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What to send in a VMware renewal RFQ
What to send in a VMware renewal RFQ
A complete VMware renewal RFQ has twelve fields. Fields 1 to 6 identify you and size the estate: legal entity, Broadcom reference, current entitlement, dates, an RVTools export and your own core count. Fields 7 to 12 fix what is priced and how the reply must look: VVF and VCF on the same cores, what you actually run, terms, payment, the quote format and the partner's credentials. Send it to AceMQ for a first reply within 1 hour and a quote within 24 business hours.
Published 28 October 2026. Last reviewed 28 October 2026 by Tyler Eastridge.
The RFQ template
An RFQ is a request for quote: the document you send each partner so that its pricing is for the same scope. Unlike a full RFP or a public tender, it asks for prices on a fixed scope, which is all a VMware license renewal needs, and because Broadcom now sells VMware as a subscription, every renewal is a fresh quote. The template is twelve fields in the order a partner's quoting team needs them. Fill in what you know, mark what you do not, and send the same text to each partner on the same day. A partner can quote from fields 1 to 5 alone, but without fields 6 to 9 the number it returns is a guess that you cannot compare with anyone else's.
| Field | What to send | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Legal entity | Registered legal name, trading name and address | The entitlement record is matched on the legal entity on file. In AceMQ's 37-renewal sample, one cause of delay was a record that could not be found because the entity on file differed from the trading name. |
| 2. Broadcom reference | Prior contract number or site ID, and the partner that held it | It makes the quote a renewal rather than a net-new order. A quote produced without the entitlement record usually prices as net-new. |
| 3. Current entitlement | Product and edition, quantity, start and end dates, support level | Shows whether this is a like-for-like renewal or a move to a different product. A perpetual key or an older edition does not renew like for like. |
| 4. Dates | Expiry date, the date you need the quote and the date you need the order | Sets urgency. Quotes are often valid for about 30 days, so say when internal approval will finish. |
| 5. Estate inventory | An RVTools export, with the hosts you will keep and the hosts you will retire marked | Settles the core count and the edition in one attachment. In AceMQ's sample it was the single fastest thing a buyer could send. |
| 6. Your own core count | Physical cores per CPU, each CPU below 16 raised to 16, summed, with 72 as the floor for the order | Lets the partner check its count against yours. The 16-core rule is in Broadcom's KB 313548; the 72-core order minimum is Broadcom's current rule. |
| 7. Editions to price | VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) on the same cores | VCF quoted at 1.8 to 2.9 times VVF per core on like-for-like one-year quotes, so a single-edition quote cannot show whether you need the higher tier. |
| 8. What you run today | Whether NSX, the Aria suite or VCF Operations and vSAN are in use, and raw vSAN capacity in TiB across clusters | The VCF premium only pays off for components you deploy. VCF includes 1 TiB of vSAN per core and VVF 0.25 TiB; capacity above that is bought as an add-on. |
| 9. Terms | One-year and three-year, and five-year if you would commit, all on the same cores | The annual rate line is the comparable number. Multi-year quotes carried a lower annual rate than one-year on every quote where AceMQ priced both. |
| 10. Payment and paper | Payment schedule, whether you need a purchase order, and any contract terms of your own | The payment schedule and the termination clause matter as much as the price, and neither shows in the headline number. |
| 11. Quote format | SKU full name, quantity in cores, term dates, price per core per year, support included, validity date and CPQ reference | A reply that omits any of these cannot be compared. The CPQ reference shows the quote was generated in Broadcom's system. |
| 12. Partner and after-sale | Ask the partner to confirm its Broadcom partner status and program, whether your account is managed directly by Broadcom, and who handles registration and support cases after you sign | One renewal request in four in AceMQ's sample was an account Broadcom manages directly, which no partner can quote. Nothing on a quote says who you can reach afterwards. |
The plain-text version to copy
Select the block below, paste it into an email, replace the brackets and send the identical text to every partner. Keep the numbering, so each reply can answer field by field.
Subject: VMware renewal RFQ - [Company legal name] - expires [date]
1. Legal entity: [registered name], trading as [name], [address]
2. Broadcom reference: [prior contract number or site ID], previous partner [name]
3. Current entitlement: [product and edition], [quantity], [start date] to [end date], [support level]
4. Dates: expires [date]; quote needed by [date]; order needed by [date]
5. Estate: RVTools export attached; [n] hosts to keep, [n] to retire
6. Our core count: [n] physical cores; [n] after 16 per CPU; [n] after the 72-core order minimum
7. Price both: VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) on the same cores
8. In use today: NSX [yes/no]; Aria or VCF Operations [yes/no]; vSAN [yes/no], [n] TiB raw
9. Terms to price: 1-year and 3-year [and 5-year] on the same cores; show the annual rate and the total
10. Payment: [annual in advance / other]; purchase order required [yes/no]; our contract terms [attached/none]
11. Quote must show: SKU full name, cores, term dates, price per core per year, support included, validity date, CPQ reference
12. Please confirm: your Broadcom partner status and program; whether our account is managed directly by Broadcom; who handles registration and support cases after the orderWhat a complete reply contains
A complete reply answers all twelve fields in writing and states the core arithmetic, so you can check it without a call. Use the checklist below on each reply before you compare prices, and send back any reply that fails one of the first four rows.
| Check | A complete reply | Send it back if |
|---|---|---|
| Cores billed | States the billed core count and the working: floor of 16 per CPU, minimum of 72 per order | The count differs from yours and no working is shown |
| Editions | Prices VVF and VCF on the same cores | Only one edition is quoted |
| Terms | Shows the annual rate per core for each term, then the total | Only a total is given |
| Entitlement | Matches your entitlement record and shows the CPQ reference | It prices as a new order, or has no CPQ reference |
| Dates | Gives term start and end dates and the quote validity date | No validity date, or it expires before your approval finishes |
| Support and payment | States what support is included and the payment schedule | Either is missing |
| Account status | Says whether Broadcom manages your account directly | It does not say |
Comparing replies: normalize, then read the annual rate
Two replies are comparable once they share the same core count, edition and term, and then the annual rate per core is the number to read. The gap can still be wide. In AceMQ's 2026 sample, two one-year VVF quotes for the same 96 cores on the same day came in at $117 and $196 per core per year. On 96 cores that is $11,232 against $18,816 a year, a difference of $7,584, with no change in the estate.
A rate gap like that comes from Broadcom's program and the account, not from the template, so the template cannot remove it. What it does is make sure the gap you see is a real rate gap and not a different core count or edition. Once the first three rows of the checklist match, the decision is who sizes the estate correctly and who is reachable after the purchase order is signed. The 37-quote study has the full pattern.
Public sector and education: four lines to add
State, local and education buyers add four lines to the template, because a public procurement tests things a commercial renewal does not. Put them above field 1.
- Bid or solicitation reference and deadline. A bid deadline is fixed, so give it as a date and time, and ask the partner to confirm it can answer before then.
- Contract paper. Say whether you need a purchase order, a contract on your template or a cooperative-purchasing contract, and attach any mandated terms.
- Funding and invoicing. If your budget is approved year by year, ask whether a three-year term can be invoiced annually and what happens to the later years if funding lapses.
- Quote validity against your approval cycle. Quotes are often valid for about 30 days. If approval takes longer, say so, so the partner can time the quote.
AceMQ quotes commercial, education and state and local government organizations in the United States. Federal agencies that Broadcom manages directly are referred to their Broadcom account team, so check that first. In AceMQ's sample, nearly a quarter of the requests left after Broadcom-managed accounts were removed came from public-sector or education buyers, and they were quoted normally.
Sending it: how many partners to ask, how early, and the next steps
Send the template to two or three partners on the same day, 60 to 90 days before expiry. Quotes are often valid for about 30 days and the approval chain inside most organizations is longer, so early requests lose nothing and late ones can lapse before they are approved. Raise it earlier still if the entitlement record or your legal entity needs sorting out.
AceMQ replies to a VMware request within 1 hour and returns the quote within 24 business hours; a complex core-count audit can take 48. The usual delays are outside the partner: a Broadcom-managed account, an entitlement record under a different legal name, and Broadcom's quarter-end queue. Request an AceMQ quote with the template filled in.
When this template is not the right tool
The template fits a Broadcom subscription renewal quoted by a partner. It does not fit three cases. If Broadcom manages your account directly, which in AceMQ's sample was 1 request in 4, no partner can quote you, and the first thing to ask a partner is whether your account is one of those. If your estate runs on perpetual licenses and you want vendor support replaced, you are buying third-party support, not a subscription, and an RFQ for cores and editions does not apply; see third-party support against a Broadcom subscription. If you already hold a quote and want it challenged, an independent adviser is the closer fit, as set out in VMware renewal partners compared.
Method and limits
The fields come from what AceMQ's quoting team asks for on VMware renewals, and the figures cited come from the 37 renewals AceMQ quoted or reviewed between September 2025 and September 2026, described in the state of VMware renewals study. The 16-core and vSAN rules were checked against Broadcom KB 313548 on 28 October 2026. AceMQ is a Broadcom partner and one of the companies you might send this to, so treat the template as a way to get comparable quotes from anyone, not as a recommendation of us. It is not legal or procurement advice; your procurement team's rules come first.
Frequently asked questions
What should a VMware renewal RFQ include?
Twelve things: your legal entity, Broadcom contract reference, current entitlement, key dates, an RVTools export, your own core count with the 16-per-CPU and 72-per-order rules applied, VVF and VCF priced on the same cores, what you actually run, the terms to price, payment details, the quote format you expect and a request for the partner's Broadcom status. The template above lists each with the reason a partner asks for it.
Is a VMware license renewal an RFQ or an RFP?
An RFQ. A request for quote asks several partners to price the same fixed scope, which suits a renewal where the customer already knows the VMware licenses, the cores and the term. An RFP or a public tender asks for a full proposal and is used for larger purchases or where procurement rules require it. In 2026, with Broadcom selling VMware only as a subscription, the useful document is a one-page RFQ that gets comparable pricing from each partner, and a public customer can attach it to a solicitation.
How many partners should I send a VMware RFQ to?
Two or three, on the same day, with identical text. Partners quote against the same Broadcom program, so more quotes add little once the core count, edition and term match; what differs is who sizes the estate correctly and who is reachable after you sign.
What is an RVTools export and why do partners ask for it?
RVTools is a free utility that exports a vCenter inventory to a spreadsheet; its host sheet lists the CPUs and cores on each host. A partner works out the licensable core count from it, which is why it settles the core count and the edition in one attachment. If you cannot run it, say so and a partner can work from a host list.
Do I need to know my core count before I ask for a quote?
No, but give your best count if you have one. The template asks for your own figure so the partner can check it against theirs. If you do not know it, send the RVTools export and say so; guessing in either direction is expensive for the whole term.
Can I use this template for a public-sector bid?
Use it as the technical core and add the four public-sector lines above field 1: the bid reference and deadline, the contract paper, funding and invoicing, and quote validity against your approval cycle. Your procurement rules on solicitations and cooperative contracts take precedence.
