Proxmox vs Nutanix vs VMware: The Post-Broadcom Constraints No One Explains

Broadcom didn't just change VMware pricing — it changed the decision model. Most teams re-evaluating their hypervisor right now are working through the same problem. The available content doesn't help: feature matrices that compare capabilities no one uses, pricing tables that don't reflect real contract structures, migration guides that skip the part where things break. The right frame isn't "which platform is better." It's a constraint problem. VMware: Cost constraint — the pricing model is now opaque and Broadcom controls it. Nutanix: Operational constraint — vertically integrated stack, CVM overhead on every node. Proxmox: Capability constraint — engineering ceiling when enterprise HA, DR, and storage requirements exceed what the platform provides out of the box. None of these are disqualifying. All of them are real. VMware in the Broadcom Era The platform is mature. Your team knows it. Your tooling assumes it. What changed: subscription-only licensing, VCF bundle tiers, and the el