I have a lot of feelings swirling around the announcement that Broadcom is acquiring VMware. When I joined VMware I was under no illusions of its current state. Pretty stagnant, and living on its data center legacy. There were a lot of pivots to public cloud in progress but none of them were really gaining traction in the market. I also knew there was an incredibly talented and empathetic group of people working there. I joined because there was a spark of a promise to innovate in spaces that were yet to be discovered.

When Broadcom announced they were acquiring the VMware, my heart sank. I knew that Broadcom had essentially gutted CA Technologies and Symantec’s research arms so the outlook for my future appeared bleak.

That disappointment gave way to fear. I have been at VMware for less than a year AND I’m in research, surely I’m first on the chopping block for a layoff. Broadcom announced that they want to increase VMware’s revenue by close to 4 billion dollars over the next 3 years through “streamlining” and “subscription”. VMware has been trying unsuccessfully to find a functional subscription model for the last 2 years. I can only assume Broadcom will strongarm current customers, accelerating the adoption of public cloud and getting a tighter grip on their current whales. The “streamlining” aspect affects me personally. Obviously there are redundancies in a merger: HR, IT, Physical operations, etc. However, in the office of the CTO, I’m basically in a cost center. Broadcom doesn’t have a great track record for innovation either so I am doubtful that will change now.

Not to sound cliché but I guess only time will tell what my fate, along with those of my colleagues and teammates will be. Until then, I’ll continue to focus on the levers I can pull and remain in control of.