Broadcom has announced an important change to its Site Recovery Manager (SRM) offering. As of November 2, 2026, Live Recovery is now included as part of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) subscriptions.
This means that SRM is no longer sold as a standalone product. Instead, its capabilities are now integrated into the broader private cloud platform.
Let’s take a look at what has changed and what this means for existing and new customers.
From Standalone Product to Built-in Platform Capability
One of the main changes is the way Broadcom delivers Site Recovery Manager capabilities.
Previously, customers needed a separate SRM entitlement to implement disaster recovery solutions. With this new model, Live Recovery capabilities are included directly in VCF and VVF subscriptions.
This change brings protection, replication and disaster recovery closer to the core platform, making them part of the overall private cloud experience.
For customers already running VCF or VVF, this is an important update because it simplifies the licensing model and removes the need for a separate SRM subscription.
What Has Changed?
Here are the key points:
- SRM is no longer sold as a standalone product: The standalone offering has been replaced by Live Recovery as part of the VCF and VVF platforms.
- Included in VCF and VVF subscriptions: Live Recovery capabilities are now part of these subscription offerings.
- Existing customers are entitled: Customers with active VCF or VVF subscriptions are included.
- New and renewed subscriptions: New, renewal and expansion subscriptions automatically include Live Recovery.
In other words, disaster recovery is becoming an integrated capability of the VMware private cloud platform rather than a separate product that customers need to purchase and manage independently.
What Do Existing Customers Need to Do?
For customers who want to use Live Recovery now, Broadcom has provided a straightforward process.
According to the announcement, customers can:
- Obtain a term-limited SRM license key from the Broadcom Support Portal.
- Upgrade to VCF or VVF 9.1.3 to receive automatic entitlement benefits.
- Protect up to 10,000 virtual machines.
It is worth checking the official Broadcom documentation and support portal for the specific entitlement and activation requirements applicable to your environment.
Why Is This Important?
I believe this change is more than just a licensing update.
By including Live Recovery in VCF and VVF, Broadcom is reinforcing its strategy of delivering a more integrated private cloud platform.
Protection, replication, disaster recovery and business continuity are essential parts of any enterprise infrastructure. Bringing these capabilities directly into the platform can simplify adoption and reduce the complexity associated with managing separate product entitlements.
It also makes disaster recovery capabilities more accessible to customers who are already investing in the VCF or VVF ecosystem.
Final Thoughts
This is a positive step in the evolution of the VMware private cloud platform.
Moving from a standalone SRM model to an integrated Live Recovery offering represents a change in both product packaging and platform strategy.
For existing VCF and VVF customers, it is definitely worth reviewing your current environment and understanding how to take advantage of these new entitlements.
As Broadcom continues to evolve VCF and VVF, we can expect more capabilities to become part of a unified platform experience.
One less standalone product to manage, and one more capability built into the platform.
Note: The information in this article is based on Broadcom’s November 2026 announcement. Customers should always refer to the official Broadcom documentation for the latest licensing, entitlement and upgrade requirements.
