamlined product structure.
Capabilities that were once licensed separately are now grouped into fewer, more comprehensive bundles, with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) representing VMware’s long-term platform direction.
At the same time, VMware has begun reaching key lifecycle milestones. vSphere 7 reached end of general support in October 2025, meaning some organisations are already on unsupported platforms and reassessing next steps.
In theory, this aligns with wider industry trends towards subscription-based services and integrated cloud platforms. In practice, many organisations have had to rethink how they license, budget for and plan environments that were previously well understood.
What we hear most often is uncertainty. Uncertainty about costs. About renewals. About which licencing options are right for businesses and their environments.
What’s coming next – and why timing matters
Looking ahead, VMware’s roadmap includes further fixed lifecycle milestones that organisations need to plan around. These include:
- vSphere 8 approaching end of life in October 2027
- the continued transition to subscription-based, bundled licensing models
- VMware’s ongoing platform alignment around VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
- VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) has limited short-term availability with no upgrade path to vSphere 9
For some organisations, the impact of these changes is already being felt. Environments running versions that are no longer supported are now operating without security patches, bug fixes, or technical support – increasing operational and security risk.
For others, the impact will surface at renewal. While an environment may appear stable today, renewal is the point at which legacy licensing models fall away and VCF becomes the only available subscription path.
Either way, these milestones create a forced decision point. Not because organisations are ready for transformation, but because supportability, cost pressure, and platform direction converge in ways that mean standing still is no longer an option.
The challenge isn’t understanding that change is coming. It’s having the time and space to plan a move to VCF properly rather than being forced into rushed decisions by deadlines, unsupported software, or unplanned budget pressure.
Why VMware Cloud Foundation matters
VCF brings together compute, storage, and networking, as well as built in automation and lifecycle management, into a single, integrated private cloud platform. New bundled licensing also unlocks a broader set of capabilities, including:
- native Kubernetes support
- advanced security features
- integrated disaster recovery and ransomware protection
- data services
- support for private AI workloads
However, moving to VCF isn’t just a licensing change. It also represents a shift in operating model - from managing virtualisation components individually to managing a modern unified cloud platform.
Not all existing infrastructure is VCF-ready, meaning hardware suitability can have a direct impact on timelines and budget. VCF also introduces new operational and skills considerations, particularly for teams already stretched by day-to-day responsibilities.
This is why early planning matters.
Organisations that engage ahead of lifecycle or renewal deadlines retain far more control over how and when they move to VCF and can do so in a way that protects continuity, cost, and existing investments in people and skills.
The choices organisations are considering
Many organisations running VMware today have been doing so for years.
They trust the technology, have built deep operational knowledge around it, and have invested heavily in the people and processes that support it. The changes happening now aren’t driven by dissatisfaction, they’re driven by necessity.
With VMware’s roadmap increasingly centred around VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), organisations are now working out how they can move towards VCF - and, where that isn’t practical or appropriate, what alternative paths might look like.
In practice, this usually means weighing up a small number of realistic paths:
1. Upgrade existing VMware environments to VCF
Required to remain supported and compliant with VMware’s current direction. This brings access to modern private cloud capabilities, but also introduces higher licence costs, hardware requirements, and new skills considerations.
2. Move to an alternative hypervisor
A full re-platforming approach, involving new tools, new skills, and a different operating model.
This can offer long-term flexibility, but typically comes with higher disruption, risk, and cost.
3. Move suitable workloads to public cloud
For some workloads, public cloud platforms such as Azure can make sense. However, this usually requires re-architecture, re-skilling, and careful assessment of cost and operational impact.
4. Adopt a partner-led approach via a VMware Pinnacle Partner
Remain on VMware where it makes sense, while adopting VCF capabilities through a partner platform. This can help organisations retain existing skills and operational familiarity, avoid immediate hardware refresh, and reduce the specialist burden of managing VCF alone.
Each of these paths comes with trade-offs around cost, risk, disruption, and the impact on the teams responsible for keeping systems running.
And there’s no “right” answer.
The right approach depends on the environment, the workloads involved, the timelines organisations are working to and how much change their teams can realistically absorb.
Why this is more than a platform decision
While the changes are technical in nature, their impact is much broader.
They affect how teams plan work, how confident people feel in their existing skills, and how much pressure is placed on those already keeping critical services running.
Change fatigue, stretched resources and concerns about skill relevance, particularly for teams that have invested years building VMware expertise, all influence how teams experience this transition - and many IT leaders are trying to protect team morale as much as operational stability.
At the same time, this creates an opportunity. For organisations to step back, simplify where complexity has built up, and make more intentional decisions about how their platforms are architected, run and, supported.
What clarity makes possible
Most organisations are in the same position right now.
They know VMware is changing. They know decisions are coming. They’re just trying to work out what it means for their environment, their people, and their plans.
That’s where structured, evidence-led planning makes a difference.
In the next articles in this series, we’ll look more closely at why delaying decisions can quietly increase pressure, and how organisations can modernise VMware without losing in-house skills or confidence.
Because navigating VMware’s next phase isn’t just about choosing a platform, it’s about protecting continuity, confidence and the people behind the technology.
Regain control with a Future State of VMware Workshop
If you’re facing rising costs, upcoming lifecycle deadlines, or uncertainty about the right next step, you don’t need to commit to a platform decision today – but you can benefit from clarity.
The Future State of VMware Workshop is designed to help organisations:
- understand how current and upcoming VMware changes apply to their environment
- assess cost, risk, and lifecycle exposure
- understand the capabilities of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and what adopting it would realistically involve
- identify opportunities to unlock new VCF capabilities and modernise where it makes sense
- explore practical options without committing to re-platforming or major change
It’s an advisory conversation focused on helping customers plan at their own pace, protecting existing investments in technology, people, and skills whilst building a clear, achievable path forward.
Because when change can be understood, planned, and supported, it becomes easier to protect what matters most.