Broadcom’s years-long revamp of the VMware Cloud Service Providers (VCSP) program has already significantly altered the go-to-market partner landscape, but a company executive views the next 12 months as a “defining period” for the upended ecosystem.

Ricky Cooper, VP for cloud service provider (CSP) and OEM sales for Broadcom, penned a recent blog post tactically focused on highlighting partner and customer benefits from the VCSP program changes. This includes the usual talking points of changing the program’s focus toward partners that can better support changing customer needs based around VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (VCF 9) and private cloud.

“Against this backdrop, this is a defining period for the VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) ecosystem, one that is focused on building a more economically viable ecosystem that is grounded in private cloud independence, deep services capability, and long-term customer value,” Cooper wrote.

The executive then goes on to state that those program changes – or “evolution” – are “deliberate by design.”

He added: ”It reflects a shift in how VMware private cloud services are delivered and consumed, and it is intended to create greater clarity, consistency, and resilience across the ecosystem – ultimately driving stronger customer outcomes and business impact for both VCSPs and the customers they serve.”

Cooper noted that these service demand changes require VCSP partners “that demonstrate strong services capability, regional relevance, and capability to scale,” and that Broadcom is “committed to co-investing in VCSPs that demonstrate a clear focus on services capability, customer value, and long-term growth. This includes through training, supporting workload migrations, and aligning on go-to-market execution.”

This process has resulted in many former VCSP partners deemed not aligned with Broadcom’s mission being removed from the program. Cooper wrote that this sifting has resulted in “not all customers are fully aware of how the VCSP ecosystem is evolving.”

“Our intention is not to introduce disruption, but to enable long-term stability,” Cooper countered. “By aligning customers with highly capable VCSPs, we are creating an environment that supports predictable outcomes, stronger performance, and sustainable growth.”

Partner consolidation

Those “disruptions” include a rash of partner consolidation, with more established or committed VCSP partners snapping up firms less enthused by Broadcom’s program alterations. One of the more active has been 11:11 Systems, which earlier this year acquired Australia-based legacy VCSP partner Digital Sense.

That deal marked 11:11 Systems’ seventh purchase of a former VMware partner, including deals for iland Cloud, Green Cloud Defense, Unitas Global, Sungard Availability Services, Faction, and Ntirety. It also continued what 11:11 Systems Chief Revenue Officer Dante Orsini told SDxCentral was an ongoing strategy following the Ntirety deal.

Orsini, who came to 11:11 Systems as part of the iland Cloud deal, said that history has provided his current employer with a solid playbook for merging operations, a process that, as noted, has gathered steam over the past several months.

“We immediately are reaching out to the customer base, and that's our No. 1 priority,” Orsini said of the process. “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. 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 VCSP changes, which Orsini noted has indeed set the stage for merger and acquisition activity among partners.

“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 of other partners that were part of a featured panel at the VMware Explore event in Las Vegas last year.

“What I love about it is the focus, one platform, one solution,” Stephen Moss, who was SVP of managed services at VCSP partner Insight but has since moved to COO at banking-focused IT firm Navanta, 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 concerns remain

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."

Broadcom’s Cooper indicated that the defining period of this partner commitment is at hand.

“The next 12 months is an important window for both VCSPs and customers,” Cooper concluded. “For VCSPs, it is an opportunity to invest, differentiate via value-added services, and align with the future direction of the ecosystem. For customers, it is a time to assess current environments, engage with providers, and plan for the next phase of their cloud journey.”

UPDATE: This story has been updated to update Stephen Moss' current position.