VMware will support vSphere 7 through October, although end of support was originally planned for April.

Anyone who uses VMware in an organization that is not one of the largest in the world is likely to be happy to hear any good news about the company’s solutions and subscriptions since its acquisition by Broadcom. vSphere 7 users who have not yet migrated to a new version can be happy to hear such good news. VMware is extending support for vSphere 7 until October 2024.

VMware originally planned to end support for vSphere version 7 in April, but that never happened. The deadline now appears to have been quietly extended. Previously (before Broadcom), VMware also offered extended support for vSphere 6.5 and vCenter 6.5, but that happened in 2021 during the pandemic. It’s unclear why Broadcom is now offering a delay.

In any case, customers will be given a six-month grace period. There’s a good chance VMware will announce vSphere 9 soon, so the company may want to give its customers the option to easily opt out of an edition.

Other concerns

For many customers, the vSphere 7 support deadline is far from the biggest concern. As of April, AWS is no longer a VMware reseller and the VMware Cloud on AWS on-demand vSphere offering is also disappearing. Customers will have to purchase a license themselves before these solutions disappear in August. VMware says hosts could disappear if they don’t purchase the right licenses.

And then of course there is Broadcom’s overall strategy, which is converting the entire VMware offering to a bundle strategy with high license costs, upfront payments and little flexibility. For existing customers, the costs are increasing by a factor of ten or more. According to Gartner, the expensive licenses have even triggered a trend towards devirtualization.