Broadcom declared last week that it was looking to drop $61 billion in cash and stock to obtain VMware. We actually don’t know precisely the exact thing changes Broadcom plans to make to VMware’s products or business model once the acquisition finishes. All things considered, Broadcom Software Group President Tom Krause made it clear in Broadcom’s earnings call a week ago: an accentuation on software subscriptions.

However, as detailed by The Register, Broadcom plans a “rapid transition from perpetual licenses to subscriptions” for VMware’s products, replacing discrete buy-once-use-forever versions, though “rapid” for this situation will in any case clearly take several years. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said that the organization wants to maintain VMware’s current customers happy and take advantage of VMware’s current sales team and relationships.

Subscription-based software has a few advantages, including consistent updates to patch security flaws and guarantee similarity with new operating system updates — virtualization software that requires low-level hardware access gets broken more frequently by new OS updates than most other apps. In any case, a push toward more subscription-based software permitting may as yet be unwelcome information for people and businesses who like to pay for individual upgrades as they want or need them, as opposed to ceaselessly however long they need the software.

VMware would be a long way from the first organization to prioritize subscription-based software-as-a-service and its more predictable, dependable revenue stream over perpetually licensed software. Adobe scandalously moved its Creative Suite apps to a Creative Cloud subscription model almost a decade ago, with no leftover options for customers who prefer perpetual licenses.

Microsoft actually offers unending licenses for its Office applications for Mac and Windows (Office 2021 was released in September), however it doesn’t give overall similar features as the continually updated Microsoft 365 version. Even services like PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass are supplanting one-time game purchases with ongoing subscriptions.

Broadcom presently plans to utilize the VMware moniker to supplant the Broadcom Software Group branding once the acquisition goes through. The Broadcom Software Group additionally incorporates the organizations previously known as CA Technologies and Symantec, which were likewise billion-dollar purchases for Broadcom.

VMware supposedly has 40 days to find a purchaser ready to pay more than the $61 billion that Broadcom is offering.