VMware Rapid Migration Plan Loses Incentives: Some Benefits for Commitment Remain

Note: Following a further extension of the deadline for the VMware Rapid Migration Plan to Dec. 31, 2025, most financial incentives have concluded, though five-year reservations remain available.

Most customers faced significantly increased VMware licensing costs after Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, and the VMware Rapid Migration Plan, announced by Microsoft on May 1, 2024, was designed to help these organizations migrate their VMware infrastructure to Azure. However, the program required relatively rapid migration to Microsoft’s hosted Azure VMware Solution (AVS) and a one- to five-year commitment. A relatively unique five-year AVS Reserved Instance option, which remains available, allows customers to lock in pricing long term and shows that Microsoft has confidence in its ongoing relationship with Broadcom. The Migration Plan included an additional 20% discount (now concluded) for new AVS customers willing to commit to a one-year Reserved Instance (on top of the standard Reserved Instance discount). Finally, large net-new customer migrations to AVS were potentially eligible for up to US$120,000 in one-time Azure credit (this has also concluded). The financial promotions were only available only through Dec. 31, 2024 Dec. 31, 2025. Other benefits promoted by the plan, such as access to free Extended Security Updates and the ability to run Windows Server and SQL Server in AVS with no additional licensing costs, are either already standard to Azure VMs or part of the Azure Hybrid Benefit. The VMware Rapid Migration Plan is discussed on the Directions Blog at https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/blog/microsofts-vmware-rapid-migration-plan-not-as-shiny-as-it-looks.