Civo has released its latest research, finding that 51.9% of VMware customers are now considering leaving the platform. The research was launched during Civo Navigate, where there are multiple sessions on the best way forward for cloud.  

The research comes nine months after Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, over which many customers have been left unsure about changes in their licencing agreements and the impacts on their bills.

After this period of turbulence, customers are investigating the best way forward with their cloud services, with 48.7% of customers actively exploring alternative cloud providers. However, the research also found a strong appetite for open source alternatives to VMware, due to their simplicity and consistent pricing. Findings include

• 44.9% are considering migrating to open-source solutions. Two out of the top three priorities for respondents looking at new providers were flexibility and fair and open pricing, common features of open source.
• Common open source concerns persist, however, with 28.6% concerned over open source security and 23.2% over its lack of support and service level agreements (SLA).

Henry Godwin, VP of Global Sales at Civo, said "We've heard from a lot of concerned VMware customers over the previous nine months. Ultimately, businesses want certainty. They cannot continue in a situation where prices are skyrocketing, without any parallel improvement in service.

"What we're beginning to see now is these dissatisfied customers look elsewhere. While open-source solutions have a significant allure due to the predictability in pricing, users also want to receive support, both on-prem and with their migration., Providers must respond to these evolving customer needs by ensuring that they deliver not just on cost, but on security, support, and service reliability."