VMware quietly offers European users extended sales and support for low-end vSphere

VMware has extended the availability of its low-end vSphere Standard and Enterprise Plus products to European users. This decision came quietly in a November 4 blog post, along with the introduction of a new low-end product called vSphere Express. According to VMware, customers in the European Economic Area can continue using vSphere Standard version 8 and vSphere Enterprise Plus version 8 until October 31, 2027.

Additionally, these versions will have Extended Support included in active subscriptions until either the subscription end date or October 31, 2028. Analyst Michael Warrilow highlighted that this extension could give European organizations up to 12 extra months to transition from vSphere 8 to Cloud Foundation 9 or migrate workloads to a different platform.

Warrilow advised European users to seek clarification from VMware on the specifics of the offer, including the level of extended support and any longer-term commitments. VMware has promised to provide patches for perpetual license users, but this support has been paused in the past, causing concern. The extension may be a result of regulatory pressure, as the European Commission is investigating whether VMware's changes to its channel have created anticompetitive effects.

In the Netherlands, local courts have enforced VMware support contracts similar to the ones that Broadcom tried to terminate with other users. While the decision may not be hugely impactful, it provides some breathing room for European organizations looking to upgrade or migrate their vSphere environments.