Many VMware customers assumed the most disruptive effects of Broadcom’s acquisition were already behind them. Licensing changes and pricing shifts required attention, but infrastructure strategy largely stayed the same. That assumption is about to be tested.
By October 2027, VMware customers must migrate to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.[1] What sounds like a routine upgrade has much larger implications. The timeline is compressed. Hardware and operational changes may be required. And organizations are being pushed to rethink platform strategy at a time when they are balancing modernization, cost control, and new demands such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-native development.
Infrastructure transitions rarely happen quickly. Moving workloads, retraining teams, validating interoperability, and maintaining resilience all take time. When migration is mandated rather than optional, the risk profile shifts. CIOs must act within a certain window of time while…
