European regulators are facing pressure from cloud providers to act on what they describe as Broadcom's systematic dismantling of market choice in virtualisation software. The Cloud Infrastructure Service Provider in Europe (CISPE) trade group, representing nearly 50 tech suppliers, filed a complaint with the European Commission, accusing Broadcom of "bully-boy tactics" and calling for authorities to halt what it terms "ongoing abuse."
The complaint centres on the closure of the VMware Cloud Service Provider programme, which shut down in January, with all transactions required to complete by 31 March; after that date, only a select group of suppliers will sell VMware subscriptions, and across Europe hundreds of businesses are losing their authorisation. According to the United States, only 19 providers reportedly remain out of thousands.
Those whose operations were built around VMware must now hand customers to another authorised supplier or begin the costly migration to an alternative platform. For some businesses, the move is terminal. CISPE secretary general Francisco Mingorance said: "Businesses both cloud providers and their customers are being irreparably damaged by Broadcom's unfair actions, which we believe are illegal."
The complaint is part of a broader pattern of grievances about how Broadcom has managed VMware since completing its acquisition in October 2023. Since the deal's closure, Broadcom is said to have introduced new pricing models that coerce customers into bundled subscriptions, with prices reportedly increasing more than tenfold. Mingorance noted that "after imposing outrageous and unjustified price hikes immediately following the acquisition of VMware, Broadcom is now applying the 'coup de grâce'."
CISPE's broader argument centres on what it sees as regulatory failure. The group is separately seeking an annulment of the European Commission's decision to clear Broadcom's purchase of VMware. The Commission's reasoning, CISPE argues, was flawed from the outset. Broadcom's CEO publicly committed to lifting VMware's standalone EBITDA from around USD 4.7–5.0 billion to USD 8.5 billion within three years of closing; CISPE argues such a jump could not realistically come from organic growth or efficiencies, but only from aggressive monetisation of VMware's locked-in customer base through steep price rises and forced bundling.
The tension here reflects a genuine clash of perspectives. Broadcom's position is straightforward. A Broadcom spokesperson told The Register: "Broadcom strongly disagrees with the allegations by CISPE, an organisation funded by hyperscalers, which misrepresent the realities of the market." The company argues it is consolidating its partner base to create a stronger ecosystem able to compete against the dominant hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft, Google). From Broadcom's view, CISPE comprises players with vested interests in the status quo.
CISPE sees it differently. The trade body argues that by consolidating distribution to just a handful of partners, Broadcom is not strengthening competition against hyperscalers but eliminating the independent alternatives that smaller businesses and European organisations depend on. According to CISPE secretary general Francisco Mingorance, "the dominance of VMware software in the virtualisation market means that unfair new licensing terms enforced by Broadcom affect almost every European organisation using cloud technology; not just cloud service providers, but hospitals, universities, and municipal authorities are all now facing unaffordable bills and rigid long-term commitments."
This is a competition law case at its core. The European Commission approved Broadcom's acquisition on the basis of commitments the company made to preserve competition. EU watchdogs have asked European cloud firms to file proof of irreparable harm showing alleged wrongdoing following Broadcom's licensing changes after its $61 billion acquisition of VMware in 2023. The question now is whether those commitments were sufficient, and whether Broadcom's subsequent actions constitute an illegal abuse of dominance.
The stakes are significant. The European Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint and said it is "currently assessing this complaint in line with our standard procedures." If the Commission concludes that interim measures are warranted, it could suspend Broadcom's closure of the partner programme while investigations proceed. If the broader annulment case succeeds, it could force a wholesale re-examination of the acquisition itself. For Broadcom's shareholders, that would be unwelcome. For Europe's smaller cloud providers and the public organisations that depend on them, the outcome will shape the cost and availability of cloud services for years to come.