What's Next for VMware's Former End User Computing Division?

Overview

*Broadcom acquired VMware in 2023. In February 2024, KKR announced it will acquire the End User Computing Division, and transition to an independent company,* *Omnissa*. Once finalized, the EUC Division will become a standalone company with increased financial investment in research, development and innovation of its flagship digital workspace solutions, including Workspace ONE and Horizon.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) has announced their acquisition of the End User Computing (EUC) Division from Broadcom this year. This sale and the prior purchase of VMware by Broadcom have led to many questions on what this means for the technology and strategy in the future. This blog provides guidance and key considerations for WWT clients, employees and partners during this transition.

KKR and organization plans

When Broadcom finalized its acquisition of VMware in 2023, it simultaneously announced its plans to sell off the EUC portfolio. This meant that what we referred to as "VMware EUC" was not part of Broadcom's planned restructuring for VMware products, licensing and organizational structure. Now with the announcement of the purchase of the EUC Division by KKR, we have a better understanding of what the new company will look like and how it will be run.

Under KKR, the EUC Division will run as an independent company with the new name, Omnissa. This new company retains the existing EUC leadership who bring with them a full five-year business plan and product roadmap. That plan includes hiring significantly to increase their ability to support the strategy; increased financial investment into research and development; and welcoming more strategic partnerships for integration with other EUC solutions without being beholden to the larger Broadcom or VMware product set. In our view, this allows for greater innovation across all product lines.

The EUC leadership team understands the disruption that Broadcom's acquisition of VMware has had on their customers' and partners' strategies. They have reaffirmed their commitment to the channel that customers have come to trust and rely on for support while increasing investment in the support for those partners and their customers.

The EUC solutions

At the surface, it may appear to be just two products that made up what was previously VMware EUC, now Omnissa. In our view, these solution suites represent an impressive range of products that support key business outcomes.

Horizon Suite:

Horizon 8: On-premises Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and application virtualization
Horizon Cloud: Cloud and hybrid-hosted desktop and application virtualization
App Volumes: Application layering and delivery supporting on-premises and cloud-hosted workloads
Dynamic Environment Manager (DEM): Persona and policy-based user experience management

Workspace ONE Suite:

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM): Device and application lifecycle management across multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome, etc.)
Access: Identity and access management providing a unified access point for device native, SaaS and virtual applications with conditional access capability
Intelligence: AI/ML-driven platform for monitoring, managing and automating device and application lifecycle and remediation activities
Digital Employee Experience Management (DEEM): User experience monitoring and optimization based on Intelligence-driven insight

Expectations and market guidance

As an industry, end user computing or modern device management is not contracting and continues to grow in size and complexity. This growth occurs across the traditional pillars of endpoint management, VDI and application access, as well as new pillars such as digital employee experience (DEX) and digital experience monitoring (DEM) and increased security integrations as the evolution of the workplace continues.

The installed base for UEM, Horizon and DEEM is significant and has the flexibility to grow with this renewed focused exclusively on end user experience. Customers who are evaluating if they should switch platforms due to the ownership change should carefully evaluate the challenges of doing so. The total cost of ownership of migrating to a different platform is higher than many realize and extends beyond just the license cost to the tremendous impact on employees, many of whom are sensitive to change.

Critically, Omnissa will not be tied to solely integrating with other core VMware by Broadcom products at the expense and exclusion of others. This was already an issue when VMware was the owner and security integration with Carbon Black, which was prioritized above other market-leading EDR solutions. This new EUC company can now become more agnostic when it comes to hypervisors, security platforms and other key integrations.

There is considerable work ahead, and only time will reveal how the EUC Division that was formerly a part of VMware will execute its strategy as a stand-alone entity. Customers and partners eagerly anticipate answers to the pressing question, including the status of existing vSphere license entitlements.

Conclusion

Horizon and Workspace ONE with its extended suite of experience monitoring, management and intelligence, remain a trusted choice for delivering digital workspace solutions and business outcomes. The products are industry-leading. KKR is committed to increasing the investment and value to customers in the established and evolving EUC solutions and in their employees with their employee ownership program. WWT's EUC practice continues to enjoy a close partnership with the EUC Division and we look forward to even closer collaboration with increased focus and investment.