Large Aviation Organisation

Introduction

A large aviation organisation was preparing to transition its perpetual VMware by Broadcom licences to a subscription-based agreement following the end of its Enterprise Licence Agreement (ELA). The organisation engaged bedigital to gain a clear understanding of its licensing position and explore the most effective renewal and optimisation options, supported by our independent expertise in VMware licensing and vendor negotiation.

Their Challenges

The client faced several challenges in managing their VMware by Broadcom licenses:

• Broadcom moving away from perpetual licensing, which introduced uncertainty and caused the organisation to evaluate new subscription models
• Over time, a significant proportion of underutilised hosts meant the organisation was paying for support that delivered limited business value
• To optimise their VMware license position

Their Objectives

The client’s objectives were :

• To gain a clear view of their VMware entitlement versus actual usage
• To identify and quantify any compliance exposures and define a mitigation path
• To improve license efficiency by highlighting optimisation opportunities pre-renewal
• To improve data-driven decision making for a renewal strategy to secure commercially favourable subscription terms with Broadcom, with the right support and guidance

bedigital’s Solution

We implemented a staged approach to support the client:

Discovery, mitigation and optimisation stage

• Analysing the data provided to us by the client
• Reduce the organisation’s footprint to decrease the cost of the renewal
• Confirm the accuracy of the effective license position before entering any commercial conversations
• Highlight multiple optimisation opportunities and estimates on possible cost savings through renewal

Negotiation support stage

• Secure the most cost-efficient subscription deals possible with Broadcom
• Make sure commercial and contractual terms align with the organisation’s actual technical usage and future runway

Outcomes

Our outcomes and findings included:

• Identified 30 underutilised host servers, leading to a reduction in renewal requirements of 1,200 cores
• Contributed savings of £452k over a 3-year agreement through the core license requirement reduction

Testimonials

“From my perspective, it’s been a very good engagement. Great quality advice and output, and a strong partnership all round. Thanks very much for your support and collaboration.”

– Customer Project Sponsor

Conclusion

Despite the tight delivery window, the organisation received a clear and data-driven ELP that evidenced their current usage, licensing position and optimisation opportunities. The engagement also outlined a forward strategy and directly reduced license requirements by 1,200 cores through hosts that were no longer delivering meaningful workload value.

Contact bedigital to find out how we can support and optimise your VMware by Broadcom estate.