AWS committed to resolving dispute with Broadcom over VMware licenses and continuing working together

Broadcom's acquisition of VMware in May 2023 has led to a period of uncertainty in the industry, and Broadcom’s clash with AWS is the epitome of it.

The dispute between the two giants erupted after Broadcom accused AWS of trying to undercut them with their own cloud solutions. Consequently, Broadcom restricted AWS's ability to sell new VMware licenses.

However, even as tensions still run high, both companies have come out to reassure customers that they will not be affected.

In a blog post, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan reassured customers that VMware Cloud on AWS will remain available, but it will no longer be directly sold by AWS or its partners. Existing customers with active subscriptions will continue to be serviced by AWS until their terms expire.

Tan was responding to speculations surrounding the future of VMware Cloud on AWS. The cloud giant had been actively promoting its "AWS VMware Migration Accelerator" program, which positioned Amazon EC2 as an alternative to Broadcom's virtualization software. AWS offered credits for migrating workloads to Amazon EC2, along with reduced costs and risk.

"I’m pleased to report the service is alive, available, and continues to support our customers' strategic business initiatives just as it always has,” Tan said.

On the other end, an AWS spokesperson emphasized their commitment to "continue working closely with Broadcom to serve their mutual customers."

This conflict underscores the broader concerns surrounding Broadcom's acquisition of VMware. The company has faced criticism for discontinuing popular services and implementing pricing changes deemed "anti-cloud" by industry groups.

While the immediate conflict seems to have been resolved, the underlying tensions hint at potential future conflicts. The coming months will be crucial in determining how this dispute unfolds and if the customers get affected.