Broadcom ‘strongly disagrees’ with European cloud group attack on VMware programme

Accuses CISPE of being the voice of the hyperscalers

Broadcom is firing back at a European cloud association that is urging European Union regulators to temporarily stop Broadcom from changing its VMware Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe.

Broadcom said the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) association that is pushing EU antitrust regulators to temporarily stop Broadcom’s VMware cloud strategy is being funded by VMware competitors like Microsoft and AWS.

“Broadcom strongly disagrees with the allegations by CISPE, an organisation funded by hyperscalers, which misrepresent the realities of the market,” a Broadcom spokesperson told CRN.

CISPE consists of nearly 50 members across Europe, including arguably VMware’s largest competitors in Microsoft and AWS.

As part of Broadcom’s revamped cloud strategy with VMware, the company is reducing the total number of cloud providers that can participate in the VMware Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe - basically cutting the number of cloud partners that can sell VMware.

“In January 2026 Broadcom signalled the termination of its VMware Cloud ‌Service ⁠Provider programme in Europe. This unilateral decision removed all but a tiny minority of hand-selected partners and excluded most European CSPs from selling VMware products,” said CISPE in a statement this week.

Broadcom ended its former VMware Cloud ‌Service ⁠Provider programme for most parts of the world in late 2025. However, the company replaced it with a new, more exclusive invite-only programme focused on VMware partners that are investing heavily in VMware.

“We continue to be committed to investing significantly in our European VMware Cloud Service Provider partners (VCSPs), helping them offer alternatives to the hyperscalers and meet the evolving needs of European businesses and organisations,” Broadcom told CRN.

“We are focused on partnering with local VCSPs who can best support customers with skills, training and investments,” Broadcom said.

What the CISPE wants from Broadcom and the EU

On Thursday, the CISPE group made a formal request to EU antitrust officials to temporarily stop Broadcom from ending ‌its previous VMware Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe.

“Both cloud providers and their customers are being irreparably damaged by Broadcom’s unfair actions,” said CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance in a statement.

CISPE said an EU interim measure could immediately suspend Broadcom’s termination of its former VCSP partner programme, allow VMware cloud partners ‌to be readmitted to the programme, and include protection measures against retaliation from Broadcom.

Broadcom said its vision since closing its $61 billion acquisition of VMware remains the same.

“Broadcom’s strategy since closing the VMware acquisition has been to drive simplification, consistency and innovation across the VMware ecosystem, including VCSPs,” said Broadcom.

The new VCSP Is for VMware partners that ‘fight’

The changes to the VCSP programme were rolled out to most of the world in late 2025.

Outside Europe, on 1st November 2025 Broadcom officially launched its new invite-only VCSP programme to most of the world.

“We are creating the purity of the programme so that it means something when I say ‘CSP,’ so a customer can expect a clear service-level agreement with a clear outcome that they can drive from it,” said VMware’s Ahmar Mohammad, who crafted the new VCSP programme, in an interview with CRN last year.

“So we want our CSPs to grow bigger and bigger and bigger and much faster, whether it’s acquiring the business of departing [VCSP] partners or buying them outright,” Mohammad said. “We want larger and bigger partners who can put up a fight.”

Mohammad said the company is looking for more “all-in partners.”

“The goal is to put up a credible alternative against the hyperscalers,” said Mohammad, vice president of partners, managed services and solutions go-to-market for VMware. “So we’re encouraging [former VCSPs] to either sell their company or sell their book of business to a surviving partner.”

Broadcom has not only changed its VCSP programme, but its broader Broadcom Advantage Partner programme for VMware resellers as well.

VMware resell partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will see the lowest tier in VMware’s partner programme removed in May 2026 as the revamped Broadcom Advantage Partner programme gets rolled out globally.

Broadcom is reducing its four-tier Broadcom Advantage Partner programme for VMware resellers - Registered, Select, Premier and Pinnacle - into three tiers in EMEA this May, eliminating its lowest Registered partner tier completely.

Broadcom generated $19.3 billion in total revenue during the first quarter of 2026, representing a 29% sales increase year over year.

The company now has a $77 billion annual run rate.

This article first appeared on Computing’s sister title CRN. CRN reached out to CISPE but had not heard back at time of publication.