Tesco Shifts 40,000 VMware Workloads After Broadcom Price Increase

*Tesco cited a 175 percent VMware price hike and Broadcom’s conduct in UK court filings as the reason for the migration.*

Tesco plans to move 40,000 server workloads off VMware. The decision follows what the retailer called abusive conduct by Broadcom after its acquisition of the virtualization company.

Court filing details

In documents filed in the UK, Tesco stated that Broadcom raised its VMware licensing costs by about 175 percent. The retailer tied the increase directly to the migration project now under way.

No other technical details about the replacement platform or timeline appear in the filings referenced by the reporting.

Limited public reaction

The Hacker News discussion of the Ars Technica report drew 245 points and 142 comments, but no statements from Broadcom or other VMware customers have surfaced yet.

Why it matters

For any company still running large VMware estates, the Tesco filing shows that renewal negotiations after the Broadcom acquisition can produce price changes large enough to justify a full exit. Organizations that assumed stable licensing terms now have a concrete data point to test against their own contracts.

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Sources:

• Ars Technica

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