Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has closed—now what? Part 1: Options for VMware Aria Operations customers
Big acquisitions like this always create questions for the customers of both organizations, but mostly for those of the acquired entity. When they involve complex technologies that are foundational to the management of your enterprise infrastructure, such as Aria Operations, the stakes are high. The good news is that in these cases, it can often take time for changes to unfold—whether they ultimately end up being good or bad for you—giving you the opportunity to consider the future, weigh your options, and make thoughtful decisions about how to move forward.
Considerations for VMware Aria Operations customers
In the benefits column, VMware/Broadcom is touting the advantages of a single-stack provider, and there is merit to that argument, though of course there are also advantages to a best-of-breed approach. Additionally, Broadcom’s strategy is to move in the hybrid/multi-cloud direction, which is good for customers.
However, announcements and signals coming from the company is giving industry experts pause—not about the single-stack argument in general but about the direction this specific consolidation seems to be heading toward. We won’t rehash those concerns here (you can read out them in articles from Network World, SDxCentral, and others); instead, we want to focus on what you can do about it within your organization.
When thinking about the future of Aria Operations within your enterprise, here some questions to ask yourself:
How Broadcom-heavy is your environment?
If you’re all-in on the Broadcom stack, Aria Operations may continue to be a good fit for you. But when a platform is absorbed into a particular vendor stack, it’s natural to assume that R&D investments will focus primarily within that stack. So, if you have a lot of non-Broadcom vendors—such as Cisco or Nutanix—you might find that new functionality and enhancements for those systems are delayed, at best, or even dry up completely. The risk is that you lose the full network/fabric visibility you need to manage your IT environment. If this is a concern, you want an independent (vendor-agnostic) solution that won’t “play favorites.”
Are you currently juggling multiple, vendor-specific tools?
The proliferation of vendor-specific monitoring tools is a natural, almost inevitable, result of IT infrastructure evolution over time. If your team is working with a host of different tools, this is a timely opportunity to consolidate. By replacing a suite of different tools with the right unified platform, you can centralize visibility, streamline workflows, and enhance efficiency.
Do you work with a trusted partner?
When it comes to VMware resellers and service providers, Broadcom is starting from scratch. If you have a trusted partner that you work with—and want to continue to work with—they may not be able to regain their status, leaving you no choice but to find a new partner or establish a direct relationship. This in itself may not be a primary driver in the decision whether to stay with or replace Aria Operations, but it’s an important question to factor in. Even if your partner isn’t left out in the cold, that partner could end up reducing their own investment in and focus on VMware.
How critical is comprehensive and timely customer support?
VMware’s recent layoff of over 2,000 employees raises questions about support resources and coverage, particularly in light of the partner shakeup. Again, this may not be the driving factor in your decision-making, but it should be an important consideration.
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In part 2, we’ll discuss options for VMware CloudHealth customers—stay tuned…
Virtana Insight
