Broadcom’s overhaul of VMware’s partner channel program has caused considerable consternation among many of those partners, but some have found a way to thrive, a notion forwarded by 11:11 Systems.

That firm recently purchased fellow VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) authorized partner Ntirety. Financial details of the deal were not announced, but 11:11 Systems Chief Revenue Officer Dante Orsini explained to SDxCentral that the deal was the sixth such purchase of a VMware channel partner.

Orsini noted that 11:11 Systems has been a long-standing VCSP partner, and was one of the first to garner “premier” status as part of Broadcom’s VCSP overhaul in early 2024. It has since picked up several other players to help bolster its reach and platform offerings.

Specific to the Ntirety deal, Orsini explained that it provides 11:11 Systems with more depth in database management “and being able to support a broader number of platforms. I think on the other side of that coin, what we're able to bring to their customer base is going to be very well received as well.”

Orsini, who came to 11:11 Systems after his previous firm iland Cloud was itself acquired in 2021, said that history has provided 11:11 Systems with a solid playbook for merging operations, a process that as hinted to has gathered steam over the past several months.

“We immediately are reaching out to the customer base, and that's our No. 1 priority. And in the same sense, we're doing the exact same thing with the employee base, because we're welcoming everybody to our organization and this is something that I think we've gotten better and better at,” Orsini said. “And I think the system side is an area where we've got really skilled folks there that oftentimes can be a challenge for people, but we've done it so many times, there's a well-oiled process on that.”

That repetition has been fed by Broadcom’s well-publicized VCSP changes. The 11:11 Systems team itself tied the Ntirety purchase to “recent changes made by Broadcom to the VMware Cloud Service Provider ecosystem.”

“This has led former VCSPs to choose the best approach for them to assure their customers have ongoing access to VMware cloud infrastructure,” 11:11 Systems noted in a statement on the deal. “Options include creating new partnerships, migrating, or joining forces with a VCSP.”

Partner unease and opportunity

Orsini noted that Broadcom’s changes have indeed set the stage for such moves.

“When you look at the changes they made in the last couple years of trying to really consolidate the space, you're seeing a lot of opportunity just depending on where these organizations sit … as far as what percentage of their revenue or their platform is predicated on VMware,” Orsini said. “They're really trying to find people that are purists in the sense where they're completely dedicated to that platform like we are.”

Orsini said this partner situation hit an inflection point for some in July 2025, when Broadcom moved to sunset its white label distribution model that was focused on smaller cloud service provider partners. That move was hinted at somewhat famously by Krish Prasad, SVP and GM for Broadcom’s VCF division, who in a blog post wrote that the vendor expects “that our partners will go all-in with us on helping customers unlock the full value of VCF.”

“That was a bit of an ‘a-ha’ moment for a lot of people that thought that they had a path forward,” Orsini said of that move.

For 11:11 Systems, that "a-ha" was that Broadcom was indeed serious in its support for VMware and that the market would start to see that opportunity.

“They shifted an aircraft carrier super-fast,” Orsini said of Broadcom's VMware stewardship. “Sometimes it takes someone like [Broadcom CEO Hock Tan] to make that happen, and to see the proof come out the other side … they are actually walking the walk, which is super important."

Orsini’s enthusiasm toward its VMware-based support echoes that from other partners that were part of a featured panel at the recent VMware Explore event in Las Vegas.

“What I love about it is the focus, one platform, one solution,” Stephen Moss, SVP of managed services at VCSP partner Insight, said of the new VMware platform structure, later noting that it was superior “versus the kluge, Band-Aid together 20 different products that were not built to work together.”

“And if you look at the partner program, the way it's structured, how you have a very clear goal-based system for certifications, if you're looking to build and become a VMware partner,” Moss added. “If you're not, it's a great opportunity because it's very well structured. There's great options for getting your team skilled up. If you're not, there's all this training available.”

Partner concern remains

That’s not to say that everyone is happy.

Equity research firm William Blair noted in an “Enterprise Tracker” report last year that some enterprises and go-to-market partners were continuing to look for ways to decouple themselves from Broadcom and VMware. The report stated that value-added resellers (VARs) had noted “customers are actively strategizing how to get off VMware, and the broader ecosystem (VARs, OEMs, ISVs) is moving away from VMware.”

That last point was bolstered by the research firm noting “newfound disillusionment from partners about Broadcom squeezing them on margins,” with a specific “partner that historically could expect to make 10 to 15 points of margin on reselling VMware is now making only five to six points.”

Orsini did acknowledge that there are providers out there that are perhaps not as solid in their relationship with Broadcom as 11:11 Systems might be, and thus have been vocal about their challenges.

"I think that if I look at what we've done and what we've built, and how we're excited about the VMware platform, and we continue to grow, not just through acquisition, but also organically ... I think we have a very strong relationship Broadcom, and I think it's based on delivery," Orsini said. "So I feel like anything else, you're only as good as your ability to continue to deliver."

That partner distress is trickling down to end-users. Various VMware competitors have touted success in getting long-time VMware users to swap platforms, though the depth and speed of that churn has been debated, while analyst firms have predicted hundreds-of-thousands of VMware customers may be up for grabs.

Broadcom, for its part, remains unconcerned by this leakage as it continues to strike new licensing deals with a vast majority of VMware’s largest legacy customers and has even openly questioned the need to go after smaller customers.

Orsini echoed that sentiment, pointing to the depth of innovation Broadcom has infused in the latest VCF 9.0 platform, which has garnered significant stickiness in the market.

“I remember speaking with one architect who’s like, ‘you would think with 15 years that somebody could compete with VMware.’ But he said, ‘I've tried this, I've tried this, I've tried this, I tried it … nothing comes close,’” Orsini said.

That notion has been backed by analysts, many of whom have pointed to significant challenges for firms that might want to leave VMware.

Sid Nag, president and chief research officer at industry advisory firm Tekonyx, explained to SDxCentral that VMware has a deep history within major IT departments, and that level of audience familiarity should not be underestimated as Broadcom continues to integrate VMware.

“These guys know VMware,” Nag said of that IT audience. “You can't just go into an IT department and say, ‘oh, guess what? We're going to go with a different virtualization technology because VMware is charging us, blah, blah, blah,’ because the amount of money you have to spend to train your new people, I mean, get real, right? I think that's a position that VMware is in, and I think they have to continue to monetize that and use that as a bully pulpit.”

That notion was echoed by Forrester Research, which, in a recent report headed by principal analyst Naveen Chhabra, noted that embedded loyalty.

“VMware love runs deep among the sysadmins who built their career around these products, and the proposed ‘all-in’ model only increases their remit in the organization,” the report stated. “If you opt out, they might opt in at a company that also opted in.”

More change to come?

Despite that hurdle, Chhabra did recently release a “VMware Migration Checklist” that provides disgruntled end-users with guidance toward a possible move away from their current VMware environments.

Orsini said he thinks that concern is waning.

"At Explore, I had to do a couple of live-streaming things, and to me, I was hoping that people would kind of get past their personal feelings and really take a look at the platform," Orsini said. "And I think that's what we're starting to see a lot of success, is that it's calming down and people are realizing, like, OK, there's a lot of value here.”

That's not to say that change won't still come to the VCSP ecosystem. Orsini referenced Broadcom’s recent public announcement of its plans to migrate its partner overhaul program to its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions.

“July may not be the only reduction in partners,” Orsini said of Broadcom’s U.S.-centric move last year. “We know you're going to see it across mainland Europe, and I think also, in addition to that … the folks that are part of the program today may not be part of the program in the next 12-18 months. That said, what you'll probably hear from Broadcom, and I agree with, is they're really trying to get to some semblance of stability and lean into the partners that they're wanting to invest their time with."

Stability was indeed the word from Broadcom coming out of the Explore event.

But, should that stability still prove too turbulent for some, would 11:11 Systems be interested if some of those partners were not willing to continue the ride?

"We're always looking for opportunities to continue to grow, because as you look at this space, there's so much intellectual property and the right talent that when you have an opportunity to go out and acquire a company and continue to add to your talent pool, it makes a big difference," Orsini said. "I'm a big believer in the diversity, meaning, if everybody is kind of tracking in the same direction, but if you've got an open mind, some people may find a better way of getting something done, and I think that bringing people together that have had experience in the space, but maybe have come from a different segment of the space, you always learn more. So it's kind of you're always looking for the one-plus-one-equals-three or four."