The Double-Bubble Problem That Broke VMware Customers
Here's the thing about migrating virtualization platforms: you don't just walk away from your old setup. You keep paying for it while you're building the new one. HPE calls this the "double-bubble cost problem," and honestly, that's almost too polite a way to describe what's been happening since Broadcom acquired VMware.
The numbers are brutal. Since the acquisition, some customers have seen license costs jump 800% to 1,500%. A mid-market company that was happily paying $10,000 to $15,000 for VMware Essentials Plus? Now they're getting quotes of $80,000 to $200,000. That's not a price increase. That's a hostile takeover of your IT budget.
Broadcom didn't just raise prices, either. They eliminated perpetual licensing entirely, slashed the VMware catalog from over 8,000 SKUs down to four bundles, and slapped minimum core requirements of 72 cores per CPU on what used to be 16. Late renewal penalties hit 20%. And then they purged the partner programs that service providers had been relying on for years.
The result? A survey found that half of VMware users plan to reduce their usage by 2028. More than half are actively looking for an exit. The question isn't whether organizations will migrate—it's which platform they'll choose when they do.
HPE's Migration Assistance Program: What They're Actually Offering
At the Partner Growth Summit in Las Vegas, staged alongside HPE Discover, the company announced a migration assistance program that's pretty hard to ignore. Here's the deal:
Customers get HPE Morpheus VM Essentials free for their first year of licenses. During that same period, they can grab Zerto migration licenses for just $1. That's not a typo. One dollar.
Fidelma Russo, HPE's EVP and CTO, framed it as a solution to the double-bubble problem. "One of the big things we see is that as customers are going through this journey on transforming their operating model, you end up with double expenses and so we're really pleased to announce the program around Morpheus and platform migration," she said.
The timing is interesting. HPE didn't mention VMware by name in their pitch—probably because they don't need to. Everyone in the room knows exactly who this is aimed at. At their last Discover event in Barcelona, HPE had already been talking about customers seeing virtualization license fees skyrocket and positioning Morpheus with OpsRamp management tools and Zerto disaster recovery as a "fully integrated enterprise-grade alternative."
This year, they're putting actual money behind that positioning.
Who Qualifies and What Partners Get
The migration assistance program is open to customers going through transformation with HPE Morpheus VM Essentials. But there's a separate, even more aggressive offer for partners.
HPE is providing VM Essentials software licenses free of charge for three years to the 600 partners who achieve Private Cloud with Virtualization competency by year-end. Partners only pay support costs. That's a serious commitment, and it tells you how much HPE wants to build out its channel ecosystem for this migration wave.
This makes sense when you look at the math. If a partner can offer customers a three-year free license period while they migrate, that's a powerful sales tool. It removes the financial risk from the decision and gives customers time to actually complete their migration without feeling like they're burning cash on two platforms simultaneously.
The competency requirement is also smart. It ensures that partners have the expertise to actually execute these migrations successfully, which protects HPE's reputation and reduces support burden down the line.
The Channel-Only Shift: What Changes on July 1
HPE is also extending its channel-only model to cover three additional products starting July 1: HPE Private Cloud PC3000 (formerly HPE Private Cloud Business Edition), HPE SimpliVity PC1000, and HPE Zerto software.
This follows the success of selling Morpheus VM Essentials through a channel-only route to market. The move signals that HPE is doubling down on its partner ecosystem rather than trying to sell directly to end customers.
For partners, this means more products to offer, more revenue opportunities, and a clearer path to building comprehensive migration capabilities. For customers, it means working through partners who understand their specific environment and can design migrations that minimize disruption.
The channel-only approach also gives HPE a buffer. If something goes wrong with these products, the partner absorbs some of the friction. It's a risk-sharing model that benefits everyone involved.
Partner Ready Vantage: Unifying HPE and Juniper Networks
Also announced at the Partner Growth Summit was the unification of HPE and Juniper Networks partner programs under a new umbrella called "Partner Ready Vantage." This change takes effect November 1.
The goal is simple: one global program for partners to offer services across networking, cloud, and AI. Simon Ewington, HPE's SVP for Worldwide Channel and Partner Ecosystem, said partners want "a simpler way to engage and a bigger opportunity to grow."
Under Partner Ready Vantage, partners will operate under a single program with simplified structure, aligned incentives, and consistent engagement model. HPE claims existing investments are protected, though we'll see how that plays out in practice.
This consolidation makes strategic sense. Juniper brings networking expertise, HPE brings cloud and compute. Together, they can offer partners a more complete solution for customers looking to build modern infrastructure.
How HPE Stacks Up Against the Competition
HPE isn't the only company trying to capture VMware refugees. Nutanix, AWS, and Azure have all ramped up their efforts to attract displaced customers. Each has their own pitch:
- Nutanix emphasizes hyperconverged infrastructure and simplicity
- AWS offers the cloud migration path with no upfront hardware costs
- Azure leverages existing Microsoft relationships and hybrid capabilities
- HPE goes for the on-premises alternative with aggressive pricing
What makes HPE's offer stand out is the combination of free software, $1 data protection licenses, and three-year partner incentives. Most competitors offer discounts or extended trials, but HPE is essentially giving away the product for free during the critical migration window.
That said, HPE's approach has risks. Morpheus VM Essentials needs to actually perform well in production environments. If customers migrate and then discover the platform doesn't meet their needs, they're stuck with a new set of problems on top of the old ones.
The Zerto inclusion is smart, though. Data protection and disaster recovery are legitimate concerns during migration, and offering it at $1 removes one more barrier.
What This Means for VMware Customers
If you're a VMware customer evaluating your options, HPE's migration assistance program is worth looking at seriously. The free year of VM Essentials and $1 Zerto licenses significantly reduce the financial risk of migration.
But don't jump in blindly. Here's what to consider:
Evaluate your actual workload requirements. Just because something is free doesn't mean it's the right fit. Make sure Morpheus VM Essentials can handle your specific workloads before committing.
Plan your migration timeline carefully. The one-year free period gives you breathing room, but you still need a clear migration plan. Rush this and you'll end up in the double-bubble situation HPE is trying to prevent anyway.
Work with a competent partner. The three-year free offer for partners who achieve competency shows HPE values expertise. Make sure your partner has the skills to execute a smooth migration.
Consider total cost of ownership. Free licenses are great, but factor in support costs, hardware requirements, and any training needed for your team.
The VMware migration wave isn't slowing down. With half of VMware users planning to reduce usage by 2028 and costs still elevated, more organizations will be looking for exits. HPE's program is designed to capture a slice of that migration traffic, and the aggressive pricing suggests they're serious about it.
Whether this translates into a sustainable competitive position depends on execution. If Morpheus VM Essentials delivers reliable performance and HPE's partner ecosystem can actually support these migrations, they've got a real shot at building a meaningful business from VMware's pain.
If not, they've just given away a lot of free software to customers who'll migrate again in two years when the next platform becomes too expensive.
Either way, this is a pivotal moment for the virtualization market. HPE's bet could pay off big, or it could be another example of vendors fighting over the same shrinking pool of displaced customers with increasingly aggressive incentives.
The only thing certain is that VMware's post-Broadcom future is being written right now, and companies like HPE are making their moves to shape it.
