Year of free HPE software a “step in the correct direction” in VMware rivalry

# Year of free HPE software a “step in the correct direction” in VMware rivalry Source: [https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/06/hpe-tempts-vmware-users-partners-with-year-of-free-virtualization-software/](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/06/hpe-tempts-vmware-users-partners-with-year-of-free-virtualization-software/) HPE’s new promotion aims to entice customers to more deeply consider migrating off VMware\. While numerous third\-party[surveys](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/09/35-percent-of-vmware-workloads-expected-to-migrate-elsewhere-by-2028/)have pointed to a[significant amount](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/04/nutanix-claims-it-has-poached-30000-vmware-customers/)of VMware customers looking to[reduce or eliminate](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/02/most-vmware-users-still-actively-reducing-their-vmware-footprint-survey-finds/)their VMware use over the next few years,[concerns around time and cost](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/01/a-long-costly-road-ahead-for-customers-abandoning-broadcoms-vmware/)are also expected to slow or deter migration plans, especially given that migration can require paying for two virtualization products simultaneously\. “One of the big things we see is that as customers are going through this journey on transforming their operating model, you end up with double expenses,” HPE’s EVP and CTO Fidelma Russo said, according to[The Register](https://www.theregister.com/virtualization/2026/06/15/hpe-offers-vmware-refugees-a-year-off-the-meter/5255460)\. Dean Colpitts, CTO of Canadian managed services provider \(MSP\) Members IT Group \(MITG\), which[VMware cut from its reseller program](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/06/broadcom-ends-business-with-vmwares-lowest-tier-channel-partners/)after 19 years of partnership a year ago, doesn’t expect the promotion to drive sales much\. “All our clients work on three, four, or five\-year life cycles and generally roll that purchase into their initial buy,” he told Ars\. “The biggest issue I’m seeing right now that is affecting VM Essentials sales and adoption is \[that\] the high prices and constraints of DRAM \[are\] affecting customers’ ability to obtain new hardware to migrate onto\.” Colpitts pointed to a lack of available hardware for permanent migrations and “to temporarily facilitate a brownfield reimage of the customer’s existing equipment from VMware to” VM Essentials\. On the other hand, one of HPE’s biggest channel partners, San Diego\-based Nth Generation, is expecting its “VM Essentials sales pipeline to as much as quadruple and sales to grow at about that rate” because of HPE’s promotion,[CRN reported](https://www.crn.com/news/virtualization/2026/hpe-unleashes-new-vm-essentials-incentives-in-vmware-by-broadcom-virtualization-market-share-battle)\. “These additional free licensing and migration capabilities are going to drastically lower the risk of moving to VM Essentials,” Nth Generation co\-president and CTO Dan Molina told the publication\. ## **Partner promotion** HPE also announced that it would give 600 reseller partners who earn the HPE partner program’s Private Cloud with Virtualization competency by the end of the year free VM Essentials software licenses for three years\. Partners still have to pay support costs, though\. Colpitts said that the benefit is “a step in the correct direction” but that limiting the promotion to 600 partners is “very shortsighted\.” He believes that HPE should give all of its partners VM Essentials “to facilitate getting \[VM Essentials\] into customer sites and displacing the competitors\.” “They need to fling \[VM Essentials\] as far and as fast as they possibly \[can\] to immediately gain traction and draw ISVs to them, which will increase adoption even more,” he said\.