In 2010 Merit announced the launch of the Merit VMware Licensing Program for its education and government Members. Unfortunately, today we must announce that VMware has changed the program that we originally had in place for our Members. Therefore, at close of business yesterday, September 30, 2013 our ELA (Enterprise Licensing Agreement) with VMware expired.
What does this change mean for Merit Members?
Under the terms of the agreement, Merit will continue to provide the SnS (Services and Support) on the licenses you purchased through the Merit ELA program.
Merit will work with Members on securing new VMware licenses, however, the deep discounted educational and government pricing will no longer be available through an ELA agreement with VMware.
Merit will work directly with a partner and/or a distributor to secure the new licenses for your virtualization environment.
Merit has been working with VMware for several months to negotiate a new agreement that would allow Merit to continue to offer significantly discounted VMware licenses to our Members in education and government. The terms, conditions, and changes to the program that VMware offered did not align with the program that we have developed with our partner and Members. It is important for Merit Members to understand that if they have purchased VMware licenses under the original Merit program we will continue to renew the SnS under the previous ELA, at the discounted rates.
Members who are interested in purchasing new licenses or upgrading their current licenses should contact the Merit Services team at [email protected] or call 734-527-5785, to receive a price quote. “Merit will continue to provide VMware licensing as well as other licenses to our education and government Members. We will also continue to work to negotiate and secure the best educational and government pricing available. We will continue to review the program and work with our partner and VMware to identify the best solution for our Members’ VMware licensing needs”, stated Elwood Downing, Vice President of Member Relations, Communications, Services and Product Development for Merit.
Don Welch, President and CEO for Merit, added “The VMware program has been very valuable to our Members, and we hope that it will remain valuable as the program evolves.” This announcement today only affects the education and government sectors. Merit Members in the healthcare sector are not affected by this announcement as Merit has a separate ELA with VMware for that sector.
Thank you for your continued support of the Merit Licensing Program. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding this announcement please contact your Member Relations Manager for assistance at [email protected].
FAQ – Merit VMware Licensing Program
For State and Local Government, Educational Organizations (including Libraries, K12, Higher Ed)
When I look in the VMware Portal it shows the support on my licenses ends on 9/29/2013, am I still supported?
If you originally purchased your licenses through Merit’s VMware Licensing Program and you’ve been paying your renewal invoices then you are still covered. VMware is in the process of updating the dates in the Portal and have notified their support team that you are still covered. If you have any issues with getting support from VMware on your licenses please contact the Merit Services team.
Do I still go to Merit for my VMware support renewals?
If you originally purchased your VMware licensing through Merit’s program then yes, you will continue to receive proforma invoices from Merit to renew support on your licenses.
Are the renewal rates changing at all as a result of this change to the program?
No, the renewal rates will remain the same for the next year. They may increase up to 3% the following year.
Can I continue to purchase VMware licensing through Merit?
Merit is working with other providers in order to continue to offer VMware licensing at a discount to our state and local government, and education Members (which includes libraries). The pricing will change and our website will be updated shortly with our new rates.