Trustmarque Group and Ultima Business Solutions have signed a definitive agreement to merge, forming what both companies describe as a “powerhouse for managed services and digital innovation” across the UK and beyond. The deal, expected to complete in early November, will create one of the country’s largest IT services providers, with a combined Gross Invoiced Income (GII) approaching £1 billion and more than 1,000 employees.

Both firms bring deep roots in the UK channel. York-based Trustmarque, founded in 1987, is a long-standing Microsoft and Cisco Gold partner with a strong foothold in the public sector. Reading-headquartered Ultima, founded in 1990, is known for its corporate managed services, automation capabilities, and AI-driven offerings through its Ultima Labs unit. Together, the merged organisation will serve more than 3,000 customers across seven UK and international locations.

The new group will be led by Simon Williams, currently CEO of Trustmarque, with Jamie Beaumont, Ultima’s CFO, taking on the same role in the merged business. The merger continues to be supported by Trustmarque’s private equity owner One Equity Partners and Ultima’s backer Apse Capital, both of which have endorsed the integration as part of a long-term growth strategy.

Broadcom wants its chosen partner ecosystem to focus on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) where mutual growth could be up for grabs if services are prioritised.

In a blog post, Broadcom senior vice president of global commercial sales and partners Brian Moats said its three-part partner mission starts with leading with VCF, no matter where a customer is situated.

“Every customer journey — regardless of size — and regardless of where they are on their journey to modernise, ultimately delivers the greatest value realisation with VMware Cloud Foundation,” Moats wrote.

He also stressed that VCF 9.0 is “a significant step forward, bringing together the best of both worlds with the agility and speed of public cloud and the control and predictability of private cloud.”

The next element, the post continued, is to drive adoption through services, as Moats wrote VCF is “only the start”.

“Deploying it and driving adoption is where the real value is created. That’s why we are focused on enabling partners to build and scale professional services practices that bring the platform to life,” Moats said.

Along with this push, Broadcom is planning to introduce new incentives to reward deployments and successful adoptions, not just licence transactions — although Moats didn’t provide specifics as to what the incentives will look like.

“Our partners are essential to helping customers modernise their infrastructure, operations, and security to deliver the outcomes that matter most,” he said. “That’s why it’s our mission to keep investing in our Partners, via the programs, enablement, and resources that help them deliver innovation and measurable value to our joint customers.”

US-based managed service provider (MSP) AHEAD co-founder and executive vice chairman Stephen Ayoub highlighted this shift from licensing and towards services, in Moats’ blog.

“If we give away 10 per cent margin on licensing, and I can pick up 35 per cent – 45 per cent on the services side, my enterprise value is going up,” he said.

Moats said this was the “kind of smart, sustainable growth” the vendor wanted to “drive across the ecosystem”.

The emphasis on services comes after Broadcom indicated in early October that managed service opportunities have the potential for greater growth and profitability, as well as its restriction on customer entitlement to port VCF licences.

Capping off the three-part partner mission is the partner value pyramid blueprint, which Moats said provides a guide for partners to drive customer success and future-proof their journey to private cloud on VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).

He noted that it lays out what the vendor considers to be “great” for private cloud projects, starting from advising and architecting to deploying, managing, and optimising outcomes over time.

Broadcom has once again made changes to how VMware operates, this time with the launch of a new invite-only CSP Program which will come into effect from November 1, 2025.

With the change, Broadcom will significantly reduce the number of authorised CSP partners, with many small- to mid-sized partners not invited.

Those who have been effectively kicked off the program were told on July 15, and while they can continue to operate normally until November, they will no longer be able to conduct new business or renewals from this point forward.

As a result of the change, customers may lose existing partners will have to find alternative solutions quickly, risking service interruptions, renewal delays and support confusion.

Because customers will no longer be able to access certain cloud service providers, they could also see price hikes resulting from reduced budding, migration and re-onboarding.

The company says it’s making these changes to focus on fewer, high-performing hyperscale CSPs. Broadcom has already communicated its vision of simplification, consistency and innovation, and maintains that the changes it’s making will support customers of all sizes.

“Departing partners are encouraged to work with authorised VCSP partners to ensure a smooth transition for customers who seek to renew a service at the end of their current term,” Interactive said – an Australian Authorised VMware Cloud Service Provider with knowledge on the matter.

Existing VMware customers are being advised to confirm if their current partner will continue to be a Broadcom partner. If not, they should identify renewal timelines and start planning to migrate accordingly. Companies affected by the shakeup could also consider reassessing VMware’s role in their IT portfolio altogether, which could add to Broadcom’s ongoing battle with customer satisfaction.