“Partners who are more in the mid-range scenario, not necessarily focused on VCF and everything else—they might potentially get into more difficult times because that’s clearly not Broadcom’s focus anymore,” said Yves Sandfort, CEO of longtime VMware partner Comdivision.

VMware by Broadcom partners believe the company’s new global channel leader Brian Moats (pictured) has the potential to add a ton of value to Broadcom’s channel for the partners who are heavily invested in VMware.

Moats’ channel strategy is tailored toward boosting VMware-Broadcom partners who own competencies, can add value versus just reselling, and can sell its bundles and professional services to a global customer base – this according to partners who also said smaller partners and SMB customers might be left in the dust.

“For us, his message is perfect because we are one of the rare partners in the Broadcom ecosystem who is already global” said Yves Sandfort, CEO of Comdivision Consulting, one of VMware’s top and oldest partners in Europe.

[Related: Hyperscalers’ AI Chip Bets Drive Broadcom Bullet Train To $1 Trillion Valuation]

“Partners who are more in the mid-range scenario, not necessarily focused on VCF and everything else—they might potentially get into more difficult times because that’s clearly not Broadcom’s focus anymore. They are still happy to sell these products, but it’s not their focus,” said Sandfort. “They are looking into partners who can actually traverse small vSphere customers into VCF [VMware Cloud Foundation] customers or, to be realistic, get rid of them. Nothing in the current program says, like, ‘Let’s foster these very small customers.’ Everything says, ‘Either upsell from that or make sure that we don’t have that problem anymore.’”

Partners said Moats’ hiring comes at a time when many customers are still on the fence on whether to buy into Broadcom-VMware’s new business model of selling pre-packed bundles.

Moat’s Plan As Broadcom’s Channel Chief

Last week, Moats was appointed Broadcom’s Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Sales and Partners.

Moats said his three major priorities as Broadcom’s new channel chief are: to accelerate a path to boost customer adoption of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF); transition professional services from Broadcom-led engagements to partner-delivered services; and prioritize “value-based” solution providers who are “truly investing” in VMware and Broadcom software businesses.

C.R. Howdyshell, CEO of Advizex, a Fulcrum IT Partners company who has been a VMware Premier Partner since 2007, said the biggest partner benefit to Moats’ strategy is shifting professional services from Broadcom-led engagements to partner-delivered services such as consulting and implementation services.

“We’ve made a substantial investment in professional services around VMware. We’re not seeing a significant uptick, though, right now. It’s pretty steady. It’s a good business, but not a lot of growth. With Moat’s message here, we would expect a great opportunity there,” said Howdyshell.

“Our hands are up in the air saying, ‘Let’s go. We’re ready. Tap us on the shoulder. We’re ready to jump in the game when it comes to services,” he said.

Partners said Broadcom does not have the technical staff and scale in-house to provide professional services on a global level to its customer base.

“Broadcom does not want to have a massive PS [professional services] organization,” said Comdivision’s CEO Sandfort. “If I’m working with a U.S. government agency, I don’t have to do the sale, which can be done by Broadcom’s strategic sales team because they are perfect at that. I can later on just come in and deliver the services. And to be realistic, I’m not even necessarily keen on these very large yields to even deliver the licenses because we are talking about 1 percent margins in the first place. That is not very attractive. So giving the PS back to the partners makes sense.”

Moat’s History At Broadcom And CA Technologies Is A Win For Partners

Partners were glad to learn about Moats extensive background working with the channel including his latest role as Broadcom’s vice president of sales for global system integrators (GSIs).

Furthermore, partners are hopeful that Moats’ history with CA Technologies, which Broadcom acquired in 2018 for nearly $19 billion, will be beneficial. Moats spent a total of 18 years at CA Technologies before transitioning to his Broadcom GSI role after the acquisition.

“His background is going to be a big plus. Going through what CA went through, he probably understands the undertaking that is going to be required with being part of Broadcom,” said Advizex’s Howdyshell. “I’m sure he went through something similar at CA.”

Howdyshell said it would be ideal for Moats to spend time with partners to really “get the pulse” of what customers are saying, which in some cases, is not buying into VMware’s large bundle offerings.

“They’re hearing what customers are saying and, to some degree, at times, they appear to be numb to it,” Howdyshell said. “We have seen some adjustments at times, but they’re not going to waiver from where they’re going strategically. Kudos to them for that. Broadcom’s stock has doubled, right? So it’s working from that perspective.”

As of Monday afternoon, Broadcom’s stock was trading at $225 per share, up 102 percent from $111 per share one year ago.

Broadcom Value-Add Partners Are Key Priority in 2025

Moats said a key focus in 2025 will be on prioritizing value-based solution providers who are “truly investing” in the VMware and Broadcom software businesses.

“These partners are not only aligned with our technology vision, but are also making significant investments in skills, capabilities, dedicated resources, and customer success,” Moats said.

He said success depends on partners who are not just selling products but delivering real value for mutual customers. “By prioritizing these partners, we can deliver better value to customers, ensure long-term growth, and strengthen our mutual investments,” said Moats.

These strategic types of partners can expect enhanced support, training, and flexible channel incentives in 2025.

“Brian’s strategy is a total win for us. It’s going to be a total win for other partners who also have the same skillsets we have,” said Sandfort, whose company owns a slew of VMware Competencies and has been a partner since 2001.

“It basically fits to the model [Broadcom CEO] Hock [Tan] has said during conferences, but also in direct meetings, which is, he’s looking for partners who really bring more valued solutions to the market,” said Sandfort. “Hock has been far more clear with this than many other vendors. I’ve heard Broadcom very clearly saying multiple times, ‘Worst case, we will give up any volume reseller over someone who’s going to provide value.”

Moats, for his part, said he looks forward to directly connecting with channel partners to get their perspectives and feedback.

“As we prioritize value-based partnerships, enable partner-led professional services, and support customers on their VCF journey, we will unlock new opportunities and achieve sustainable growth together,” said Moats.