Tottenham Hotspur, the professional football club based in London, has completed a major upgrade to its stadium's technology infrastructure, moving away from VMware, a well-known provider of virtualization software. As part of this overhaul, the club has adopted HPE Morpheus VM Essentials, a virtualization platform from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). According to the club’s Chief Technology Officer, Rob Pickering, this transition has led to a reduction in virtualization costs by more than 85%. The decision was influenced by recent commercial changes following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, which prompted Tottenham to seek alternative solutions. The shift to HPE is part of a broader modernization of the stadium’s data center and networking systems. In addition to virtualization, the club is upgrading its server, storage, and networking infrastructure to HPE products. While the exact costs associated with VMware were not disclosed, Pickering emphasized that the savings were substantial, describing them as a "significant amount" and "north of 85%." He also highlighted that the move was not solely about reducing costs, but about integrating virtualization, infrastructure, and automation into a unified system that offers greater operational value. HPE had previously offered incentives to customers switching from VMware, including a year of free use of HPE Morpheus VM Essentials and Zerto migration software at a discounted price. It is unclear whether Tottenham took advantage of these offers, but the club is clearly investing in next-generation networking technology. Tottenham is upgrading its stadium’s network infrastructure to support Wi-Fi 7, the latest wireless standard, and is using HPE Aruba Central, a cloud-based network management platform. The stadium will have around 20,000 network access points and connections, ensuring seamless connectivity for fans and staff. Tottenham is not the only major organization moving away from VMware. UK supermarket chain Tesco has also announced plans to stop using 40,000 VMware licenses, indicating a broader trend in the industry. As companies seek more cost-effective and integrated technology solutions, the shift away from VMware appears to be part of a larger movement toward alternative virtualization platforms and infrastructure providers.