Tottenham Hotspur cuts VMware licensing fees by 85% after migration
VMware migration reduces Tottenham Hotspur's licensing fees by 85 percent
Tottenham Hotspur, a Premier League soccer club, has saved over 85% in licensing fees by replacing VMware with HPE's Morpheus VM Essentials and OpsRamp software, delivered via HPE GreenLake. The club's CTO, Rob Pickering, cited issues with Broadcom's takeover of VMware as a key reason. The migration is part of a broader stadium data center and network redesign, which also includes HPE ProLiant servers and Alletra Storage. Pickering emphasized that the move is not just about cost savings but also about integrating AI operations into a single pane of glass for his small team of about 35 people.
With VMware, a 400-pound gorilla in that space, they took some decisions that I think run counter to both the system integrator side and the customer side.
- celsoazevedo
Tesco, a large supermarket chain (also in the UK), is also moving away from VMware: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/06/tesco...
I'm assuming they're paying much more than a football club.
There's also a legal side in this case because they're actually suing Broadcom: "Tesco claimed Broadcom hiked its VMware prices by about 175 percent in UK court filings."
- Zenul_Abidin
Still won't help them get out of a relegation fight.
- happymellon
So I know that its VMWare, so the fees will be eyewatering, but 85% reduction is really meaningless in this story.
How much was Tottenham using? Did the 85% actually cover the cost of their new CTO coming in and switching platforms?
It's very vague.
- gchamonlive
> Tottenham Hotspur (...) has saved over 85 percent in licensing fees by replacing (...) VMware instance with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s VME.
So only a matter of time until they have to migrate again.
- jbyers
This is good for Tottenham, we need that money:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7542593/2026/09/02/tottenha...
($405M in gross transfer spend in this summer's window)