Broadcom, Japan’s NEC expand partnership for private clouds

Broadcom and NEC have announced an expanded partnership to adopt VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) for NEC’s private cloud systems.

NEC, a technology company based in Japan, will use VCF internally as part of its “Client Zero” strategy and offer VCF-based private cloud services to customers.

VCF is a cloud platform that allows companies to manage traditional and modern applications on a single system.

Broadcom said nine of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies currently use VCF.

NEC began offering private cloud services built on VCF in October 2025 and now provides VCF as a managed service.

Both companies have worked together for more than 20 years.

Executives from Broadcom and NEC said the partnership aims to help customers manage and secure private cloud environments while reducing operational complexity.

🔗 Source: Broadcom

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Pricing clarity for NEC’s managed VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) under VCF 9.0 and hyperscaler Bring Your Own License (BYOL)

VCF 9.0 uses compute core and storage TiB (tebibyte) licensing with a single license file 1.
Broadcom public materials omit core minimums, Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) options, and terms for managed service providers (companies that run IT for customers) 1. This gap blocks cost comparisons to NEC’s managed offer 1.
Customers now have VCF license portability 2. Public cloud use is limited to the then-current Certified Cloud Services, meaning active VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) and hyperscaler partners 2. Hyperscalers are large public cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud 2.
In October 2025, NEC launched VCF-based private cloud and offers a managed service, but the cited materials do not cover BYOL effects 3. Broadcom’s exclusive Bring Your Own License (BYOL) for hyperscalers starts on November 1, 2025 and applies to hyperscaler services 3.
Where BYOL applies, such as hyperscaler offerings, customers pay Broadcom for VCF subscriptions and the cloud provider for infrastructure 3.

Where independent software vendors can engage for VCF and NEC

Broadcom cuts authorized VMware Cloud Service Providers to focus VCSP program 2. The partner program favors competencies with Pinnacle, Premier, Select tiers and deal registration benefits such as pre-approved opportunity protection 4.
NEC offers VCF-based private cloud and a managed service in Japan. VCF 9.0 license portability on approved hyperscaler endpoints raises demand for tools that keep operations consistent across on-premises and public cloud 5.