About two weeks ago VMware announced a couple of changes to the VMware Realize- and vCloud suite licensing model. On top of this, VMware implemented another license change to it’s core virtualization platform VMware vSphere.

VMware vSphere Enterprise will be End of Availability (EOA) June 30th 2016. This change is already reflected in the latest VMware vSphere Licensing and Packaging white paper. Also vSphere Standard- and Enterprise with operations manager are discontinued, which effectively means available vSphere editions are Standard, Enterprise Plus and Enterprise Plus with Operations Management (vSOM).

As far as I can see no changes are applied to the available features in the different vSphere versions:

Existing customers can continue to use their vSphere Enterprise licenses, but an upgrade promotion is provided: for a limited time you get 50% off when you upgrade from vSphere Enterprise to Enterprise Plus. The End of Support (EOS) date for vSphere Enterprise is March 12, 2020 for VMware customers who wish to remain on their current editions.

Also note that vCenter Standard now comes with a 25 OSI for vRealize LogInsight license.

It seems that no changes are applied to the vSphere Essential kits (suitable for small environments, consisting of a maximum of 3 servers).

Read the vSphere and vSphere with Operations Management Packaging & Pricing 2016 FAQ for more details.

Promotion: Get 50% off when you upgrade vSphere Enterprise to Enterprise Plus

For existing vSphere Enterprise customers a promotion is available: get 50% off when you upgrade from vSphere Enterprise to Enterprise Plus.

Upgrading to vSphere and vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise Plus edition will enable you to take advantage of the full range of vSphere features, including Distributed Switch, Host Profiles and Auto Deploy. Transforming your datacenters into dramatically simplified cloud computing environment through enhanced application availability and performance.

This promotion is valid February 10, 2016 through June 25, 2016. Full details are enclosed here, also read the FAQ. You will need to have an active SnS contract. Contact your local VMware Solutions Provider if you want to take advantage of this promotion.