https://techmonitor.ai/technology/cloud/broadcom-concession-vmware-security

Security patches will be available to users of older VMware products even if their existing maintenance and support contracts have expired, Broadcom has confirmed. The change, the chipmaker’s CEO Hock Tan said, will allow consumers to continue using older versions of VMware products safely even if they chose not to sign up to its subsidiary’s subscription pricing model, which guarantees regular support services in exchange for a monthly fee. The announcement came after complaints from customers that the new model had led to unsustainable price rises, and news that the European Commission has asked Broadcom for more information about the rationale of changes it has made to VMware licensing conditions. 

Broadcom is continuing to learn from customers about how much time they need to prepare to acclimatise to changes to VMware products and services, said its chief executive Hock Tan. “In particular, the subscription pricing model does involve a change in the timing of customers’ expenditures and the balance of expenditures between capital and operating spending,” Tan conceded, who added that support extensions had been recently given to concerned customers. “We have always been and remain ready to work with our customers on their specific concerns.”