Broadcom's acquisition of VMware has concluded, and quickly resulted in the creation of four divisions dedicated to the virty giant's business - none of which appear to include end-user compute products.

The changes weren't announced as such, but appeared on Broadcom's list of executives.

The Register checked with Broadcom - media and analyst inquiries are currently not handled by VMware staff - and was told the VMware business will operate as the following Broadcom divisions:

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), led by Krish Prasad, SVP and general manager;
• Tanzu (TNZ), led by Purnima Padmanabhan, VP and general manager;
• Software-Defined Edge (SDE), led by Sanjay Uppal, VP and general manager; and
• Application Networking and Security (ANS), led by Umesh Mahajan, VP and general manager.

The four abovementioned execs all held similar roles at VMware.

Broadcom's structure is to run divisions dedicated to product groups, so the vDivisions are not unexpected. The Register counts 26 divisions on Broadcom's list of execs. Purnima Padmanabhan's appointment as Tanzu boss means the number of women leading divisions on that list has doubled - to two.

The Register asked Broadcom to explain which products fall under each division's care. We did not receive a response.

While the absence of a division that mentions end-user compute supports rumors Broadcom had little interest in that product range, CEO Hock Tan has stated that he intends to continue VMware's "apps anywhere" strategy. But in a post and
interview. he made no mention of the range. He did restate his intention to work with VMware's channel, make deploying its products easier, and build a platform to tame multi-cloud operations.

Tan's messaging in the interview evolved a little to emphasize automated deployment of services alongside multi-cloud infrastructure. Distributed firewalls and load balancers were mentioned as the sort of thing the CEO wants to appear automagically as users deploy apps.

That's been VMware scripture for years.

The Register has been told that decisions on future employment will be revealed early next week.

But Broadcom has moved fast to rebrand offices. The Register has been shown a snap of new corporate livery at VMware's Sydney, Australia, office, which was apparently changed overnight.

CEO farewell, some programs stay

Another consequence of the deal's conclusion is the departure of VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram, who shared on LinkedIn a modified version of the email he sent to colleagues as he left the acquired biz.

The missive is mostly anodyne, praising his colleagues for their contributions to VMware's success. But he also seemingly confirmed the inevitability of job cuts, writing: "So regardless of whether you are joining Broadcom or starting your next chapter elsewhere …"

One job Broadcom hasn't cut is that of senior community manager - a post that oversaw the vExpert program, similar to Microsoft's MVP scheme and Cisco's Champion program.

Corey Romero, who has retained the gig, posted news that he'll continue in the role, meaning the vExpert program will too.

vExperts post plenty of content about VMware, and often participate in the VMware User Group (VMUG).

VMUG president Brad Tompkins posted a Xeet in which he said the user group is supported from the top down at Broadcom, suggesting it will continue.

Broadcom's not said much on day one of its VMware stewardship, but retaining vExperts and VMUG is an eloquent statement that it values people who are among VMware's most devoted followers and enthusiastic evangelists.

Which is a pretty good start - and not what those communities expected. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2023/11/23/broadcom_vmware_reorg/