Reimagining Business Collaboration in the Era of AI

If your organization relies on a premise-based telephone system, now is the time to explore your options, whether a phased migration, upgrading, or switching to Cloud | Hosted solutions.  To help clarify what this means for your organization—costs, timelines, and available paths on October 7th, Morefield along with our partner Ring Central hosted a live webinar allowing the audience to ask questions, to make an informed decision for their business.  If you missed the webinar, you can check out the recording here.  Or, continuing reading as we recap the points covered in the 50-minute webinar.

Why Morefield & RingCentral are prepared for the Future

In 2025, hosted voice solutions like RingCentral have become one of the top technology investments for businesses—alongside infrastructure and cybersecurity. Yet, many organizations still rely on legacy, premises-based phone systems as they evaluate whether these modern platforms are the right fit. For more than a decade, Morefield has recommended RingCentral as a cornerstone of digital evolution—not just as a replacement for ringing telephones, but as a transformational platform that can enhance communication, employee collaboration, and customer engagement. 

The Big Picture: AI-First Experiences

RingCentral is more than a communication platform—it’s an AI-first foundation for a modern workplace. The mission is to create meaningful experiences for both customers and employees by delivering intelligent, connected, and effortless business first solutions. These experiences are powered by real-time AI, unified across voice, video, messaging, and customer experience, and designed to reduce complexity while enhancing productivity.

A Legacy of Innovation

For more than 25 years Ring Central has advanced through a continuous reinvention. From pioneering the first cloud-based phone system to unifying calling, messaging, and video in a single app, the company has consistently disrupted the industry.  Introducing the first open platform with rich APIs, integrating unified communications with contact centers, and today, embedding AI into the very fabric of business interactions.

This legacy of innovation has positioned RingCentral as a global leader in AI-powered communications. With over 400,000 customers worldwide and a decade-long presence in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for UCaaS, RingCentral backs its vision with scale, reliability, and trust. Its platforms—RingEX and RingCX—boast 99.999% availability, ensuring mission-critical communications are always on.

AI at the Core

RingCentral’s AI is a core capability infused across the entire portfolio. The platform captures conversational inputs from voice, video, messaging, and digital channels, transforming them into actionable insights. This multimodal AI engine augments teams with context, accelerates decision-making, automates workflows, and assists employees in real time.

Whether in marketing, sales, support, or internal collaboration, RingCentral’s AI makes every interaction smarter and more human.

The RingCentral Product Suite

At the heart of RingCentral’s platform is a suite of AI-powered services designed to deliver intelligent communication experiences for employees and your customers:

• RingEX: The all-in-one business communications app for calling, messaging, SMS, and video meetings. It integrates with over 500 tools, including Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, and Zendesk, and features AI-powered call summaries, writing assistance, and task identification.
• RingCX: An AI-native contact center solution that redefines customer experience. With agentic AI, real-time coaching, and advanced analytics, RingCX delivers a 29% increase in customer sentiment and is easy to deploy and manage.
• RingSense: A conversation intelligence platform that listens across calls, meetings, and messages to surface insights, auto-log CRM data, and provide AI coaching. It helps teams improve performance without increasing headcount.
• RingVideo: A comprehensive video collaboration suite for meetings, town halls, webinars, and events. Built-in AI features like live transcription, meeting summaries, and content repurposing make every session more productive and inclusive.

Agentic AI: The Next Evolution

RingCentral is pioneering agentic AI, a new generation of AI agents that actively participate in conversations and drive outcomes. These agents are embedded across the product suite, working together to support employees, serve customers, and streamline operations, including.

• AI Receptionist (AIR): A fit-for-purpose phone agent that handles routine calls 24/7, routes callers accurately, and delivers human-like responses. It’s easy to set up and ideal for small and midsize businesses looking to scale support without adding staff.
• AI Assistant: Boosts personal productivity with real-time guidance and task management.
• AI Agent Assist & Supervisor Assist: Provide contextual alerts and coaching during live interactions with outside callers to your business.
• AI Quality Management & Interaction Analytics: Analyze conversations post-interaction to improve agent performance and customer satisfaction.

These agents are designed to be intelligent, connected, and effortlessly amplifying the principles that define RingCentral’s platform.

Real Impact Across your customer’s Journey

RingCentral’s AI is already delivering results across the entire customer journey. This end-to-end integration ensures that every touchpoint is optimized for efficiency, empathy, and impact.

• Pre: AI receptionists and virtual agents handle initial inquiries, reduce wait times and improve first impressions.
• During: Real-time assistance helps employees respond effectively, while supervisors receive alerts and context to guide team performance.
• Post: RingSense analyzes conversations to extract insights, measure sentiment, and identify areas for improvement.

The EASY button for switching to RingCentral – Morefield ProServices

Morefield simplifies the migration process for businesses transitioning to RingCentral. Our professional implementation services focus on three key benefits for your organization. 

• Streamlined number porting where Morefield manages the entire approval and rejection process, ensuring you keep your existing telephone numbers
• Our local presence in Central PA offering responsive and personalized support, we are working by your side and your employees as you make this transition
• Technical and Business insight to align RingCentral’s capabilities with your specific business needs. 

Migration projects are managed by a consistent, familiar Morefield team who oversee the migration project from start to finish; with simplified decision-making throughout and expert recommendations ensuring you make the best decisions for your organization.

Ready Today, Built for the Future

RingCentral’s AI-powered platform isn’t a future promise—it’s available today. Every product is designed to be intelligent, connected, and effortless, helping teams respond faster, work smarter, and deliver better outcomes.

However, realizing these benefits requires more than a smooth implementation; it takes strategic execution and ongoing IT partnership. As technology continues to evolve at an accelerating pace, working with a partner like Morefield ensures your organization makes informed decisions, adapts effectively, and achieves measurable results from every technology investment.

If you are ready to learn how your organization can benefit from this transformational technology, schedule time with your Morefield representative to coordinate time on your calendar to conduct a technology assessment. Or if you need some additional information, listen to the recording of our live webinar from October 7th.

The data that your company generates is crucial to running a successful business.  This data has tremendous value not only to your organization but to those outside of your organization.  Without proper security controls in place, your strategic data is vulnerable to malicious cyber intruders who want to steal, resell the data on the dark web and jeopardize the future of your business.

With more breeches occurring daily and AI tools that expose new vulnerabilities, Cybercriminals might be the biggest threat facing your business. Besides gaining access to your customer information, as well as employee information, they can assume control over critical applications | systems that are necessary for production lines or processing customer orders.

Any organization can be compromised. However, SMB | Midmarket businesses are particularly at risk.

Why?

Cybersecurity represents a commitment both from a financial perspective as well as the necessary processes and workflows to ensure counter measures are in place and working.  The Cybersecurity sector is very complex, with its own language and subject matter experts.  

Most SMB | Midmarket business leaders do not have time | expertise to evaluate cybersecurity companies who offer a suite of services. Instead, you hire the best managed service provider, buy a cyber insurance policy and then trust that the provider will implement the necessary defenses.  Challenge with this approach is that MSPs do not have a Cybersecurity standard for fortifying each business against outside threats.  

The tools that your managed service provider implements may not provide adequate protections against your greatest vulnerabilities.
To help, this article introduces you to the various types of bad actors so that you can consider which type represents the greatest threat to your business and then have the conversation with your managed service provider to decide on the best cybersecurity defense strategy for your business.

Types of Malicious Actors to Watch For

Today’s cybercriminals aren’t all the same. Their motives and methods differ depending on what they’re trying to steal or control. Here are the most common types of bad actors you need to stay alert for:

#1. Hackers Targeting Personal Information

Personal data remains one of the hottest commodities on the dark web. Hackers go after birth dates, addresses, banking; ACH routing, credit card, social security numbers, driver license numbers and other government IDs because these can be used for identity theft, tax fraud, and opening fraudulent accounts.

With the rise of AI-driven phishing scams, stolen personal information can now be weaponized faster and on an expansive scale, making prevention more critical than ever.

#2. Hackers Exploiting IT Infrastructure

Modern hackers don’t always want to steal data—they may want to hijack your infrastructure. By infiltrating cloud environments, servers, or storage area networks, they can secretly run their own apps or even cryptocurrency mining operations on your dime.

Signs of compromise include sudden storage shortages, unexplained network slowdowns, or unknown devices showing up in your system logs.

#3. Hackers Hunting for Confidential Business Information

Corporate espionage has gone digital. Intellectual property, trade secrets, and product roadmaps are prime targets.

If cybercriminals get early access to a new product design or patent, they can leak it to competitors, sabotage your launch, or sell it to the highest bidder. For startups and innovators, this type of breach can be devastating.

#4. Hackers Going After Account Credentials

Even with financial systems locked down, weak login credentials set by your employee are a hacker’s entry point. The human at the keyboard more often represents the greatest risk to cyber-attacks.  Compromised accounts can allow attackers to impersonate executives, trick employees into sharing sensitive data, or launch business email compromise (BEC) attacks.

Stolen C-suite logins can be more damaging than a direct financial theft, leading to major fraud and reputational harm.

#5. Hackers Seeking Full Network Control

The most disruptive attacks don’t steal data—they take it hostage. Through ransomware, attackers lock down entire networks and demand payment before restoring access.

While ransom demands often hover around $30,000–$100,000, the real damage comes from downtime, lost revenue, and broken trust with clients.

In 2025, ransomware campaigns are increasingly automated and often combined with data theft, making them doubly destructive.

Hackers have evolved beyond simple data theft. Whether they’re after your employee’s information, your intellectual property, or control of your systems, modern cyberattacks are sophisticated, costly, and relentless.

Best Practices & Technologies to Counter Today’s Hackers

#1. Hackers Targeting Personal Information

Best Practices:

• Adopt Zero Trust principles (never trust, always verify).
• Enforce strong data encryption at rest and in transit.
• Minimize data collection—store only what’s necessary.
• Regularly audit access rights for employee/customer records.

Key Technologies:

• AI-driven DLP (Data Loss Prevention) tools to monitor unusual access to personal records.
• Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) like tokenization or differential privacy.
• Passwordless authentication (FIDO2, biometrics, hardware keys).

#2. Hackers Exploiting IT Infrastructure

Best Practices:

• Continuously monitor cloud and on-premises infrastructure for anomalies.
• Segment workloads and networks to limit lateral movement.
• Patch and update all servers and cloud services automatically.

Key Technologies:

• Cloud-native security platforms (CSPM & CWPP) for misconfiguration detection.
• AI-powered anomaly detection to flag cryptojacking or hidden workloads.
• Managed (MDR) and Extended Detection & Response (XDR) for unified threat visibility across endpoints, servers, and cloud.

#3. Hackers Hunting for Confidential Business Information

Best Practices:

• Classify and label sensitive data (IP, R&D, financials).
• Apply least-privilege access to confidential projects.
• Use insider threat detection to monitor suspicious activity.

Key Technologies:

• IRM (Information Rights Management) for controlling document sharing.
• Secure Collaboration Suites with built-in end-to-end encryption.
• AI-driven insider risk platforms that detect unusual data downloads, transfers, or leaks.

#4. Hackers Going After Account Credentials

Best Practices:

• Eliminate weak passwords—enforce passwordless logins.
• Require adaptive MFA (multi-factor authentication that adapts by risk level).
• Run regular phishing simulations and employee awareness training.

Key Technologies:

• Decentralized Identity (DID) and verifiable credentials to prevent credential reuse.
• Identity Threat Detection & Response (ITDR) tools integrated with IAM systems.
• Continuous Authentication using behavioral biometrics (typing, mouse, device patterns).

#5. Hackers Seeking Full Network Control (Ransomware)

Best Practices:

• Maintain immutable, air-gapped backups tested regularly.
• Segment critical systems and OT (operational tech) environments.
• Have a ransomware response plan and tabletop exercises.

Key Technologies:

• Ransomware-resistant storage with instant recovery features.
• Automated SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation & Response) to isolate infected endpoints quickly.
• Deception technology (honeypots & decoys) to trap attackers before they reach critical assets.
• AI-powered threat intel feeds that update defenses in real-time.

Overall Defense Strategy:

• Zero Trust + AI-powered detection + automation.
• Security isn’t just a compilation of software tools—it’s layered defense: people, process, and technology ALL working together.
• Focus on resilience, not just prevention: assume breach and plan to recover fast.

STAY ON THE SAFE SIDE

Battling hackers may not be the most exciting part of running a business. However, neglecting cybersecurity turns your company into a target for independent | state sponsored bad actors. You may lose money, precious data, and your reputation could suffer irreparable damage.

While there isn’t a bulletproof solution, adopting the outlined tactics should be a strong starting point.

Contact Morefield today if you want to discuss your cybersecurity in greater detail and pinpoint potential risks. We can arrange a meeting and figure out ways to help your organization.

Feel free to schedule a quick call with a Morefield Cybersecurity specialist to discuss what is right for your organization or email us directly at sales@morefield.com.

October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a crucial time to reflect on the ever-evolving digital threats facing businesses and employees alike. As we navigate through 2025, cybersecurity has become more critical than ever, with organizations racing to stay ahead of sophisticated attacks and tightening regulatory requirements. 

This year, Morefield was busy adding cybersecurity content to our resources page on the website.  As everyone enjoys an ordered list, to kick off cybersecurity awareness month, we decided to incorporate our most-read Cybersecurity themed articles from 2025.  Covering essential topics that resonate across industries: from understanding Threat Exposure Management (TEM) and the transformative benefits of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) for cyber insurance compliance, to exploring how Managed GRC services are revolutionizing security for credit unions. 

1. Innovative Solutions to IOT Device Security

As IoT devices multiply in our homes and workplaces, so do the security vulnerabilities that put our data at risk. From AI-powered threat detection to blockchain verification and edge computing, innovative technologies are emerging to combat common IoT weaknesses like default passwords, outdated software, and unencrypted data. Learn practical steps you can take today to secure your connected devices and discover what the future holds for IoT security.  https://morefield.com/blog/innovative-solutions-to-iot-device-security/

2.How Password Managers Protect Your Accounts

Struggling to remember dozens of complex passwords or guilty of reusing the same one across multiple accounts? Password managers eliminate these security risks by generating and storing unique, strong passwords for every account while requiring you to remember just one master password. Discover how this simple tool can dramatically strengthen your online security and save you time in the process.  https://morefield.com/blog/how-password-managers-protect-your-accounts/ 

3.What is Threat Exposure Management TEM

Waiting for hackers to strike before addressing vulnerabilities is a losing strategy—that’s where Threat Exposure Management (TEM) comes in. This proactive cybersecurity approach continuously scans your network to identify and prioritize weak spots before attackers can exploit them, helping you stay one step ahead of evolving cyber threats. Discover how TEM can strengthen your security posture, save you money on breach recovery, and give you peace of mind.  https://morefield.com/blog/what-is-threat-exposure-management-tem/

4.How is Your Cyber Hygiene: Essential Tips for 2025

Just like brushing your teeth keeps your smile healthy, practicing good cyber hygiene keeps your digital life safe from hackers and threats. From creating stronger passwords and enabling two-factor authentication to avoiding public Wi-Fi pitfalls and spotting phishing scams, simple daily habits can dramatically reduce your risk online. Learn essential tips that will protect your devices, data, and employees in an increasingly dangerous digital landscape.  https://morefield.com/blog/how-is-your-cyber-hygiene-essential-tips-for-2025/

5.Cloud Disaster Recovery Ensuring Business Continuity

When disaster strikes—whether it’s a cyberattack, hardware failure, or natural catastrophe—having your critical data backed up in the cloud could mean the difference between recovering quickly and closing your doors permanently. Cloud Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) provides off-site backup solutions that enable businesses to restore IT infrastructure and operations rapidly after disruptive events. Discover how to choose the right cloud disaster recovery provider and implement a strategy that ensures business continuity, no matter what challenges come your way.  https://morefield.com/blog/cloud-disaster-recovery-ensuring-business-continuity/

6.GRC Platforms vs Spreadsheets When to Upgrade Your Compliance Management

If your compliance team is drowning in spreadsheets, chasing version control issues, and scrambling to prepare for audits, it’s time to recognize that manual tracking can’t keep pace with today’s regulatory complexity. Spreadsheets lack real-time collaboration, reliable audit trails, and the scalability needed as your organization grows—gaps that introduce unnecessary risk through human error and missed deadlines. Discover the key indicators that signal it’s time to upgrade to a purpose-built GRC platform that centralizes oversight, automates repetitive tasks, and gives you the confidence to stay ahead of compliance demands.  https://morefield.com/blog/grc-platforms-vs-spreadsheets-when-to-upgrade-your-compliance-management/

7.How MDR Helps You Meet Cyber Liability Insurance Requirements

As cyber insurance carriers tighten requirements and increase exclusions, businesses are discovering that traditional security measures alone won’t guarantee coverage—or payouts when breaches occur. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services provide the 24/7 monitoring, incident response capabilities, and detailed audit trails that insurers demand; while also helping you meet compliance standards like NIST and CIS Controls. Learn how investing in MDR not only strengthens your security posture but also makes meeting insurance requirements easier, especially for small to medium businesses working with limited resources.  https://morefield.com/blog/how-mdr-helps-you-meet-cyber-liability-insurance-requirements/

8.The Benefits of Managed Governance Risk and Compliance GRC for Credit Unions

Annual vulnerability scans may check the compliance box, but they leave credit unions exposed to threats for months at a time—a gap one institution closed by switching to Morefield’s Managed GRC program. With monthly credentialed assessments, this credit union immediately discovered a critical vulnerability that had been incompletely patched years earlier, preventing a potential breach. Discover how proactive Managed GRC services can transform your security posture, streamline compliance, and reduce operational burden while delivering predictable costs.  https://morefield.com/blog/the-benefits-of-managed-governance-risk-and-compliance-grc-for-credit-unions/

Whether you’re looking to strengthen password management, implement cloud disaster recovery strategies, or simply understand the fundamentals of protecting your digital assets, this collection of articles reflects the cybersecurity challenges and solutions that have headlined 2025. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we invite you to revisit these insights and take actionable steps toward building a more resilient security posture for your organization.

As the third quarter is closing and the final stretch of the year approaches, many business leaders find themselves focused on wrapping up projects, meeting revenue goals, and preparing for a strong year-end finish. Yet, this season is also one of the best times to pause, step back from the daily grind, and plan for the new year ahead.

For technology leaders, that means not only setting goals for 2026 but also creating a thoughtful budget that outlines planned investments and forecasts operational expenses. Whether you’re new to the process, want to benchmark your practices against peers, or simply need fresh ideas to refine your budgeting approach, this guide will help you shape a practical, forward-looking IT budget.

Where to Start: Reflect Before Putting Pen to Paper

The budgeting process begins with reflection. Take a close look at your 2025 budget and evaluate how it has performed year to date. Are you ahead of plan or trailing behind? Have certain assumptions proven inaccurate? Were there unexpected gaps or oversights that disrupted execution?

An honest clear-eyed review of the existing budget offers two benefits: 1) it highlights lessons learned and 2) provides a solid baseline for forecasting the year ahead. Without this checkpoint, you risk repeating mistakes or overlooking important variables that will affect your 2026 financial planning.

Subscription Review: Managing Recurring Technology Costs

The technology sector has largely shifted to an “as-a-service” model, where solutions are delivered through recurring subscriptions. While this can simplify deployment and provide predictable costs, it also demands careful oversight.

Start by identifying all subscription agreements across your organization. Which are due for renewal in 2026, and what are the terms? Do they auto-renew, or do you need to provide written notification to terminate? These details matter, as missed deadlines can lock you into contracts that no longer meet your needs.

Equally important is evaluating vendor performance. Has the provider delivered on their promises? Are service levels satisfactory, or are you fielding frequent complaints about poor performance, lack of bandwidth, or unexpected overages? When renewals approach, consider whether to extend, renegotiate, or switch to a superior solution.

Subscription management is not just about cost control—it’s about aligning services with business needs and ensuring the right scale and quality for your operations.

Lifecycle Review: Planning for Hardware and Infrastructure

Even in an era of cloud services, businesses still rely heavily on the infrastructure within the premises. And unlike subscription models, hardware comes with finite lifecycles.

• Endpoints (smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops): Typically, 3 years
• Servers | Storage: Around 5 years
• Network (routers, switches, access-points): 7 years
• Premises telephone systems: 8–10 years

Understanding where each piece of equipment stands in its lifecycle helps you anticipate replacement needs, avoid sudden failures, and maintain warranty coverage. Keep track of critical milestones such as “end of sale,” “end of support,” and “end of life” notices, since these directly affect security, compliance, and reliability.

Don’t forget building systems often outside IT’s direct oversight—such as access control, HVAC, smart lighting, and surveillance. These depend on hardware that is often “set it and forget it” until something fails. Budgeting for proactive upgrades here can prevent costly downtime later.

Cybersecurity: Staying Ahead of an Arms Race

Cybersecurity planning deserves its own budget category. Unlike other IT investments with predictable timelines, security operates in a constantly shifting landscape. Cybercriminals are relentless in developing new tactics, while defenders continuously innovate to counter them.

This arms race means organizations must regularly evaluate whether their security posture is sufficient. Are there emerging threats your current tools don’t cover? Are there new technologies—like advanced endpoint protection, zero trust architectures, identity services or managed detection and response services—that should be added to your defense?

Budgeting for cybersecurity is not a one-time line item; it’s an ongoing commitment to strengthening your resilience against evolving threats.

Tools That Make Budgeting Easier

A range of tools can simplify the budgeting process by giving you better visibility into your environment and upcoming needs:

• Warranty Management Tools to track coverage and expirations
• Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software for proactive oversight
• Manufacturer purchase history databases for lifecycle tracking
• Migration path documentation that outlines what’s next for specific platforms
• Cybersecurity assessments to identify gaps and prioritize investments
• Automated infrastructure inventory scans to catalog assets
• Wi-Fi surveys to pinpoint performance issues and capacity needs

Leveraging these tools ensures your budget is based on accurate data rather than guesswork.

Best Practices for Building a Sustainable IT Budget

Budgeting is not just about numbers on a spreadsheet—it’s about creating a framework that aligns IT investments with business priorities while minimizing surprises. Here are some suggested best practices:

1. Offset Hardware Refresh Cycles

Instead of replacing all hardware in large, costly waves, spread refreshes across multiple years. For example, replace one-third of your equipment annually or less aggressive 20–25% each year. This interval approach smooths expenses into predictable recurring investments, reduces the shock of large capital expenditures, and ensures your environment stays current and under warranty | support.

2. Review Cybersecurity Insurance Policies

Insurance providers increasingly require proof of robust security controls. As you renew policies, identify areas where your current posture may be seen as a liability. Completing those projects not only strengthens your security but also reduces your premiums, turning risk mitigation into a cost-saving opportunity.

3. Invest in Training

Technology is only as effective as the people using it. Too often, employees use a fraction of the extensive feature sets available in business applications. Allocating funds for end-user training—both for new technologies and for deeper adoption of existing platforms—helps maximize return on your IT investments.

4. Build in Flexibility for the Unexpected

Even the best-planned budgets face surprises. Pricing changes, vendor-driven adjustments, integration challenges, and interoperability issues can all increase costs. A good rule of thumb is to allocate an additional 15–20% for contingencies. This cushion allows you to absorb unexpected expenses without derailing other initiatives.

Looking Ahead: IT as a Strategic Enabler

Budgeting for IT expenditures should not be seen as a reactive, tactical chore. Instead, it is an opportunity to align technology with organizational goals, optimize operations, and prepare for the future.

By reflecting on past performance, managing recurring subscriptions, tracking infrastructure lifecycles, prioritizing cybersecurity, and following budgeting best practices, organizations can create sustainable, forward-looking budgets that keep them agile and competitive.

As 2026 approaches, technology leaders who plan proactively will be better equipped to support growth, manage risk, and deliver value across the business. The key is not simply to “set the budget” but to treat it as a living framework—one that adapts to changes in technology, business needs, and the broader security landscape.

For more than a decade, VMware has been a foundational technology in IT environments across industries. From datacenter virtualization to telephone systems, surveillance, and access control, VMware has been the engine behind the hypervisor layer that makes enterprise workloads efficient and manageable.

But with Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, major changes are shaking up this ecosystem. The shifts in licensing, partner programs, and pricing will have wide-reaching consequences for SMB and midmarket organizations. At Morefield, we believe it’s critical for businesses to understand what’s happening, why it matters, and what options exist moving forward.

The Broadcom Effect: A Disrupted VMware Landscape

Broadcom has wasted no time restructuring VMware’s go-to-market model. The most visible changes include:

• Partner Program Shakeup – Broadcom has eliminated the lowest tier of the VMware Advantage Partner Program, consolidating from (4) to (3) tiers. This means fewer authorized resellers and higher costs for those who remain. To maintain authorization, partners face tougher requirements: expert services capabilities, dedicated sales & technical resources, and joint business planning with Broadcom.
• Distributor Breakup – Broadcom severed ties with Ingram Micro, one of the largest IT distributors worldwide. This move impacts 1,500 resellers who collectively supported over 160,000 customers.
• Licensing Model Overhaul – Perpetual licenses are being retired in favor of subscription-based models. While subscription can bring flexibility, many customers are experiencing higher ongoing costs compared to their prior perpetual investments.
• Rising Prices – VMware licensing fees are going up, adding new strain on IT budgets.
• License Portability – Broadcom has introduced a License Portability entitlement for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). This feature empowers customers to deploy and run workloads more flexibly across environments, but it comes with complexity and cost.

Taken together, these changes create disruption for organizations that have long relied on VMware as a stable, predictable hypervisor.

An Overreliance on Hypervisors: How We Got Here

To understand why Broadcom’s changes matter so much, it helps to look back at how hypervisors became so deeply embedded in enterprise IT.

In the early days of client-server computing, application vendors demanded dedicated compute, memory, and storage to ensure consistent performance. Without hypervisors, IT leaders had only one choice: dedicate an entire physical server, operating system, and storage stack to each application.

The result? Datacenters filled with racks of underutilized servers, each running a single workload.

Then came hypervisors. With virtualization, IT teams could configure virtual images that mimicked dedicated environments but consolidated them onto fewer physical servers. The efficiency gains were enormous: fewer boxes to buy, power, cool, and manage, with the flexibility to scale resources as needed.

This virtualization strategy was so successful that it spread everywhere:

• File storage | domain controller | print server
• Line-of-business applications
• Voice and telephone systems
• Building Management such as surveillance & access control

Today, hypervisors like VMware are not just part of the IT stack—they are the IT stack for many organizations. That deep reliance is what makes Broadcom’s changes so disruptive.

Morefield: Losing VMware Resale Authorization, Retaining Expertise

Morefield has designed, installed, and supported VMware environments since 2012. For more than 13 years, our technical expertise has helped businesses build reliable, secure, and high-performing datacenters.

But with Broadcom’s new partner program requirements and the elimination of lower-tier partnerships, Morefield will no longer maintain resale authorization for VMware.

Here’s what that means for our clients:

Support Continues – Our team’s VMware expertise is unchanged. We will continue to support VMware environments for our managed services clients and those running on-premises datacenters.

Collaboration with Premier Partners – Through partnerships with authorized resellers at higher tiers, we can still acquire VMware maintenance and support for our clients.

Client Commitment – Our focus remains steady: to deliver the best possible support, guidance, and solutions for our clients—even as the vendor landscape shifts.

Walking Away from VMware: Options You Should Consider

As organizations assess their VMware environments, many will be forced to decide whether to stay the course or explore alternatives. Here are (4) strategic paths to consider:

1. Stay the Course with your private Datacenter

Businesses may choose to remain with VMware, but it’s essential to evaluate total costs. Beyond licensing, factor in the lifecycle of compute and storage hardware, extended warranties, and the long-term sustainability of VMware as a platform under Broadcom’s stewardship.

If a revirtualization project is on the horizon, consider bundling it with new datacenter hardware to maximize ROI and simplify the project, allowing for image migrations, one at a time.  New hardware hosts the new hypervisor whilst the VMware environment remains on existing hardware.  This approach also ensures backup routines continue in parallel and business continuity plans are not impacted.  

2. Explore Hosted Infrastructure (IaaS)

Migrating workloads to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides relief from hardware lifecycle management. Morefield has partnered with datacenter operators such as TierPoint, Expedient, and 11:11 Systems to help clients successfully shift workloads to hosted environments.

This approach often reduces capital expenditures for hardware refresh, shifts management responsibility of the environment to the Operator and provides scalable, consumption-based pricing.

3. Devirtualize Smaller Environments

For smaller, converged environments, devirtualization may be a viable option. This involves migrating applications from a hypervisor host back to a physical server environment. With dedicated hardware, operating systems, and management tools, devirtualization can simplify operations and reduce licensing costs.

4. Migrate to SaaS Solutions

With the dominance of subscription models today, many application vendors now offer Software as a Service (SaaS) alternatives. Instead of managing licenses, servers, and infrastructure, organizations can subscribe to SaaS offerings that deliver applications directly over the cloud.

This is particularly effective for line-of-business applications where vendors are investing heavily in cloud-native experiences.

Why These Decisions Matter

VMware’s dominance in the hypervisor market means these changes won’t just affect large enterprises—they will impact SMB and midmarket organizations across industries.

Here’s why:

Market Impact – VMware has the largest share of hypervisor deployments. Industry analysts project that more than one-third of VMware workloads will migrate to alternate technologies by 2028.

Licensing Risks – Many older VMware licenses were perpetual. Without active support or upgrades, these environments risk falling behind, leaving organizations exposed to vulnerabilities and compliance gaps.

Critical Applications Depend on VMware – From premise telephone systems to building management (HVAC, surveillance, access control), many non-IT systems were built on VMware. As these environments age without updates, the risk of cyberattacks grows.

Financial Strain – The combination of rising VMware prices and hardware refresh cycles creates real budgetary challenges for leadership teams.

Simply put VMware is no longer the straightforward, value driven investment it once was. Businesses must reevaluate their strategies now to avoid being caught off guard later.

Morefield as Your Expert Datacenter Partner

At Morefield, we see this moment as both a challenge and an opportunity. Our team combines more than a decade of hypervisor experience with broad expertise across datacenter, cloud, and SaaS solutions. Whether you choose to maintain VMware, shift to hosted infrastructure, devirtualize, or embrace SaaS, we can guide you every step of the way.

The VMware landscape may be changing, but your business doesn’t have to navigate it alone.

If your organization is evaluating the future of its VMware environment, contact Morefield today. Let’s assess your options, build a roadmap, and ensure your technology investments continue to deliver value—no matter where Broadcom takes VMware.