Sourcing in practice | Session 7

VMware After Broadcom

Per-core math and the exit question. A VMware Cloud Foundation quote worked live off the paper: the inflated billable core count corrected before the rate, the bundle challenged against real usage, the exit costed as leverage, and the renewal agenda written for the meeting. With briefings from the advisory desk. Recorded August 2026.

The first two minutes play for everyone. The full session is available on request with a work email.

What this session covers

The deal nobody chose. The product you have run for fifteen years, repriced under a per-core model you never agreed to, arriving as a quote several times your old bill with the word renewal on it. This session prices it correctly, separates the phantom cost from the real cost, and builds a position from arithmetic instead of grievance.

Live on the sample workspace, the VCF quote is dropped on the benchmarking desk and opens as a worked deal: the subscription read line by line, the rate placed against comparable core estates, the inflated billable core count taken apart before the discount, and the asks written beside the lines they fix.

Between the live segments, the advisory desk cuts in with short recorded briefings: what Broadcom actually changed about ownership, the bundle, and the count; which exits are real at which layer and what switching costs; how to negotiate when the vendor knows you're stuck; and the week to run whether you stay or leave.

Agenda