User representatives are particularly critical of the bundling of products that were previously sold separately, which leads to high cost increases for user companies. The two main product packages available today bundle the previous individual products, and individual products are only available to a very limited extent. Customers have to purchase all the products in a bundle, regardless of whether they need them or not.
The VOICE representatives also take Broadcom’s pricing policy to task. According to them, the prices of the bundles are based on the greatest demand. “For example, if a customer needs significantly more licenses for server virtualization than for storage virtualization, they still have to purchase the same amount of network licenses as they need for server virtualization,” the association reported.
And when speaking of double negative bundling effects, the association explained: “The compulsion to purchase more products than needed leads to a qualitative bundling effect. The compulsion to acquire more licenses than required leads to a quantitative bundling effect.”
VOICE
Those responsible for VOICE also criticize Broadcom’s business practices. Customers whose existing license agreements are expiring are being put under considerable pressure to negotiate. For example, the provider denies its customers the necessary time for the changeover or contractually agreed renewal options. In addition, the provider deliberately delays responses to inquiries so that customers have as little reaction time as possible to meet the deadlines set by Broadcom.
“Due to these and many other serious violations of fair competition, VOICE has decided to lodge a complaint with the EU Commission,” explained VOICE’s Kaufmann. “We are committed to fair competition in the software and cloud market, which is unfortunately repeatedly called into question by unfair practices by large providers. We want to defend ourselves against this.”
Anyone who also wants to take action against Broadcom’s unfair practices is welcome to contact VOICE.
