After Broadcom acquired VMware, it took several months to decommission VMware’s Customer Connect (license and support) Portal. Many, but not all, customers of VMware software solutions were aware of the May 5, 2024 transition. Now that the transition is complete, all VMware solutions are covered by a single support offering: Broadcom Software Maintenance.
What may be less known is that Broadcom includes “Authorized Partners” in technical support. In certain situations and for some solutions, Support Requests are automatically routed to those authorized partners, which are listed here. If your eyebrows rose even a bit after reading that sentence, please keep in mind the following:
- Customers create Support Requests via the Broadcom Support Portal, so remembering third-party URLs isn’t necessary.
- Users’ Broadcom Support Portal account is the only essential credential since SR routing is automatic.
- Service-level (response) targets are universal and owned by Broadcom.
I’ve compiled and published this information to reassure our customers and resell partners. The new system, solid and scalable, represents a single support structure that you can rely on. It’s designed to provide you with the best possible support for your VMware solutions. For those still concerned, please remember:
- End Users (direct and indirect) of Broadcom software offerings are subject to the Broadcom End User Agreements applicable to their offerings.
- One publicly available agreement specifies all policies applicable to Broadcom Maintenance and Support. Section 2.1.2 of the Broadcom Software Maintenance Policy Handbook states, “The Broadcom partner programs allows [sic] some partners with an existing technical support infrastructure and service business model to team up with Broadcom’s Global Support Centers (GSCs) to offer technical support to end user Customers (End Users).
Now that’s out of the way, and to prevent possible future surprises, I’m happy to provide the following advice regarding technical support of VMware by Broadcom solutions:
- Begin by reading Getting Started with your Support Portal Account for VMware Customers.
- Pro Tip: If/when you find a relevant or interesting KB article, follow Step 3 and sign up for notifications. In many cases, Broadcom provides new or corrected information via updates to existing articles.
- Read the Support Portal’s New User Guide and Frequently Asked Questions.
- Bookmark the Broadcom Support Portal, which is the single point of entry for creating Support Requests for all Broadcom software solutions.
- Even though it’s accessible via the Support Portal, bookmark the Broadcom KB site.
If you have questions or constructive comments regarding this information or find anything inaccurate, please let me know on LinkedIn.
