Sheetz Ditches VMware After Broadcom Licensing Changes Spark Uncertainty
Sheetz, the US convenience store chain, is migrating all 838 of its store locations off VMware and onto StorMagic's SvHCI platform. The massive shift involves approximately 11,000 virtual machines, with each store running 12 to 14 VMs on Dell R440/R450-series servers that have been in place since 2019. More than 600 stores have already completed the transition at a pace of about 200 per month, and Sheetz expects to finish the full migration within four months.
The decision stems directly from Broadcom's overhaul of VMware's licensing model following its acquisition. Broadcom eliminates perpetual licenses in favor of large subscription bundles that require five-year commitments. Scott Robertson, Sheetz's infrastructure team manager, explains that the projected price hikes, mandatory subscription model, and lengthy commitment create too much uncertainty around long-term budgeting while increasing vendor dependence.
While numerous competitors are courting disgruntled VMware customers, finding a true replacement remains challenging since VMware dominates the virtualization space after 28 years. Sheetz settles on StorMagic partly because it already uses the company's SvSAN product alongside VMware for critical in-store applications. The retailer benefits from being able to handle the migration remotely without dispatching technicians to every site and without requiring any hardware upgrades.