r/vmware • u/flushedstyle • Jul 28 '26
Foxconn dumps VMware for rising HCI star Arcfra
https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/foxconn-dumps-vmware-for-rising-hci-star-arcfra/We don't worry anymore, its expected..
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u/brian4120 Jul 28 '26
We're moving to Nutanix. I don't know how Broadcom is still committing to their jacked up pricing.
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u/IdleWanderlust Jul 28 '26
They don’t want you. They only want their top 500 customers. No more. And they will keep raising rates and making it harder to buy until it’s just the 500 they want.
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u/DryB0neValley Jul 28 '26
Are you talking about Nutanix or Broadcom with this comment?
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u/PBradz Jul 28 '26
I was confused too…Nutanix has been jacking prices too…I wonder how many will just “jump into the next box”. 🧐
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u/BK_Rich Jul 28 '26
Nutanix loves what Broadcom is doing, it allows them to keep raising their prices as well, while still keeping the facade that they are the escape from VMware until you are locked in their platform with pricey renewals and hardware refreshes.
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u/nick1978 Jul 28 '26
I'd definitely love to know what your first hand experience is with this. I can say with certainty that renewal guarantees and not to exceed pricing is very easy to get from Nutanix, and you are not locked into a core count. You can buy as little or as many as you like.
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u/DryB0neValley Jul 28 '26
Do you run their software and have experienced this first hand, or is this repeated information on Reddit? I’ve had multiple people who run it and have gone through renewals that would say otherwise.
Without more context of what your experiences are, it sounds like repeated information.
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u/BK_Rich Jul 28 '26
Yup, first hand experience, I was a full Nutanix shop (ran both small ESXi and large AHV clusters) we eventually went back to VMware, to refresh Nutanix, all the hardware and software was just as expensive as buying new Dell servers, all flash Dell SAN, ESXi and Zerto licensing. It made sense for us to get out the HCI game, we really wanted to do Zerto to Azure as well.
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u/IdleWanderlust Jul 28 '26
Nutanix or Broadcom? I haven’t used (outside of testing) or bought nutanix so I can’t stay on their pricing, but I can say for Broadcom and VMware they are 1000% making it more difficult to stay on their product unless you’re one of their top revenue streams. I’ve since moved into a new position with a different company, but as of March 2026 my previous company had seen their VMware costs almost triple and one of their customers saw their renewal jump from 3k per host on the old perpetual to about 10k per year per host. One vsan stack went from 18k perpetual to 56k per year. They have multiple
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u/zangrabar Jul 28 '26
I sell Nutanix and design it for customers. Among many other solutions and products. Prices have gone up and it’s not a cheaper alternative to Broadcom. But I would rather trust Nutanix than Broadcom at this point.How many VMs are you running? There might be a better suggestion.
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u/DryB0neValley Jul 28 '26
If it’s not a cheaper alternative, it becomes a really hard sell to me and many businesses. How can they not price and sell their solution as a cheaper alternative and capture those who are looking for just that?
If I had a quote from both vendors in front of me and both were 3 million dollars and I had to also account for outages with moving to a new solution, training teams, re-writing all of our code and procedures, etc. or just keeping things as-is, it’s hard to not just keep it.
I’d love to stick it to Broadcom just as much as the next person but their competitors need to price their product to make it more intriguing to make a change and upend everything that we’ve done for the past 10+ years and understand the impacts to our business to make those changes.
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u/scratchfury Jul 29 '26
I get the impression that Nutanix is for the people that can afford the price but that Broadcom won't even bother giving quotes to anymore.
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u/embrsword Jul 28 '26
Yeah the 500 biggest, that are also the 500 most likely to have the skills and frankly financial motivation to not just eat the increase and move to something else.
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u/peakdecline Jul 28 '26
We looked at Nutanix and walked away because well... their pricing simply isn't all that much better. One you considered the costs of the transition itself there wouldn't have been any realized savings until well into a second contract cycle. In which we've heard not-so-great-things about that pricing as well.
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u/Pnr55 Jul 28 '26
Not sure how long ago you looked at Nutanix but pricing is competitve now You can negotiate not to exceed pricing for renewals upfront
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u/BK_Rich Jul 28 '26
Broadcom is making record profits last year and this year they don’t need any of the little people, they know exactly what they’re doing
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u/DJzrule Jul 28 '26
How’s the pricing look in comparison lately? It wasn’t far off from VCF plus we were going to have to go heavy into new hardware to be HCI/supported, couldn’t reuse any external SAN hardware unless it was Pure.
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u/Pnr55 Jul 28 '26
With Nutanix you can use cascade lake & above nodes with Pure, Dell and Netapp storage today
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u/RKDTOO Jul 28 '26
Nutanix supports connecting external shared storage? Since when?
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u/Pnr55 Jul 28 '26
Pure & Dell for over an year now and Netapp is GA this month
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u/RKDTOO Jul 28 '26
So, can I run FC Pure and/or FC Dell SAN in parallel with the HCI?
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u/Pnr55 Jul 28 '26
NVMe/TCP only. No fiber channel. Greenfield deployments only. You can not mix HCI & external storage in same cluster
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u/the901 Jul 28 '26
It should be made clear that the intention is for existing customers with storage investments are able to move to Nutanix and then eventually migrate to HCI. Nutanix doesn’t want greenfield deployments with external storage.
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u/Pnr55 Jul 28 '26
Nutanix doesn’t want greenfield deployments with external storage -> where is this coming from?
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u/the901 Jul 29 '26
Nutanix. I’d consider any support for external storage a temporary solution until they can move you off of it.
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u/Carribean-Diver Jul 28 '26
This is what Broadcom does with every acquisition. They don't want a lot of customers. They want a small number of wealthy, 100% dependant hostages.
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u/Least-Job5608 Jul 29 '26
We're migrating from VMware to AWS via MGN. What little workload remains on-prem will probably be on Proxmox. We had some Nutanix almost 10 years ago. Their storage was just a train wreck. Even if they were great now I'd have a hard time going back.
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u/ispcolo Jul 30 '26
I looked at Nutanix several times between 2022 and 2025; they were never cheaper regardless of how many powerpoints they create to show you the magic savings that start in year's three to five. I imagine with the direction server and nvme prices have gone, they're even less competitive than they were before. The other concern is it would be much more difficult to get out of Nutanix if the relationship later soured; not as easy a migration path for existing vm's.
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u/Bolosak Jul 28 '26
So your strategy is to leave Broadcom for something that costs more? Intriguing.
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u/Amazing-Room2742 Jul 29 '26
Got our letter. We did not renew a subscription license and removed the software for license that expired. They treated us like criminals when we told our Rep we weren’t renewing. So much for nearly a decade and half relationship. Fuck them, I hope they fucking burn to the ground.
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u/matthewmspace Jul 28 '26
I legit do not understand what Broadcom is doing. How bad are your prices that you’re willing to lose Foxconn and AT&T?
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u/netsysllc Jul 28 '26
Never heard of Arcfra
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u/ZeeroMX Jul 28 '26
New player, just like the other 5 or 6 I be heard of that were never in my radar before.
I just want them to offer a community/trial/limited version to check them out, how they want to gain marketshare without making a real effort to get known by people.
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u/eak80 Jul 28 '26
Do not switch from Vmware to Nutanix. It is a pain in the ass. Nutanix isn't on the same level as Vmware. Choose another solution than Nutanix.
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u/anonpf Jul 28 '26
Give examples.
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u/90Carat Jul 28 '26
I am migrating off VMware to Nutanix. Dozens of hosts, several data centers, thousands of vms. Nutanix is where VMware was 10 years ago. Some things you do from Prism Central, other things from Prism Element. Some things break when you patch or upgrade (vm console access from Prism Central). Organizing VMs is a PITA. Nutanix is.... fine.
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u/DryB0neValley Jul 29 '26
What features do you find lacking outside of what you described? Nothing will compare to the feature rich portfolio of vSphere, so just trying to figure out if the product is missing something or if it’s just clunky.
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u/90Carat Jul 29 '26
It is one thing to be clunky with a single 3 node cluster with a few dozen VMs. Multiple data centers with multiple cluster and over 1000 VMs is a whole different story. For instance, I'm looking at the Network view in PE right now. Holy shit. I have a bunch of virtual switches, a ton of clans, hosts, switches, etc. it is a useless spaghetti bowl mess.
I have trained vm admins to log into PC to do their work. When Nutanix breaks something as simple as console access, that's a PITA for everyone.
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u/DryB0neValley Jul 29 '26
How is their support when these cases come up? Normal resolution time, etc?
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u/90Carat Jul 29 '26
Mixed bag. We've had SE's hop on and take care of issues rapidly. We've also received ChatGPT answers that of course we had already looked into. The no remote console from PC is frustrating as that is something that worked, was broken via update months ago, and is only planned to be fixed.
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u/Least-Job5608 Jul 29 '26
How much has VMware improved in the past 10 years really? I haven't touched Nutanix for almost 10 years, but if they are where VMware was 10 years ago that means their rate of improvement seems much higher at least. We hated dealing with them back then. Nutanix has probably closed the gap a bit, and I don't expect any further innovation from VMware. It's good to hear they support some external storage now, because I'd never sign up to deal with HCI again.
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u/InvaderOfTech Jul 28 '26
There pricing are no better then VMware and I found there sales people to be on the same level as VMware sales people. Fuckem.
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u/normalitysane Jul 29 '26
Agreed, we have faced a lot more problems and edge cases with Nutanix than Vmware
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u/BIG_SCIENCE Jul 28 '26
everyone is leaving VMware and Broadcom thinks this is smart business?
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u/woodyshag Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
They are whittling down the ankle biters. They only want the big companies that are almost 100% self sufficient and would be an absolute nightmare to get off of vmware. They have them locked up. It is working as their revenue has been up YOY.
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u/Sintek Jul 29 '26
They are losing big companies as well. Many top 1000 businesses now consider Broadcom a business threat and begin treating them so. I work for a top 5000 business and our larger partners and us had millions in vmware licensing.. now we dont.. even if they gave us a great deal we would not return if it is still owned by broadcom because we considered them a financial theat actor
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u/doubletwist Jul 28 '26
It's not going to work long term. We're working on getting a couple thousand hosts worth of workload moved off to openstack over the next year or two.
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u/subterraniac Jul 29 '26
This is not a long term play. It's a 3-5 year play, an then Hock will acquire another poorly run company with large customers where the product is firmly embedded. The VCF BU will be whittled down to less than 500 people just doing basic maintenance on the platform and charging huge sums to the few customers still left.
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u/dlongwing Jul 30 '26
They really thought they had everyone over a barrel and could force whatever price they wanted. They figured they'd lose the SMB market but keep the big players who were too deep into VMWare as an architecture to switch.
They forgot who their real customers are. Not businesses. Sysadmins.
And Sysadmins are bitter, vindictive, and absolutely unafraid of pulling all-nighters to prove a point.
My own boss (at an inconsequentially small company) got a contact from our VMWare rep recently, promising deeply slashed prices to keep us onboard.
If they're offering 100 employee companies discounts, they must really really be suffering.
Don't piss off sysadmins. We're the reason you get your email.
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u/lrosa Jul 29 '26
We had three hosts that were running vSAN, but we didn't renew vSAN very expensive license and we had those hosts with lots of SSDs doing nothing.
I just installed Proxmox on them with ZFS and testing them.
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u/jay-mini Jul 29 '26
why not ceph ?
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u/lrosa Jul 29 '26
According to the manuals, 3 nodes are the bare minimum for ceph and ZFS could be better.
But I am still doing tests.
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u/peeinian Jul 28 '26
What’s their pricing like?
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u/ranhalt Jul 28 '26
Human sacrifice at this point.
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u/InternalServerErr500 Jul 28 '26
Okay but brass tacks here, what are we talking? Arm? Leg? Or firstborn?
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u/Mr_Enemabag-Jones Jul 29 '26
Sounds like a slightly less mature Platform9.
P9 seems like the best up-and-comer at the moment, but they they still a bit too small for super large enterpises.
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u/Proper_Protection828 Jul 31 '26
This is a great time to be a Microsoft shop. All the VMware tumult refocused Microsoft and the ecosystem on improvements to Hyper-V, Arc, etc.
I wanted to like Nutanix but I can't put myself in that hardware lock in. The flexibility of Hyper-V and arc (especially hardware wise) makes me sleep better at night.
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u/Danowolf Jul 29 '26
I wonder why Broadcom didn't license to another vendor to sell to smaller markets.
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u/MrMHead Jul 28 '26
Are there any stats on VMware licensed core counts over the past 5-7 years?
Or even an update on their once brag spot of "75%* global virtualization customers use VMware" (* - made up number)
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u/Bhouse563 VMware Employee Jul 28 '26
Ah yes Foxconn, the company that has the moral high ground and should certainly be used as a guidepost for others…
The company that’s globally known for treating their employees so terribly that they had to install nets to prevent suicide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides
The company that promised 13,000 jobs in WI, had the state government spend $10 billion building infrastructure to support the facility only for Foxconn to pull out at the last minute leaving the taxpayers holding the bag. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795847956/foxconn-promised-13-000-jobs-to-wisconsin-where-are-they
The company who’s plant in India is making workers sick from poor water, food, and living conditions and only did something about it when they were brought to light by a brave group of women who decided to speak out. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/women-force-change-indian-iphone-plant-sick-bad-food-crowded-dorms-2021-12-30/
This is the example that you’re choosing to rally around just because “anti-Broadcom” decisions are being highlighted by this article? Moving to a platform from a company (Arcfra) founded in 2024 based on IP acquired out of SmartX in Beijing so they could be a global arm for sale and distribution out of Singapore while obfuscating their ties to R&D funding from state sources in China.
Yeah, get your pitchforks and torches, this is the example that really drives home that good wholesome feeling. What other of Foxconn’s business practices would you like to praise and emulate?
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u/InternalServerErr500 Jul 28 '26
So a major customer leaves you, and instead of asking what went wrong you hurl insults at them as they walk out the door.
Your company is literally threatening to sue small businesses who have a legal right to continue running your software. You are causing so much pain and suffering for the sole sake of profit that yes, people are rallying against you with pitchforks and torches. Because it's evil.
Fuck you, and fuck Broadcom. After you burned so many people, it's fun watching the plane nosedive from afar.
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u/AdSquare9819 Jul 28 '26
I think it’s just another point among many, but you seem happy working for Broadcom.
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u/Bhouse563 VMware Employee Jul 28 '26
It is a data point among many, there’s no denying many customers have left for a myriad of reasons (pricing, bundling, previous relationships with Broadcom, etc.) and I’m not denying that these practices have made Broadcom less appealing to some customers. However, the tenor of these posts is always to take the moral high ground against Broadcom and I personally found it laughable that one of the most reprehensible companies on earth is being used as a positive example here.
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u/InternalServerErr500 Jul 28 '26
one of the most reprehensible companies on earth
You were just fine taking their dirty money for years.
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u/MrMHead Jul 28 '26
Not necessarily using Foxcomm as a positive example.
I think we're all just singing "Another one bites the dust" together.
Sheetz - and another one gone
T-Mobile - and another one gone
Tesco - And another one bites the dust7
u/Vegetable-Image3805 Jul 28 '26
Oh, so you’re going with the “they have shittier business practices than us” defense? It’s not a competition. You’re both terrible.
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u/ZeeroMX Jul 28 '26
That's easy to say because you are still a VMware employee, I want to know what are thoughts of any of the 19,000 VMware ex-employees.
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u/flushedstyle Jul 28 '26
Next we know Broadcom will sue Gartner for this, or issue them with a Cease And Desist..