Negotiating Broadcom Support & Maintenance
Introduction – Why Support Negotiation Matters Post-Broadcom
Broadcom’s acquisition spree (VMware in 2023, CA Technologies in 2018, Symantec in 2019) has changed software support dynamics.
Support fees typically account for 20–22% of the license cost, representing a significant ongoing expense. If not managed, support costs can erode any license discount gained.
Support quality directly impacts mission-critical systems. Degraded support – slower responses or reduced expertise – risks downtime for essential workloads.
Following the acquisition, Broadcom has a history of restructuring its support offerings and increasing fees.
This makes it vital to negotiate support terms up front. A proactive negotiation can secure better pricing and service levels before you’re locked into Broadcom’s defaults.
Broadcom’s Support Models (Unified vs Tiered)
Broadcom offers two primary support models after integrating acquisitions:
- Unified (Portfolio-Wide) Support: One enterprise support contract covering all Broadcom software in your portfolio (VMware, Symantec, CA, etc.). All products are co-term under one agreement and often share a single support tier. You deal with a single vendor support portal and account team for all issues.
- Tiered/Product-Specific Support: Separate maintenance contracts are provided for each product line. For example, VMware support is contracted independently from Symantec or CA support. Each product might have its own support tier (e.g., standard vs. premium) and renewal schedule.
Broadcom typically pushes unified support deals for large customers.
A Portfolio License Agreement (PLA) or Enterprise License Agreement may bundle software and support together for multiple products. Smaller clients or those resistant to bundling may remain on product-specific maintenance contracts for each software.
Understanding which model Broadcom is proposing is key.
It affects your negotiation approach, flexibility in dropping products, and leverage in pricing. Ensure the model aligns with your organization’s needs before signing.
Negotiation Levers for Support Discounts
When negotiating a Broadcom support contract, use these levers to reduce costs and lock in protections:
- Base Support on Net Price: Insist that maintenance percentages (e.g., 20%) are applied to the discounted license price (net), not the list price. This ensures inflated support fees don’t erode your negotiated license discount.
- Cap Annual Uplifts: Negotiate a limit on annual support fee increases (e.g,. no more than 3–5% per year). This cap prevents surprise jumps in maintenance costs each year of a multi-year term.
- Lock Multi-Year Rates: If committing to multi-year support or subscriptions, lock the support rate for the term. For example, a three-year deal with a flat annual fee (or predefined slight uplifts) gives budget certainty and guards against Broadcom raising rates mid-term.
- True-Down Rights: Include a “use it or lose it” clause for support fees. If your license count or usage shrinks, support costs should decrease proportionally. Ensure the contract allows you to reduce support spend if you decommission or scale down deployments.
- Volume Consolidation: If you have multiple Broadcom products, use the total spend as leverage. Consider co-terminating renewals to negotiate a larger discount across the bundle. In return, push for an extra support discount percentage for the combined deal size.
Each of these levers tackles a common vendor tactic: Broadcom often calculates maintenance on the full list and implements automatic uplifts.
By negotiating these points, you secure better pricing throughout the contract, not just at the sale.
Unified vs. Product-Specific Support: Pros, Cons, and Tactics
Unified Support (Single Contract) – Pros: Simplifies vendor management with a single contract and a single support point of contact.
Co-terming everything can yield bundled pricing discounts and ensure consistent support levels across all products. Cons: All-or-nothing commitment – you’re tied into Broadcom’s whole portfolio.
It’s more challenging to replace or remove individual products. Pricing can be opaque, making it unclear how much each product’s support costs (masking overpriced components). A unified deal also creates a single large renewal, where Broadcom has leverage, as many critical systems come up for renewal at once.
Product-Specific Support (Individual Contracts) – Pros:
Flexibility to manage each product independently. You can negotiate or terminate support per product if needs change.
This prevents you from being stuck with unused products in a bundle. It also provides clarity on costs per product. Cons: Separate contracts may mean missed volume discounts and more administrative overhead (multiple renewal dates and invoices).
Broadcom might offer less aggressive discounts on smaller individual deals, and you’ll negotiate each product’s support terms separately.
Tactical Tips:
If you opt for unified support, demand transparency in the cost breakdown by product. Negotiate rights to remove or reduce components at renewal if they’re no longer needed.
Consider inserting an “exit clause” – for example, the ability to drop a product from the bundle or downgrade your contract if business needs change. Tie fees to usage metrics (e.g., number of users or servers) so you’re not paying fixed fees for declining usage.
If sticking with product-specific support, coordinate renewal timing to avoid out-of-sync contracts that dilute your leverage. You can still negotiate concurrently across contracts – let Broadcom know you’re evaluating the entire relationship.
If Broadcom pressures you to unify, leverage the threat of choosing best-of-breed: you might retain separate deals or even move one product to a competitor, to keep them competitive on each.
The key is to strike a balance between simplicity and flexibility. Choose the model that fits your org, and negotiate to mitigate its downsides (e.g., protections in a unified deal, or efficiency in multiple deals).
SLAs and Service Quality Safeguards
Price isn’t the only concern – service quality in support is crucial.
Broadcom’s support reorganization has, in some cases, led to slower responses or less personalized service.
To protect your operations:
- Define Support SLAs: Ensure the contract specifies response and resolution times for support tickets by severity. For example,a 1-hour response for P1 critical issues, with progress updates every X hours, etc. Clarity here sets expectations.
- Request Enhanced Support (if needed): If your environment is highly critical, negotiate for premium support features. This could include a Designated Technical Account Manager (TAM) or a named support engineer, as well as priority escalation contacts for high-severity incidents. Broadcom often sells “Business Critical” or “Mission Critical” support tiers – you may negotiate some elements of these as part of the deal (or at a discount).
- Include Remedies for Missed SLAs: To ensure accountability, put in remedies or reviews. For example, if Broadcom consistently misses the SLA (e.g., P1 responses take longer than agreed), the contract could provide for service credits or a formal escalation to executives. Even scheduling quarterly support review meetings can be a form of safeguard – it forces Broadcom to listen to your concerns and improve.
- Document Entitlements: Post-acquisition transitions can be confusing. Insist that Broadcom honors all existing support entitlements you had (like any legacy VMware premium support benefits). Have these written into the contract or order form. This ensures continuity of service quality after Broadcom’s reorganization.
Be skeptical of vague assurances. Get commitments in writing. A strong SLA with teeth not only improves support but gives you leverage for performance issues (e.g., negotiating a fee reduction or extra help if things falter).
Aligning Support with License Terms (Co-terming & Auto-Renew)
A successful support negotiation also involves syncing terms and avoiding renewal traps:
- Co-Termination: Align support renewal dates with license terms or across products. Co-terming all your Broadcom software support to a single renewal date simplifies management and strengthens your negotiating position (you can address everything in one go). It also ensures no product’s support lapses prematurely. If you have recently purchased new licenses, consider negotiating a prorated rate and aligning their support end date with your main renewal.
- Avoid Auto-Renewal Ambush: Broadcom and its acquired entities often include auto-renewal clauses that kick in if you don’t cancel within a notice period (commonly 60–90 days before the term end). Push to remove automatic renewals or require explicit re-commitment. At minimum, include a clause that Broadcom must provide a renewal quote 90–120 days in advance, and give you the right to opt out or adjust coverage. This prevents last-minute surprises and price hikes being forced on you.
- Advance Notice of Price Changes: In conjunction with the above, we require that any renewal or extension be accompanied by prior notice of pricing. You should have ample time to review and negotiate any increase. Without this, Broadcom could leverage time pressure to impose higher fees.
- Consolidate Term Lengths Wisely: If you unify support contracts, try to coterminous them for one big renewal. If that renewal is a few years out, ensure you have price increase caps in place for those out-years. Conversely, if you worry about Broadcom’s future pricing, you might consider negotiating a shorter term (such as a 1-year renewal) to maintain flexibility, even if it is co-terminous.
- Document Cancellation Rights: Ensure it’s clear how you can cancel or reduce support at the end of the term. No ambiguous wording that could lock you in. If the contract spans multiple years, clarify any early termination options or penalties.
Staying on top of term alignment and renewal terms puts you in control. It avoids scenarios where Broadcom has you “locked in by default”.
Proactively manage these dates – mark calendars for notice deadlines and leverage them to renegotiate on your terms, not Broadcom’s.
Broadcom Changes: VMware, Symantec, CA Support Differences
Broadcom’s approach to support can vary across the VMware, Symantec, and CA product lines.
Know the differences to tailor your negotiation:
- VMware (Virtualization & Cloud): Following Broadcom’s acquisition, VMware transitioned to subscription-only licensing for most of its products. Perpetual licenses are no longer sold or renewed for support (aside from short grace periods). This means that support is included in the subscription price. Broadcom simplified VMware’s support tiers into standard production support (24×7) by default, with optional Mission Critical Support add-ons (e.g., for a fee, you get a TAM and faster SLAs). Negotiation tip: If you’re renewing VMware under Broadcom, ensure you’re not forced into a higher support tier than you need. Confirm that any entitlements from VMware (like old Premier Support) are maintained. Ask Broadcom how they’ll handle VMware support tickets – many customers worry about longer wait times post-acquisition, so get assurances in writing.
- Symantec (Enterprise Security): Broadcom transformed Symantec licensing to subscription models (typically per user or device, support included). They reorganized support channels – many smaller Symantec customers experienced slower quoting and support as Broadcom focused on large accounts. Ensure your Symantec support level isn’t downgraded. For critical security software, check if Broadcom offers enhanced support (for example, faster threat response or named security advisors) and negotiate that if needed. If you had a Symantec support portal or TAM, clarify how it transitions under Broadcom. Negotiation tip: Press Broadcom to commit to response times for security incidents, given the high stakes. Also, verify that maintenance (updates/patches) remains timely post-acquisition.
- CA Technologies (Mainframe & DevOps): CA’s legacy customers often had perpetual licenses with annual maintenance. Broadcom tends to push these into long-term subscriptions or ELAs, bundling mainframe tools with others. Some CA support functions were streamlined, which may result in less personalized support for mid-tier clients. If you rely on CA products (e.g., mainframe databases, automation), ensure that support continuity and expertise are addressed. Broadcom might offer unified support teams for the mainframe, which can be beneficial if they are familiar with your environment. Negotiation tip: If you still have a perpetual license for CA software, use that as leverage – Broadcom may want to convert you to a subscription. In exchange, ask for price locks and extended support for the older version during the transition. Ensure any special support terms in your old CA contract (like on-site support or specific response commitments) carry into the new agreement.
Broadcom’s consolidation can mean new support processes (one portal for all products, new support contract IDs, etc.). During negotiation, explicitly discuss these changes. Insist on no loss of support quality or entitlements as the portfolios merge.
By highlighting differences, you demonstrate to Broadcom that you’re aware of the potential pain points in each area and expect them to be addressed.
Maintenance vs. Subscription Support Structures
Broadcom’s shift toward subscriptions has big implications for support:
- Perpetual License + Maintenance: Under older deals, you owned a license perpetually and paid an annual maintenance fee for support and updates. This fee is usually 20% of the license value. The advantage was cost predictability (license was CapEx, maintenance was smaller yearly OpEx), and you could theoretically skip support if budgets tightened (though you’d lose updates). Broadcom is phasing this out aggressively. If you still have perpetual licenses (e.g,. older VMware or CA versions), Broadcom may either refuse to renew support or dramatically raise maintenance fees to push you into a subscription. Negotiate a cap on maintenance renewal costs if you plan to stay on perpetual for a while. Also, ensure you get security patches for any extended support period.
- Subscription Licensing (Support Bundled): In the Broadcom era, most products (especially VMware and Symantec) are sold as subscriptions, which include license rights and support together for a term. This typically means higher annual costs than legacy maintenance, but it guarantees access to the latest versions and continuous support. When negotiating subscriptions, treat the support component as a negotiable element. For example, you might request that premium support perks (like a TAM or training credits) be included to justify the cost, or ask for a slight discount, recognizing that support is part of the bundle. Ensure the subscription contract still spells out support SLAs clearly – just because it’s bundled doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have guarantees.
- Comparing Total Cost: Over a multi-year period, subscriptions often have a higher TCO than buying once and paying maintenance. Broadcom knows this, so use it in negotiations: “Our alternative is to stay on older licenses with maintenance. We’ll only subscribe if we get price protection and service guarantees.” This can prompt Broadcom to offer a better rate or concessions to encourage you to adopt the subscription model.
- Strategy Consideration: If you’re faced with skyrocketing maintenance quotes, consider asking Broadcom for a subscription conversion deal. Sometimes they’ll offer a one-time discount or extra features if you convert all licenses to subscription now. Compare the cost carefully – and still negotiate for caps on future subscription increases. Conversely, if you can operate on your perpetual licenses without immediate upgrades, using a third-party support firm for a couple of years might be cheaper (more on this below). The threat of sticking with perpetual + third-party can be a bargaining chip to make Broadcom’s subscription offer more attractive.
In summary, evaluate both options. Negotiate hard either way: if staying on maintenance, limit its cost growth; if moving to a subscription, incorporate support enhancements and future price safeguards.
Broadcom’s goal is recurring revenue; your goal is to avoid overpaying for support in the process.
Alternatives & Escalation Leverage
Broadcom is known for tough stances, but you can create leverage with alternatives and escalation:
- Third-Party Support: For certain legacy products (especially stable, older versions of CA or Symantec software, or even VMware vSphere 6/7), consider third-party support providers. Companies like Rimini Street or Spinnaker Support offer maintenance for a fraction of Broadcom’s cost. Where contractually allowed, this can be a fallback if Broadcom’s renewal quote is unreasonable. Even if you prefer to stay with vendor support, letting Broadcom know you’re evaluating third-party support can pressure them to improve their offer. (They’d rather keep you as a customer, even at a discount, than lose you entirely.)
- Alternative Products: If Broadcom’s terms are inflexible, consider researching alternatives to the product. For example, if VMware costs increase, you might explore cloud virtualization or competitor hypervisors; for Symantec security, there are many other vendors available. While switching can be complex, having a migration plan or competitive quote in hand strengthens your bargaining position. Broadcom sales reps are less likely to hold a hard line if they know you have a viable plan B.
- Use Executive Escalation: Broadcom negotiations can sometimes stall at the account manager level. Don’t hesitate to involve your CIO/CISO to speak with Broadcom executives. A high-level conversation (e.g., CIO to Broadcom VP) can break impasses on critical issues, such as support quality or major pricing sticking points. It signals how serious you are about getting fair terms. Broadcom values big customers and reputational risk – an exec engagement might secure concessions not achievable through normal channels.
- Staged Commitments / Pilots: As leverage, consider a partial or phased renewal. For instance, renew support for 1 year instead of 3, or only for the most critical products, and inform Broadcom that you’ll review performance. This can be risky (prices might rise next year), but it also signals that you are not fully committed. Broadcom may offer a better deal to lock you in for a longer period. If you take a shorter term, pair it with explicit expectations (e.g., support must improve, or we’ll explore other options). Essentially, make Broadcom earn the renewal.
- Highlight Past Issues: If you’ve had past support problems with Broadcom (or the acquired company), bring them up. Use specific examples of ticket delays, account team turnover, or other pain. This builds a case for why you need stronger terms now (and subtly reminds them you might not tolerate a repeat, implying you’d switch vendors). Broadcom is more likely to grant concessions if it feels a risk of losing the customer.
In negotiations, options equal power. Let Broadcom see that you have options – whether it’s another provider or simply the will to say “no”.
Even if you ultimately stay, this stance can lead to a better price or extra value on support.
Negotiation Checklist & Example Clauses
Before finalizing any Broadcom support contract, run through this checklist to ensure key terms are covered:
- ✅ Co-term and Consolidate: All support agreements co-terminate on the same date, aligning with your planning cycle. No straggler contracts to weaken your position.
- ✅ Price Increase Cap: Annual support fees will not increase by more than X% (e.g., 3% or 5%) per year. Prevents unexpected jumps in cost.
- ✅ Renewal Uplift Cap: At renewal, cap the price uplift. Example: “Renewal price shall not exceed Y% above the prior term’s fees.” Protects against Broadcom doubling the cost later.
- ✅ Support Fee Tied to Usage: Include a true-down provision. If you reduce licenses or usage, support fees decrease accordingly at renewal (or even mid-term, if possible).
- ✅ SLA Commitments: Attach a Support SLA exhibit that includes response times for P1/P2 issues, resolution targets, and, if relevant, uptime commitments. Ensure it lists any dedicated resources (like a TAM name, if provided).
- ✅ Service Credits/Remedies: Specify that if SLAs are missed consistently, Broadcom will provide service credits, extended support, or other remedy (even if it’s just an executive review meeting, get it in writing).
- ✅ Auto-Renewal Control: No auto-renewal without notice. The supplier must provide a renewal quote at least 90 days in advance, and renewal requires your written approval. You have the right to decline or adjust coverage at the end of the term.
- ✅ Exit Rights for Products: In unified contracts, include the right to remove a product or reduce quantities at renewal without penalty. You don’t want to pay for shelfware in perpetuity.
- ✅ Technical Support Quality: Broadcom will maintain current support levels or better (e.g., “no degradation from existing VMware support program”). Optionally name key support contacts or escalation managers in the contract.
- ✅ Account Management: If promised, ensure the contract specifies a named account manager or TAM, the number of on-site visits or health checks per year, and other relevant details. Hold Broadcom accountable for the provision of soft services.
- ✅ Penalty Protection: Guard against punitive terms. For example, waive reinstatement fees if a renewal is a few days late. Remove any clause that locks you out of patches immediately upon expiration without a grace period.
Finally, consider adding example contract clauses to solidify these protections.
Here are a few sample clauses that illustrate favorable terms:
- “Annual support fees shall not increase by more than 3% per year, provided license quantities remain constant.”
- “Support fees will be calculated on the net license fees paid by Customer, not Broadcom list prices.”
- “If Customer reduces the number of licenses or endpoints under management, support fees will decrease proportionally at the next billing cycle.”
- “Vendor shall provide a 30-day grace period beyond the support expiration date during which Customer may renew support with no penalty or lapse in service.”
- “For any Severity 1 issue, Vendor will assign a qualified support engineer within 1 hour. Failure to meet this response time in three or more cases per quarter will trigger a service review and credit of 5% of that quarter’s support fees.”
These clauses can be tailored, but they demonstrate the tone and specificity to aim for.
The goal is a contract that clearly defines costs and service – no vague promises. Everything important should be in black and white.
Related article
- Broadcom’s Support Offerings: Unified, Tiered, and Maintenance Models Explained
- Reducing Support & Maintenance Costs in Broadcom Contracts
- Unified Support vs Individual Support Contracts: Making the Right Choice with Broadcom
- Ensuring High-Quality Support in Broadcom Contracts: SLA & Escalation Negotiation Tactics
FAQs
Q: Did Broadcom change VMware support tiers?
A: Broadcom largely folded VMware’s support into its own structure. Previously, VMware offered Basic (business hours) and Production (24/7) support, with add-ons such as Mission Critical Support. Under Broadcom, subscription licensing includes 24×7 production-level support by default. Mission Critical (or similar premium tiers) are still available at extra cost for enhanced service. The big change is that you can’t renew old Basic support on perpetual licenses long-term – you eventually must move to Broadcom’s subscription (with support bundled). So while the tier names might remain, the context shifted. Bottom line: ensure you understand what support level is included with any VMware subscription quote, and negotiate if you need a higher tier or TAM services included.
Q: Can I negotiate lower support renewal costs?
A: Yes, absolutely. Broadcom may initially present support renewal as a fixed percentage or attempt to increase it significantly upon renewal. Treat support renewal like any other purchase – it’s negotiable. Utilize the levers discussed: demonstrate usage reductions to argue for a lower fee, request multi-year discounts, and obtain competitive quotes for alternatives if possible. Many customers have successfully persuaded Broadcom to honor previous discount levels on support or, at the very least, cap increases. It helps to start the conversation early (well before your support expiration) and come prepared with data (e.g., “We only use 80% of our entitlements, we shouldn’t pay 100% maintenance”). Also, don’t hesitate to escalate if your account team claims they “can’t” adjust support pricing – higher-ups at Broadcom may override that to keep a valuable customer. In short, everything is negotiable if you have leverage and a clear ask.
Q: What is Broadcom Unified Support?
A: “Unified support” refers to a single support contract covering multiple Broadcom product lines together. Instead of having separate maintenance agreements for, say, VMware and Symantec, you’d have one consolidated support program (often as part of a broader enterprise license agreement). The unified support model means one set of support terms (SLA, contacts, portal) for all products in the bundle. Broadcom pitches it as convenient – one renewal date, one invoice, holistic support. However, it often comes with the expectation that you stick with Broadcom’s entire portfolio. It can be beneficial if you truly utilize many Broadcom tools and want a seamless support experience, potentially with a volume discount. However, be cautious: unified support can mask the cost of individual elements and make it more difficult to discontinue a product. If Broadcom offers this, scrutinize how the pricing breaks down per product and secure rights to adjust the scope in the future. Unified support works best when negotiated carefully, incorporating flexibility and transparency.
Q: How can I avoid auto-renewal traps?
A: To avoid getting snared by auto-renewal clauses, you should take a two-pronged approach: contractual and procedural. Contractually, negotiate out any automatic renewal language or at least add a requirement that Broadcom must give written notice of the upcoming renewal well in advance (90 days or more). This ensures you have a window to make a decision. Also, include a clause that renewal requires a new purchase order or signed quote, so it can’t renew by silence. Procedurally, track your dates diligently. Maintain a calendar of support end dates and the notice deadline. If your contract states that you must cancel 60 days before avoiding renewal, set a reminder 90 days before deciding on your action. Communicate with your Broadcom account representative before that deadline – even if it’s just to confirm you are evaluating options. By signaling awareness, you reduce the chance of a sneaky auto-renew. Finally, if you do intend not to renew something, send a written notice of non-renewal in accordance with the contract terms (and get acknowledgment). In summary, eliminate silent renewals in the contract and never lose track of the clock. This way, Broadcom can’t auto-lock you in for another year at an unfavorable rate.
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