Fortune 500 medical distributor
Broadcom quoted a Fortune 500 medical distributor a VMware renewal at more than four times its previous cost, with a push from Enterprise Plus to VMware Cloud Foundation. C4C audited and right sized an estate of more than 4,000 cores, proved an exit was feasible in the time available, took a letter of authority and negotiated directly with Broadcom. The renewal closed 56% below the quote, a saving of more than £1 million, on a multi year term with a right to terminate every year.
When Broadcom moved VMware to per core subscription and retired the Enterprise Plus path, this client was steered towards VMware Cloud Foundation and quoted a renewal at roughly 410 percent of what the previous term had cost. On an estate of more than 4,000 cores that was an increase the business could not simply absorb, and the renewal clock was already running.
C4C worked alongside the client’s infrastructure and procurement teams from the first audit to the signed order, drawing on years spent on the vendor side of exactly these deals. C4C does not resell VMware, so nothing in the outcome depended on what the client bought.
Delivered through our IDEAL framework, the disciplined method behind every C4C engagement.
The renewal Broadcom had quoted at roughly 410 percent of the previous term closed at roughly 181 percent. That is 56 percent below the quote, a saving of more than £1 million, on terms that keep the client in control.
We spent years on the vendor side of these deals, building the quotes and negotiating the terms, so we know how a renewal is priced, where the give is and which claims a vendor will stand behind. We do not resell VMware, so on this engagement we had nothing to gain from what was bought, only from what was saved. That is what let the client hand us a letter of authority and step back.
It varies widely by estate, but the pattern is consistent: perpetual licences withdrawn, per core subscription with a 16 core per processor minimum, and a push from Enterprise Plus into VMware Cloud Foundation. Modelled increases of several hundred percent are common. In this case the first quote was roughly 410 percent of the previous term. The figure that matters is yours, validated against what you actually run.
Yes, and the first quote is rarely the floor. Leverage comes from three things: a verified baseline of what you actually run, a model of what the renewal is worth to you under each scenario, and a credible option to leave in the time available. With those in place this client’s renewal closed 56 percent below the quote, saving more than £1 million. Without them, the vendor’s number is the number.
A letter of authority is the client’s written permission for C4C to negotiate with the vendor on its behalf. It meant the conversation with Broadcom was run by people who had spent years on the vendor side of these deals, while the client’s own teams stayed out of the pressure. It also tells the vendor the customer has taken advice, which changes the tone of the negotiation.
No. On VMware we are entirely independent. We do not resell it, we do not earn on the licence, and we selected the transacting partner for this client on cost and support alone. Where we do supply a product elsewhere on this site, we say so on the page.
Both have a cost. A short term keeps leverage but forgoes multi year pricing. A long term locks in pricing but hands the vendor the next negotiation. The structure this client secured, a multi year agreement with a right to terminate each year, takes the pricing certainty of the long deal without giving up the exit. Whether that is available depends on the estate and the timing, which is why engaging early matters.
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