The Cloud service providers’ trade association CISPE filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission today, arguing that Broadcom’s termination of VMware’s CSP partner program harms competition and European businesses.
Since Broadcom acquired VMware, the company has drastically reduced the number of channel partners, replacing the former program with an invite-only scheme that favors larger partners serving enterprise customers over small and medium-sized businesses.
Broadcom also introduced a rule requiring CSP partners to operate at least 3,500 cores, leaving hundreds of partners ineligible. Before the deal, VMware listed more than 4,000 CSP partners; current reports place VMware with only 19 CSP partners in the United States and around nine in the United Kingdom.
The European terminations began in January in Europe, prompting CISPE’s complaint. The association is seeking interim relief from the EC to reopen the CSP partner program, reinstate displaced partners, and bar Broadcom from retaliating against them.
Broadcom has pushed back, saying CISPE misrepresents market realities and vowing continued investment in European VMware Cloud Service Provider partners to offer alternatives to hyperscalers and meet European client needs.
