The subscription model is something we’ve all had to get used to these past couple of decades, and the same kind of model is being applied to enterprise software and support systems. But before diving straight into yet another subscription model, perhaps it might be a good idea to explore what other, potentially cheaper and more effective options, are available.
To shed more light on the issue, ERP Today sat down with Martin Biggs, VP and managing director of EMEA and strategic initiatives of ERP support specialists Spinnaker Support. Biggs cites last year’s VMware acquisition by Broadcom as an example of issues that can come packaged with the subscription model.
VMware is a virtualization and cloud solution provider which has helped many ERP networks upgrade to cloud services through virtualizing servers, storage, networks or other physical hardware. It’s not an understatement to say VMware is one of the biggest names when it comes to virtualization software. When VMware was acquired by infrastructure software specialists Broadcom, in November 2023, new leadership forcibly introduced a subscription support service to their end users.
This, to Biggs at least, looked like the best opportunity for third-party support specialists like Spinnaker to shine. “They announced from January 1st, “We’re not going to renew any of these support contracts or perpetual licenses. If you want support or the latest software, you’re going to have to convert to subscription,” which, as a concept on its own, is kind of okay if it’s not punitive.”
Biggs went on to say that the vast majority of VMware customers typically only utilized the core products, like vSphere. But the newer VMware subscription model’s price points reflected savings based on the entire VMware suite – so for those that only paid for a handful of products and services, their support costs could inflate from anywhere between two to 10 times to what they were paying before.
“If you were using their whole suite of stuff, then the subscription probably makes sense,” as Biggs noted to ERP Today.
A forcibly imposed subscription model could potentially be a sign for the future. One thing to remember, however, is that organizations do not have to be beholden to their enterprise service providers. Third-party support specialists, like Spinnaker, can provide the technical knowledge needed to maintain out-of-date or software that isn’t supported by the vendor anymore. By investigating beyond ERP service providers, organizations could potentially save themselves significant amounts of money.
