Amid rising VMware licensing costs and shifts in partner incentives, HPE is providing a year of free access to its VM Essentials virtualization software alongside $1 Zerto licenses to ease migration challenges for customers and channel partners.
- Free VM Essentials licenses for one year to reduce migration costs
- Zerto licenses offered at $1 to facilitate data protection migration
- HPE unifies partner programs for simplified, global partner engagement
What happened
At its Partner Growth Summit concurrently with HPE Discover in Las Vegas, Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced a strategic migration assistance program to support customers moving away from VMware virtualization platforms. The program includes free licenses for the first year of HPE Morpheus VM Essentials virtualization software and highly discounted $1 licenses for HPE's Zerto disaster recovery product. This initiative is designed to help channel partners assist customers by reducing the financial impact of running dual virtualization environments during migration.
Though HPE did not explicitly name VMware in the announcement, the timing and context make clear the offer targets VMware customers grappling with license fee increases of up to 1,500% following VMware’s acquisition by Broadcom. HPE also revealed plans to expand its channel-only model to additional product lines, including Private Cloud and SimpliVity offerings, and to unify its partner ecosystem under the Partner Ready Vantage program effective November 1, 2026.
Why it matters
VMware users are facing sharply higher licensing costs and the loss of partner program benefits since Broadcom's acquisition, driving a growing number of customers to consider alternative virtualization and data protection platforms. HPE’s new incentives could lower the barrier for organizations looking to transition away from VMware by mitigating the so-called ‘double-bubble’ expense—paying for licenses on both the old and new platforms during migration.
By positioning Morpheus VM Essentials as a fully integrated, enterprise-grade alternative, supplemented by Zerto for disaster recovery, HPE is aiming to capture this surplus demand and solidify its presence in the hybrid cloud virtualization market. The unification of partner programs also signals HPE’s intent to simplify channel engagement and create a more cohesive ecosystem spanning cloud, networking, and AI services.
What to watch next
Market watchers should monitor how quickly customers adopt HPE’s migration offer and whether it leads to a measurable shift in market share away from VMware. The success of the program will also depend on HPE’s ability to enable partners to scale their services using Morpheus VM Essentials and Zerto effectively, especially given the continued momentum of hybrid and private cloud deployments.
Additionally, observe how the launch of the unified Partner Ready Vantage program reshapes partner incentives and interaction with HPE’s portfolio. The streamlined channel approach may accelerate partner-driven sales across multiple technology domains, making HPE a more competitive player in virtualization and cloud infrastructure management.