Year of free HPE software a “step in the correct direction” in VMware rivalry

Virtualization Year of free HPE software a “step in the correct direction” in VMware rivalry Partner tells Ars that HPE should be giving out more free VM Essentials licenses. Scharon Harding – Jun 16, 2026 6:11 pm | 21 August 5, 2019 Palo Alto, CA - Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) corporate headquarters located in Silicon Valley. Credit: Getty August 5, 2019 Palo Alto, CA - Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) corporate headquarters located in Silicon Valley. Credit: Getty Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only    Learn more Minimize to nav Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) new virtualization software promotion will likely pique the interest of end users and resellers who are unhappy with Broadcom’s pricing of VMware. During its HPE Discover event in Las Vegas this week, HPE announced that customers could use its “HPE Morpheus Software—VM Essentials” offering for free for “up to one year,” per a press release. HPE’s website describes its virtualization platform as a “VMware alternative.” It includes a hardware virtual machine (HVM) hypervisor and unified management and lets users “manage VMware ESXi and HVM clusters from one console and migrate when you’re ready,” HPE’s website says. “New VM Essentials customers can receive up to one free year of licenses for VM Essentials, a year of HPE Zerto for $1 to support non-disruptive migration to HPE virtual machines, and 0 percent interest on software through HPE Financial Services,” HPE’s announcement reads, referring to HPE’s group for helping IT teams manage funding. Free for a year is cheaper than what Broadcom has charged for VMware vSphere since taking over. VMware prices have skyrocketed due to VMware’s parent company eliminating perpetual licenses and bundling products into expensive packages. Notably, per its website, HPE recommends charging $600 per CPU socket per year for VM Essentials; Broadcom has controversially shifted vSphere