Following its November 2023 acquisition of VMware, Broadcom torched the software house’s perpetual licence model. While customers can still run what they’ve bought, support renewals are out unless you lock in an existing contract. Instead, Broadcom wants everyone to move to pricey subscription bundles, which have seen costs rocket by 300 per cent or more.

Some users, refusing to be bullied, have kept their unsupported VMware environments running while scouting alternatives. Others are looking into rivals or ditching virtualisation altogether. But now Broadcom’s has released the hounds.

Ars Technica confirmed that letters signed by Broadcom managing director Michael Brown are landing on the desks of licence holders, warning that they’re in breach if they’re using anything beyond zero-day security patches. That means no bug fixes, enhancements, or upgrades must be “immediately removed/uninstalled.”

The letter warns: “Any such use of Support past the Expiration Date constitutes a material breach of the Agreement with VMware and an infringement of VMware's intellectual property rights, potentially resulting in claims for enhanced damages and attorneys' fees.”

Adding more pressure, Broadcom is threatening audits. Customers are told that “failure to comply with post-expiration reporting requirements may result in a breach” and that VMware might unleash its right to audit along with “any other available contractual or legal remedy.”

The heavy-handed tactic reeks of desperation and is unlikely to do Broadcom’s already battered customer reputation any favours. Many admins are now accelerating plans to ditch VMware.