Tesco has launched legal action against Broadcom and Computacenter, seeking £100 million in damages over VMware license support disputes. The supermarket giant claims breach of contract after Broadcom stopped providing support for perpetual software licenses purchased before acquiring VMware in 2021.

The retailer purchased perpetual licenses for VMware's vSphere and Tanzu products along with support contracts running until 2026. However, Broadcom now requires customers with perpetual licenses to purchase expensive new subscriptions for continued support, forcing Tesco to pay twice for the same software.

VMware technology underpins Tesco's critical infrastructure, managing approximately 40,000 server workloads that connect store tills and enable grocery distribution across the UK and Ireland. The filing warns that support disruptions could directly impact the company's ability to stock shelves and serve customers.

This lawsuit follows similar cases from AT&T and Siemens against Broadcom over support termination for perpetual licenses. Large enterprises are using legal action as leverage to renegotiate terms with the semiconductor company, which insists its subscription model provides better value than legacy perpetual licensing.