Analyst Gives Broadcom-VMware Two-Thirds Chance of Completing

Could the Broadcom-VMware deal be in jeopardy of missing its new target close date of Nov. 26?

One analyst is giving the $61 billion transaction a slimmer chance of actually completing, largely contingent on whether Broadcom decides to risk wrapping up without China’s approval.

We take a look at the latest Broadcom-VMware development below in this short cloud computing news roundup. 

Stick around, though, for an update on Bronwyn Hastings, formerly a top channel exec at Google Cloud, as well as news about partnerships at Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. Plus, there’s a key new hire at indie cloud provider Virtuozzo, which sells through the channel.

Let’s get started.

Broadcom-VMware: A ‘Two-Thirds’ Chance?

Recall that China remains the last regulatory approval in the Broadcom-VMware saga. Broadcom-VMware was supposed to wrap on Oct. 30. However, antitrust authorities in China reportedly are holding up the combination in what appears to be retaliation for U.S. controls on exports of advanced semiconductor chips to China.

Angelo Zino, an analyst for CFRA Research, told MarketWatch this week he now gives Broadcom-VMware a two-thirds chance of completing.

“It is theoretically possible that Broadcom looks to get the deal done without China's approval, if Hock Tan believes the cost synergies make enough sense," Zino added.

Internet speculation has run rampant that Tan, CEO of Broadcom, could just tie up the last formalities around Broadcom-VMware without China’s blessing. In doing that, he would risk incurring hefty fines from the country, where Broadcom reaps about a third of its revenue.

Tan (and his legal team, natch) would have to consider whether the fines would outweigh the $1.5 billion termination fee Broadcom would owe to VMware if the acquisition does not close. Note, though, that Broadcom ended its latest quarter with $12.1 billion cash. The chipmaker has resources. There’s a chance it may opt to put those toward finalizing the Broadcom-VMware deal and risk backlash from China. After all, without VMware in its pocket, Broadcom will have a tougher time acting on its intent to move into cloud computing.

Where in the World Is Bron Hastings?

We now know where Bronwyn Hastings is headed for her next role.Hastings soon will take on the title of senior vice president of partner and ecosystems at UiPath. She left Google Cloud on Nov. 10 after 2.5 years as vice president, ISV ecosystem and channels.

Likely no coincidence, Hastings will be joining the company led by her former colleague, Rob Enslin. Enslin served as president of Google Cloud for three years before departing in 2022 to become co-CEO of UiPath.

A representative for UiPath told Channel Futures that Hastings will focus on expanding and accelerating business opportunities for partners. 

"Bron is uniquely positioned to enhance this network and help UiPath’s partners around the world power a better way to work,” the spokesperson said.

UiPath develops robotic process automation (RPA) software to help businesses automate routine office activities. Hastings is assuming a new role, not replacing anyone.

Ingram Micro stands out as one of the distributors selling UiPath solutions through the channel.

Connectria, AWS Make a Bigger Deal

There’s another “strategic collaboration agreement” coming out of AWS.

This time, the world’s largest public cloud computing provider has signed a deal with Connectria.

Missouri-based Connectria specializes in hybrid architecture and modernization for IBM Power Systems. The company started as a managed service provider partner with AWS in 2013. Since then, it has earned AWS’ designations of premier tier services partner and solutions provider. Among other benefits, the new SCA will help Connectria expand its IBM Power Systems services, bringing more revenue to both Connectria and AWS.

"We've combined 10 years of AWS and more than 25 years of IBM experience to deliver an array of services and solutions that help customers address their short- and long-term strategy for business-critical applications and ERP systems, many of which run on IBM Power Systems,” said Troy Mitchell, vice president of channel and alliances at Connectria. “This SCA rewards the work of many people and will be an incredible catalyst for growth as it enables us to reach new customers, in new markets around the globe.”

Speaking of Hyperscaler Partnerships …

Google Cloud, too, is getting in on the collaboration action.

On Tuesday, the world’s third-largest public cloud computing provider said it has expanded its work with analytics firm Pendo for a specific focus on generative AI.

Pendo will integrate Google Cloud’s Vertex AI into its platform. That will give users ways to do product discovery faster, improve marketing campaigns and take advantage of personalized experiences, the companies said.

“Google Cloud has been a critical partner for us since the earliest days of Pendo, and they continue to help us drive innovation for our customers,” said Todd Olson, CEO and co-founder of Pendo. “With gen AI fueling features across our platform, we can eliminate tedious manual work and help product teams make smarter decisions to drive outcomes for their end users.”

Google Cloud's Stephen Orban

Stephen Orban, vice president of migrations, ISVs and marketplace at Google Cloud, agreed.

“Generative AI can have a major impact helping product teams more effectively develop digital experiences for their customers,” Orban said. “Our partnership with Pendo will give product managers new tools that enable them to rapidly create in-app guides and analyze user engagement, saving resources that can be used to improve product road maps and build new features.”

Datadog made a similar announcement earlier this month. The observability platform provider also is incorporating Vertex AI into its technology.

“Generative AI is fundamentally changing how many businesses operate, fueling a new era of cloud that can benefit virtually every area of an organization,” Kevin Ichhpurani, corporate vice president, global partner ecosystem and channels at Google Cloud, said on Nov. 8. “With this new integration, AI teams can improve how they monitor and analyze the performance of machine learning applications built on Vertex AI, ensuring they are functioning correctly and creating optimal value.”

Virtuozzo Touts New CTO

Channel-centric indie cloud provider Virtuozzo has named a new chief technology officer.

Sergey Dobrovolsky joins the Switzerland-based company from Acronis, where he worked as vice president of cyber infrastructure. 

“Efficiency is the new competitive benchmark in IT,” Dobrovolsky said in a press release. “Becoming fanatical about efficiency is the only way to handle the exponential growth in data and the corresponding need for high-performance computing when businesses are also challenged by hardware costs, energy costs and a tough ongoing economic situation.”

Virtuozzo delivers hyper-converged infrastructure for cloud and hosting services. It works with cloud service providers and MSPs, among other partner types, targeting business users.