As of May 2025, Broadcom has introduced a new compliance clause into all VMware Specific Program Documentation (SPDs) — and it could have major implications for customers running version 9.0 or above.

🔍 The Clause (Quoted from the SPD):

“Customer… must provide Broadcom with a Compliance Report… 180 days from the commencement date of the subscription and every 180 days thereafter by ensuring that the Compliance Report files generated by the Software are either transmitted by the Software or uploaded by Customer…”
📄 See the VCF SPD as an example

In short, customers are now required to submit a Compliance Report every 180 days — or risk consequences such as degraded functionality, suspended support, and restricted access to updates.

What’s Changed?

Historically, license compliance was enforced reactively, often triggered by vendor audits. This clause quietly shifts the burden onto customers, requiring them to be proactively audit ready — at all times.

There’s no grace period or ambiguity. This is compliance built directly into operations through automation.

What Does It Mean for Customers?

This clause effectively enforces:

• Continuous visibility of license usage
• Operational compliance tracking
• Tight internal processes around entitlements and consumption

It’s not just an administrative requirement — it directly impacts the performance and supportability of your VMware estate.

Why It Matters

For organisations with complex hybrid environments or unclear historical licensing, this represents both a compliance risk and an operational challenge.

Being audit ready is no longer about preparing if you’re audited — it’s about reporting regularly by default.

How ITAA Can Help

At ITAA, we support clients in:

• Building and sustaining audit-ready compliance positions
• Mapping entitlements vs. usage across VMware deployments
• Managing license data to avoid surprises in reporting cycles

If Broadcom is making compliance enforcement continuous, your internal license governance needs to keep pace.

Final Word

This isn’t just a change in terms — it’s a change in approach.
Broadcom has baked compliance into the product lifecycle itself.

Now the real question is:
Are you ready to report every 180 days — without disruption?

Man Hoe Nguy, Senior Technical Consultant

Man Hoe Nguy is a multi-vendor licensing specialist with expertise in audit procedures, compliance, and cost optimization across Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, VMware, Adobe, and more. He helps enterprises mitigate risk, optimize software deployments, and leverage contract terms for renewals, delivering multimillion-dollar savings through strategic license management and vendor negotiation.