Is Broadcom Forcing Costly Bundles— and Driving Your VMware Spend Up 5–10X?

Whether facing Broadcom audits, restructuring clusters, or adapting to new licensing rules, LDS delivers the confidence that every license, cluster, and core is fully defensible.

Reduce Costs

Cut licensing expenses by up to 35%

Annual Savings $2.5M

License Optimization 0%

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Q2 Q3 Q4

Stay Compliant

100% audit-ready infrastructure

Compliance Score

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LowMedHigh

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Maximize ROI

75% return on investment

0%

Efficiency

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0%

Utilization

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ROI Growth +75%

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Book Consultation

The VMware Licensing Crisis Every Organization Must Confront

For almost two decades, VMware licensing was predictable. You bought perpetual licenses, renewed support when you wanted, and outside of the occasional audit, it was business as usual. But now, in 2025, that stability is gone.

Broadcom didn't just acquire VMware — they ripped up the playbook and built an entirely new game.

Most organizations still think it's business as usual.

Another renewal. Another audit. Another cycle.

It's not.

This is a reset. A complete restructuring of VMware licensing. And if you walk into it unprepared, you're not just risking compliance — you're staring down forced subscriptions, seven-figure budget overruns, and audits designed to take control of your IT spend.

What New Broadcom Terms Trigger Violations?

How New Broadcom Terms Impact Organizations

Cost Impact

LICENSING EXPERT

"Broadcom's new terms eliminate perpetual licenses, enforce country restrictions, and require 180-day reporting - driving massive cost increases."

? ?

AUDIT VIOLATION

PENALTY

COMPLIANCE BREACH

OVERWHELMED BUSINESSES

"What do these new terms mean? How much will this cost us? Are we even compliant anymore?"

INSTANT

CRITICAL

01

Perpetual Licenses Eliminated

Affected

All perpetual license holders

Consequence

Forced subscription conversion

Timeline

Immediate upon patch application

GLOBAL

HIGH

02

Country-of-Use Restrictions

Affected

Multinational organizations

Consequence

Geographic licensing penalties

Timeline

Upon license audit discovery

DEADLINE

HIGH

03

180-Day Reporting Mandate

Affected

All license holders

Consequence

Service lockouts, penalties

Timeline

Every 180 days, mandatory

MANDATORY

FINANCIAL

04

Forced Bundle Requirements

Affected

All new subscriptions

Consequence

Inflated licensing costs

Timeline

At renewal/new purchase

COST

EXTREME

05

SMB Price Explosion

Affected

Small-medium businesses

Consequence

Budget destruction

Timeline

Immediate market effect

Broadcom's Stealth Audit Practices

When moving customers from legacy VMware licenses to Broadcom's new subscription renewals, Broadcom often directs organizations to use its own tools—KB 95927 (Inventory Script) and KB 96426 (License Calculator). While presented as "helpful planning aids," these scripts are data-harvesting tools that capture detailed infrastructure intelligence.

💡 Here's the Reality:

These scripts capture CPU cores, vSAN storage capacity, host configurations, and then apply Broadcom's new licensing logic. When you share the results, you're essentially providing a stealth audit—exposing compliance gaps and licensing vulnerabilities that lead to renewal quotes 5–10× higher than expected.

📋 The Source Documents:

Broadcom KB 95927

Inventory Collection Script

Broadcom KB 96426

License Calculation Tool

How LDS turn Audit Anxiety into Advantage?

Our comprehensive 5-step methodology transforms licensing chaos into strategic advantage

Independent Expertise

+

TRANSFORMS

COMPLEXITY

Licensing Optimization

Unaffiliated Software Licensing Advisory

Full Autonomy

15+ Years Experience

Operating with full autonomy from VMware, Broadcom, or any other software provider. For more than 15 years, our team of former auditors and licensing specialists has sat on both sides of the table—experiencing the pressures and strategies vendors use, while also understanding the practical challenges organizations face during audits, negotiations, and license renewals.

Independent

Expert

Trusted

100% Client-Focused

Zero Vendor Conflicts

Unlike resellers or vendor-aligned consultants, we do not receive incentives, commissions, or kickbacks. Our sole commitment is to our clients, ensuring they receive clear, unbiased guidance tailored to their business needs. Over the years, we have gained a deep understanding of VMware's evolving licensing models, audit strategies, and compliance pitfalls.

❌No Vendor Commissions

✅100% Client Aligned

15+

Years Experience

100%

Independent

0%

Vendor Conflicts

500+

Audits Handled

1

STEP 1

Holistic VMware Estate Visibility and Data Collection

We establish a complete and accurate picture of your VMware environment by consolidating contract details, entitlement data, and deployment records to give you full visibility.

Key Outcomes

🎯 Full entitlement mapping

📊 Deployment and infrastructure capture

⚡ Cluster, core, and socket visibility

📈 Normalized entitlement vs. deployment view

2

STEP 2

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Our specialists apply VMware's licensing rules with auditor-level precision, giving you a defensible compliance position and protecting against unexpected audit claims.

Key Outcomes

✅ Independent compliance calculation

🛡️ Auditor-level accuracy

⚠️ Identification of non-compliance and audit exposure

3

STEP 2

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Our specialists apply VMware's licensing rules with auditor-level precision, giving you a defensible compliance position and protecting against unexpected audit claims.

Key Outcomes

💰 Recovery of unused entitlements

📉 Roadmap for reducing waste and overspend

⚙️ Core and cluster optimization

4

STEP 2

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Our specialists apply VMware's licensing rules with auditor-level precision, giving you a defensible compliance position and protecting against unexpected audit claims.

Key Outcomes

📋 ELA and contract analysis

📏 Licensing metric evaluation (per CPU, per Core, per Socket, etc.)

5

STEP 2

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Our specialists apply VMware's licensing rules with auditor-level precision, giving you a defensible compliance position and protecting against unexpected audit claims.

Key Outcomes

🛡️ Audit defense and preparation

💼 Renewal negotiation support

☁️ Cloud and hybrid migration guidance

🎯 Long-term licensing strategy

📊 PROVEN TRACK RECORD

Our Numbers Speak for Themselves

Proven results that demonstrate our expertise and commitment to excellence in IBM licensing

👥

0+

ENTERPRISE MICROSOFT CLIENTS

💰

0M

CLIENT SAVINGS

🏆

0+

MICROSOFT LICENSING EXPERTS

🌍

0+

YEARS OF MICROSOFT EXPERIENCE

🛡️

0%

AUDIT DEFENSE SUCCESS RATE

How LDS implementation process works?

Licensing Data Solutions (LDS) helps organizations ensure VMware software usage remains aligned with Broadcom's contractual requirements.

Our 4-step VMware Compliance Approach

Our comprehensive 4-phase approach to VMware licensing optimization and compliance management

1

Step 1

Discovery

Infrastructure Analysis

In-depth discovery of VMware infrastructure focusing on compliance metrics including physical core counts, cluster mapping, vSAN capacity, feature utilization, and subscription data.

Core Count Validation100%

Cluster MappingReal-time

Storage AnalysisComplete

2

Step 2

Review

Compliance Assessment

Thorough review of your VMware estate, comparing actual deployments against license agreements. We reconcile device with Active Directory records and map virtual machines to physical hosts for transparent ELP visibility.

ELP AssessmentDetailed

Active Directory MappingAccurate

VM-to-Host AnalysisTransparent

3

Step 3

Analysis

Data Validation

Validate data against VMware entitlements and Broadcom's framework. Focus on per-core licensing compliance and feature alignment assessment.

Data ValidationVerified

Usage AnalysisOptimized

4

Step 4

Strategy

Recommendations

Develop tailored licensing strategies aligning VMware deployments with business requirements. Evaluate Broadcom's transition impact and identify cost optimization opportunities.

Risk ReductionEliminated

Future-ProofingSecured

LDS Product Bundling Simulation

At LDS, we don't just compare bundles — we rebuild your VMware licensing strategy from the ground up to ensure every product you use (or don't use) is aligned with Broadcom's new terms.

35%

Average Cost Savings

2-6

Weeks to Complete

100%

Compliance Assured

Product Bundling Simulation Flow

1

Data Collection

RVTools, vCollector & Environment Analysis

Legacy Metrics
Current Usage
Topology Map

2

Rules Re-calculation

Legacy vs Broadcom Terms Comparison

Key Changes:

16-core minimum
vSAN entitlements
NSX/HCX rules

3

Bundle Simulation

VCF vs VVF Cost & Feature Analysis

VCF Scenario

Full stack + 1TB/core

VVF Scenario

Compute + 0.25TB/core

4

Risk Analysis

3-5 Year Cost & Compliance Impact

Exposure Analysis:

Audit penalties
Uplift costs
Growth projections

5

Strategic Roadmap

Optimized Licensing Strategy & Negotiation Plan

Multi-million savings
Audit protection
Cost optimization

VCF vs VVF Bundle Analysis

Comprehensive comparison of VMware Cloud Foundation and vSphere Foundation licensing models

VMware Cloud Foundation

Full Stack Solution

Complete infrastructure stack

Enterprise-grade features

Storage & network intensive

VMware vSphere Foundation

Compute Focused

Core virtualization platform

Lower entry cost

Compute workloads

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Storage Capacity

VCF provides 4x more vSAN storage per core

1 TiB/core

VCF

VS

0.25 TiB/core

VVF

Impact

4x difference

NSX Networking

Network virtualization licensing approach

Included

VCF

VS

Add-on License

VVF

Impact

Cost difference

HCX Migration

Hybrid cloud extension capabilities

Included

VCF

VS

Separate SKU

VVF

Impact

Migration cost

Core Minimum

Broadcom's minimum licensing rule

16 cores

VCF

VS

16 cores

VVF

Impact

Same requirement

Base Cost

Starting price point comparison

Higher entry

VCF

VS

Lower entry

VVF

Impact

Initial investment

Strategic Decision Framework

Choose VCF When:

High storage requirements (>0.25 TiB/core)
Network virtualization is essential
Need hybrid cloud capabilities
Full-stack solution preference

Choose VVF When:

Primarily compute workloads
Lower storage requirements
Budget-conscious approach
Flexible feature adoption

Our 5-Phase Approach

1

Phase 1 — Inventory Normalization & Legacy Metric Baseline

We start by collecting product and workload data from RVTools, vCollector, and other environment sources. This information is normalized into a unified metric set to establish a precise baseline for comparison.

2

Phase 2 — Legacy vs New Rules Re-Calculation

We re-evaluate your environment against current licensing terms, including vSAN entitlements, NSX rules, and the 16-core minimum. This side-by-side analysis reveals where uplift is required.

3

Phase 3 — Comparative Bundle Simulations

We run simulation models to see how your environment maps under both VCF and VVF bundles. If a product is no longer sold, we recommend retiring it to avoid unnecessary costs.

4

Phase 4 — Risk & Cost Delta Analysis

We perform a compliance and financial gap analysis, quantifying exposure, identifying one-time uplift costs, and projecting 3–5 year cost exposure based on growth and workload shifts.

5

Phase 5 — Tailored Roadmap & Recommendations

Finally, we deliver a defensible licensing strategy. Unnecessary products are eliminated and active workloads are mapped to the optimal bundle based on business fit and financial impact.

What You Get

Accurate Cost Projections

3-5 year financial impact analysis with precise bundle alignment

Risk Mitigation

Compliance gap identification and audit risk elimination

Strategic Roadmap

Long-term licensing strategy that grows with your business

The Challenge

VMware renewals under Broadcom are no longer a simple formality. They're complex, high-stakes events. Walking in without clarity on licenses, usage, and Broadcom expectations risks overpaying, audit failures, or losing leverage.

LDS Solution

We don't just review licenses — we map your environment, uncover hidden risks, and give you strategic advantage in every renewal discussion. Complete visibility, strategic intelligence, negotiation power.

Audit Defense

Compliance Ready

Proactive compliance mapping

License Mapping

Full Visibility

Complete environment audit

Cost Analysis

Strategic Planning

Perpetual vs subscription models

Negotiation Power

Strategic Advantage

Data-backed positioning

Phase 01

Foundation Discovery

25%

METRICS

Accuracy:98%

Coverage:Complete

Timeframe:2-3 weeks

P01

Understand Your Full Licensing Footprint

Foundation Discovery

25% Complete

Before you can make any decisions, you need clarity on what you actually own and use. Most organizations rely on old spreadsheet and partial reports or even run vendor-provided scripts — which can expose and weaken your negotiating power. Instead, LDS works with your team to conduct a comprehensive internal audit.

CHALLENGE

Organizations rely on old spreadsheets and partial reports

LDS SOLUTION

Comprehensive internal audit with full environment mapping

KEY ACTIVITIES

License usage vs entitlements mapping

Compliance gap identification

Geographic license usage analysis

Per-core allocation mapping

Contract obligation review

Optimized Bill of Materials

RISKS MITIGATED

Audit triggers Penalty exposure Country violations

OUTCOMES DELIVERED

Defensible estate picture Negotiation foundation Compliance readiness

Phase 02

Legacy Transformation

50%

METRICS

Savings:15-25%

Reduction:Zombie licenses

Timeline:1-2 weeks

P02

Product Fit Analysis

Legacy Transformation

50% Complete

Many organizations still rely on older, standalone VMware products that no longer align with Broadcom's bundled offerings. LDS conducts a detailed SKU and price-list comparison to evaluate whether these legacy products are supported, bundled, or retired under Broadcom's rules.

CHALLENGE

Legacy products misaligned with Broadcom bundles

LDS SOLUTION

Detailed SKU comparison and 3-year cost projection

KEY ACTIVITIES

Legacy audit and bundle mapping

SKU alignment analysis

3-year cost projection modeling

Optimization plan development

EOA feature assessment

Bundle structure alignment

RISKS MITIGATED

Obsolete licenses Redundant spending EOA compliance

OUTCOMES DELIVERED

Streamlined portfolio Cost optimization Bundle alignment

Phase 03

Strategic Intelligence

75%

METRICS

Visibility:100%

Risks:Eliminated

Accuracy:99%

P03

Effective License Position (ELP)

Strategic Intelligence

75% Complete

We don't just deliver a report, we provide actionable intelligence to help you make strategic licensing decisions and avoid costly mistakes. Here's what LDS does in depth: Full Consumption Mapping: We inventory every VMware license, including vSphere, vSAN, NSX, vRealize Suite, and legacy products.

CHALLENGE

Lack of actionable licensing intelligence

LDS SOLUTION

Comprehensive consumption mapping and risk assessment

KEY ACTIVITIES

Full consumption mapping

Entitlement vs usage comparison

Risk and compliance assessment

Optimization opportunities

EOA product monitoring

Liability assessment

RISKS MITIGATED

Over/under-licensing Audit penalties Forced transitions

OUTCOMES DELIVERED

Strategic decisions Risk mitigation Optimization roadmap

Phase 04

Strategic Advantage

100%

METRICS

Savings:25-40%

Control:Maintained

Power:Maximized

P04

Negotiating Renewals with Cost Optimization

Strategic Advantage

100% Complete

With your environment fully mapped and your licensing strategy defined, the final battlefield is negotiation. Too many organizations step into renewal talks unprepared — and that's exactly where costs spiral. Vendors know when you're walking in blind. That's when inflated pricing slips through.

CHALLENGE

Walking into renewals unprepared and vulnerable

LDS SOLUTION

Data-driven negotiation with strategic positioning

KEY ACTIVITIES

Data-backed strategy development

Renewal path evaluation

Discount opportunity identification

Audit response preparation

Flexible terms negotiation

Control maintenance

RISKS MITIGATED

Inflated pricing Unfavorable terms Audit leverage

OUTCOMES DELIVERED

Cost optimization Risk mitigation Maximum value

Strategic Control Achieved

Your VMware renewal transforms from procedural task to strategic advantage

25-40%

Cost Reduction

Eliminated

Audit Risk

98%+

Compliance Score

Maximized

Negotiation Power

Assessment

Current License Inventory

Critical

Cloud Cost Analysis

Essential

Compliance Gap Review

Important

Migration

License Mobility Planning

Active

Workload Mapping

In Progress

Policy Compliance

Verified

Optimization

Cost Reduction 15-30%

Compliance Score 98%+

Risk Mitigation Complete

Compliance Defense

Keeping You on the Right Side of the Contract

98% Compliant

Moving VMware workloads to the cloud isn't just about infrastructure — it's about whether your licenses are even allowed to move with you. VMware's license mobility rules are strict, and if you don't map your workloads correctly during migration, you could end up out of compliance on day one.

The Risk:

Moving VMs across AWS, Azure, or VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) means you must understand how your current entitlements apply in the new environment.

LDS Compliance Shield in the Cloud:

LDS runs a full compliance road-map review before you migrate, mapping entitlements against vendor terms, so you don't walk straight into a non-compliance trap. We don't leave it to chance — we stress-test your contracts before the auditors do.

Right-Sizing Defense

VMware Cloud Costs & Density

Right-Sized

With VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), they halved the subscription price, but that doesn't mean you're automatically saving money. If your VMs are oversized or density planning isn't precise, you'll overspend twice as fast in the cloud as you would on-premise.

LDS Right-Sizing Blueprint for Cloud:

LDS conducts a workload and user-demand assessment that identifies what should move, what should stay, and what should retire. The outcome is a right-sized cloud license footprint — lean, compliant, and built to scale. You're not over-provisioned, and you're not under audit fire either.

Perform workload density reviews before moving to cloud.
Apply cost-modelling to compare on-prem vs. cloud VM economics.
Continuously monitor VM sprawl in cloud and hybrid environments.

Optimization Defense

Hybrid & Multi-Cloud Strategy

Multi-Cloud

Cloud licensing looks flexible — until you realize it's riddled with vendor traps: wrong instance types, unnecessary add-ons, double-counting. That's where the bill explodes. Optimization is no longer about "on-prem tuning" it's about running VMware in the most efficient environment at any point in time. But multi-cloud and hybrid strategies increase complexity: each move risks new licensing charges, hidden terms, or stranded costs.

LDS Optimization Playbook in the Cloud:

LDS performs a cloud cost optimization review, analyzing entitlement use, reserved vs. on-demand allocations, and vendor-specific optimization levers. We don't just migrate — we negotiate and configure cloud licensing, so you hit maximum performance with minimum spend. Without optimization, every renewal becomes a bigger liability. With LDS, your cloud spend stays in check.

Assess which workloads actually belong in cloud vs. on-prem.
Create a cross-cloud licensing roadmap to prevent stranded costs.
Run continuous cost-optimization reviews with real-world workload usage data.

$4.6M saved

Facing a VMware compliance report deadline, we discovered our vSAN allocations exceeded licensed capacity... LDS quickly reconciled core counts, remapped vSAN usage, and prepared a compliant report, avoiding $4.6 million in potential audit exposure.

Daniel Wright

CIO

Global Manufacturing Group – Chicago, Illinois, USA

$3.9M saved

A review of our VMware estate revealed we were using vSAN capacity across clusters without corresponding VCF core entitlements... LDS performed a full entitlement-to-usage mapping... saving $3.9 million in potential audit penalties and ongoing subscription costs.

Sophia Ramirez

VP of Infrastructure & Cloud Services

Financial Services Enterprise – New York, New York, USA

$3.2M saved

We missed a 180-day VMware compliance reporting cycle due to an internal tracking gap... LDS implemented automated reporting workflows, validated data accuracy, and trained our teams — restoring compliance and averting an estimated $3.2 million in potential penalties.

Mark Peterson

Director of IT Operations

Healthcare Network – Dallas, Texas, USA

$3.2M saved

We missed a 180-day VMware compliance reporting cycle due to an internal tracking gap, risking loss of management features and audit scrutiny. LDS implemented automated reporting workflows, validated data accuracy, and trained our teams — restoring compliance and averting an estimated $3.2 million in potential penalties and remediation costs.

Rachel Kim

CISO

Retail & E-commerce Leader – San Francisco, California, USA

$5.1M saved

A pre-audit check revealed our VMware Cloud Foundation components were deployed across additional clusters without matching core licenses, violating portability rules. LDS conducted a detailed compliance audit, aligned licensing with deployment, and negotiated with VMware to resolve the issue — avoiding $5.1 million in audit exposure.

James Carter

CFO

Logistics & Supply Chain Provider – Atlanta, Georgia, USA

$3.7M saved

During a quarterly audit preparation, we uncovered that our VMware Horizon deployments were using concurrent connections beyond licensed limits, especially across disaster recovery sites. LDS audited connection usage, optimized our pool assignments, and restructured entitlements to match DR configurations — preventing $3.7 million in projected audit penalties.

Olivia Bennett

Senior Director of IT Governance

Technology Solutions Firm – Austin, Texas, USA

$2.9M saved

While migrating workloads to a hybrid VMware environment, we unintentionally double-counted CPU cores in both on-premises and cloud clusters, inflating our licensing requirement. LDS identified overlap, removed redundant allocations, and recalculated entitlement needs — reducing costs by $2.9 million and ensuring ongoing compliance.

Ethan Harris

VP of Infrastructure Strategy

Energy & Utilities Corporation – Denver, Colorado, USA

Success Story

Real-world results from our license optimization services

✨ SUCCESS STORY

Healthcare Technology Provider

📈

$4.2M

Cost Avoidance Through VMware License Optimization and Audit Defense

📊 License Accuracy Improvement

0

%

🛡️ VMware Audit Readiness

0

%

⚠️

Challenge

A U.S.-based healthcare technology provider with 9,500+ employees faced multiple VMware compliance and cost exposure risks:

Unlicensed ESXi hosts running in production, flagged during an internal review.
vSphere license mismatches across clusters, leading to potential audit penalties.
Overprovisioned vSAN storage capacity without matching license coverage.
Lack of visibility into Horizon VDI usage, creating compliance gaps for concurrent connections.
Expired SnS (Support and Subscription) agreements, limiting upgrade rights and increasing renewal costs.

The organization received an official License Verification Request from VMware and realized its IT asset management team lacked the specialized licensing expertise to reconcile entitlements, validate deployments, and defend its position before VMware escalated the matter.

🛠️

Solution

Licensing Data Solutions (LDS) was engaged to perform a comprehensive VMware license optimization and compliance risk mitigation project.

Key activities included:

Full entitlement normalization across VMware vSphere, vSAN, NSX, and Horizon licenses.
Deployment-wide host-to-license mapping to detect unlicensed ESXi servers.
Cluster-level optimization to align CPU core counts and editions with entitlements.
Horizon concurrent user (CCU) analysis to ensure compliance with active session counts.
Remediation of overprovisioned vSAN capacity to avoid retroactive charges.
SnS renewal analysis to ensure upgrade rights and avoid backdated fees.
Creation of a complete VMware audit defense package with deployment, entitlement, and SnS status reports.
Support during vendor negotiations to secure favorable true-up terms.

🎯

Results

💰 $4.2 million in cost avoidance

By correcting edition mismatches, reclaiming unused Horizon licenses, and remediating vSAN over-licensing before the VMware audit.

🛡️ 100% VMware audit readiness

With validated entitlement and deployment data, supported by an accurate Effective License Position (ELP).

📊 65% improvement in license accuracy

Through precise host mapping, concurrent user validation, and removal of excess SnS coverage.

🔒 Ongoing compliance assurance

By implementing regular license reconciliation and core-based tracking across VMware infrastructure.

📥 Download Full Case Study →

Frequently Asked Questions

What services does LDS offer for IBM license management?

LDS provides comprehensive VMware license management services including Broadcom licensing compliance under the new core-based model, vSphere and vSAN optimization, NSX licensing analysis, legacy product retirement planning, subscription vs perpetual license strategy, audit defense, and renewal optimization. Our services help you navigate Broadcom's new bundled offerings like VCF and VVF while minimizing compliance risks and costs.

How much can we typically save on IBM licensing costs?

Most clients achieve 25-40% cost savings on their VMware licensing spend through our optimization services. This includes rightsizing core allocations under Broadcom's new model, retiring obsolete licenses, optimizing cluster configurations, avoiding over-licensing with bundles, and negotiating better renewal terms. The exact savings depend on your current environment and licensing structure, but clients typically see significant ROI within the first renewal cycle.

What makes LDS different from other IBM license management providers?

How does LDS help prepare for an IBM audit or license review?

We implement a comprehensive VMware audit readiness program that includes mapping your complete VMware footprint against Broadcom's new licensing requirements, documenting core allocations and cluster configurations, validating country-of-use compliance, preparing for mandatory 180-day reporting requirements, and building a defensible Effective License Position. Our audit defense approach helps clients respond confidently to Broadcom's enforcement actions while minimizing financial exposure.

How does LDS help with VMware cloud migration and hybrid licensing?

We analyze your workloads to determine the most cost-effective licensing model for cloud or hybrid environments (e.g., PVU vs. VPC). We help you leverage Bring Your Own Software License (BYOSL) programs for platforms like AWS and Azure, and advise on bundling opportunities with IBM Cloud Paks to maximize value and minimize cost.

Contact Us

Contact us today to learn how we can support your Software Asset Management goals—with clarity, control, and confidence.

Audit Defense

Cost Optimization

Flexera Implementation

Compliance Management

Is Broadcom Forcing Costly Bundles— and Driving Your VMware Spend Up 5–10X?

Reduce Costs

Stay Compliant

Maximize ROI

The VMware Licensing Crisis Every Organization Must Confront

What New Broadcom Terms Trigger Violations?

How New Broadcom Terms Impact Organizations

Perpetual Licenses Eliminated

Country-of-Use Restrictions

180-Day Reporting Mandate

Forced Bundle Requirements

SMB Price Explosion

Don't Navigate These Violations Alone

Broadcom's Stealth Audit Practices

How LDS turn Audit Anxiety into Advantage?

Unaffiliated Software Licensing Advisory

Full Autonomy

100% Client-Focused

Holistic VMware Estate Visibility and Data Collection

Key Outcomes

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Key Outcomes

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Key Outcomes

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Key Outcomes

Auditor-Level Compliance and Risk Analysis

Key Outcomes

Our Numbers Speak for Themselves

How LDS implementation process works?

Our 4-step VMware Compliance Approach

Step 1

Discovery

Step 2

Review

Step 3

Analysis

Step 4

Strategy

Expected Outcomes

Complete Discovery

Compliance Assured

Data Validated

Cost Optimized

LDS Product Bundling Simulation

Product Bundling Simulation Flow

Data Collection

Rules Re-calculation

Key Changes:

Bundle Simulation

VCF Scenario

VVF Scenario

Risk Analysis

Exposure Analysis:

Strategic Roadmap

VCF vs VVF Bundle Analysis

VMware Cloud Foundation

VMware vSphere Foundation

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Storage Capacity

NSX Networking

HCX Migration

Core Minimum

Base Cost

Strategic Decision Framework

Choose VCF When:

Choose VVF When:

Our 5-Phase Approach

Phase 1 — Inventory Normalization & Legacy Metric Baseline

Phase 2 — Legacy vs New Rules Re-Calculation

Phase 3 — Comparative Bundle Simulations

Phase 4 — Risk & Cost Delta Analysis

Phase 5 — Tailored Roadmap & Recommendations

What You Get

Accurate Cost Projections

Risk Mitigation

Strategic Roadmap

🚀 Ready to Optimize Your VMware Licensing Strategy?

Maximize your VMware Investment with LDS

The Challenge