VMware's end user compute products appear likely to be rebranded as Omnissa after being sold off.

Broadcom decided to sell VMware's portfolio of desktop and application virtualization products after it acquired the biz, deeming them surplus to requirements. They were picked up by private equity operation KKR for around $4 billion.

The Omnissa name appeared in a VMware Knowledge Base article published on April 11 advising that as of May 6 users of the products will be able to access support services at customerconnect.omnissa.com.

VMware has previously sought to register a trademark for "Omnissa" and defined the term as describing "Computer services for delivering end user computing to personal computers, tablet computers, and mobile devices, namely delivering a remote working experience to individual members of an organization."

A post establishing an Omnissa Subreddit - dedicated to the former VMware products - is another sign Omnissa is imminent (say that five times fast).

KKR is presumably confident it will be able to land the trademark, despite the existence of Omnidirectional Space Situational Awareness - which uses the acronym OmniSSA.

The Register would spare a thought for KKR's lawyers, but we're more sympathetic to the plight of techies at Broadcom and its VMware business unit. The Knowledge Base article also reveals they're about to embark on a tight deadline migration project at a very tricky time.

The article is titled "VMware Support Transition to Broadcom" and explains that at around 5:00PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, April 30, online tools allowing user registration, license management, account management, enrolment in learning courses, and "purchase or upgrade products" won't be available.

The migration - which CRN reports will see VMware move from its own SAP system to Broadcom's Oracle software - is scheduled to end "at approximately Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 7:30PM."

VMware has advised that by Monday morning at 08:00, similar features and functionality will be available to VMware customers at support.broadcom.com.

The downtime happens to span the days on which Broadcom's Q2 2024 concludes. The tech conglomerate will therefore want to be sure it has secured all the support revenue it planned before systems shut down - given the lack of any opportunity to purchase or upgrade products during the migration window.

The migration team is going to be under more than a little pressure to get this done in the tight window VMware has defined - a delay of even a few days could dent revenue.

Broadcom will also be under pressure to ensure its support experience delivers, as its strategy for VMware has been only to do deals that bundle products and support - an arrangement it insists will see customers realize more value, faster.

But if this move creates a mess, users who have seen their VMware costs rise will have cause to complain they're not getting what was promised. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/04/12/vmware_omnissa_support_pause/