The dust from Broadcom’s monumental $61 billion acquisition of VMware is far from settled, but a new fiscal year has arrived, bringing with it a veritable earthquake for VMware’s channel ecosystem. As of November 1st, the venerable VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program has been completely revamped, transforming from a broad umbrella into an exclusive club. This isn’t just a tweak; it’s a strategic overhaul designed to create a leaner, meaner, and undeniably more focused partner network, reflecting Broadcom’s well-established approach to acquired businesses.
Broadcom, known for its decisive, often ruthless, approach to acquisitions, isn’t just trimming the fat; it’s reshaping the entire anatomy of its partner network. This move is consistent with Broadcom’s history of acquiring established technology companies and then aggressively streamlining operations, consolidating product lines, and optimizing sales channels for maximum profitability.
Past acquisitions, such as CA Technologies and Symantec’s enterprise security business, have seen similar patterns of intense focus on core products and a reduced, but more dedicated, partner base. For VMware, a company with a vast and diverse partner ecosystem built over decades, this strategy represents a seismic shift. The message from Broadcom is clear: only partners who are “all-in” and can drive significant value around VMware’s strategic priorities will remain.
The previous VCSP program was a wide-ranging initiative, encompassing a diverse array of partners from small managed service providers (MSPs) offering niche services to large enterprises providing extensive cloud infrastructure. As VMware’s Vice President of Partners, Managed Services, and Solutions Go-to-Market, Ahmar Mohammad, who was instrumental in crafting the new program, explained, “In the past, a VMware CSP could mean dozens of different things, like just an outsourcer who provides some managed services on customer data centers. Everybody was under the CSP umbrella.” This broad inclusivity, while fostering a large community, may have led to diluted focus and varied service quality from Broadcom’s perspective.
The new program, launched on November 1st, is invite-only, signaling a deliberate move towards a curated network of elite partners. Mohammad articulated this vision, stating, “We want our CSPs to grow bigger and bigger and much faster, whether it’s acquiring the business of departing (VCSP) partners or buying them outright. We want larger and bigger partners who can put up a fight.” This statement underscores Broadcom’s desire for a robust, competitive, and highly capable channel that can aggressively pursue market opportunities.
The immediate and most impactful change is the dramatic reduction in the number of VCSP partners. Hundreds, if not thousands, of VMware partners who were previously enrolled in the former VCSP program did
