VCF renewals ▲ 31.4% YoY· Symantec EDR true-ups ▲ 18%· Carbon Black avg quote uplift +22%· Mainframe MIPS capacity squeezes ▲· Audit notices ▲ 47% QoQ· Our last 10 deals avg −41% on quote· VCF renewals ▲ 31.4% YoY· Symantec EDR true-ups ▲ 18%· Carbon Black avg quote uplift +22%· Mainframe MIPS capacity squeezes ▲· Audit notices ▲ 47% QoQ· Our last 10 deals avg −41% on quote
Wednesday · 27 May · MMXXVIIssue II
Independent · Buyer-SideLive
Field Notes
From live engagements · Anonymised · Published as the work happens On live deals this quarter. Verified against signed contracts. Not affiliated with Broadcom Inc.
The Lead · Q2 2026 · Field Archive

The shorter pieces between renewal cycles.

Field notes are what the practice publishes while the work is still happening. Quote analysis, audit response tactics, clause readings, concession-band intelligence. Anonymised at the source.

The longer essays in Insights are reviewed editorial pieces. Field Notes are faster. They go up while a deal is still in motion, written from the engagement room rather than the editor's desk. They are anonymised before publication by industry, region, and deal size. No client is identified without explicit written consent.

What you will find here is the practitioner's voice. Half of these pieces are clause readings, which take one specific contract term, walk through what Broadcom is doing with it in 2026, and explain what to ask for at the table. The other half are pattern observations. A Carbon Black quote that shifted across three deals in the same week. A Symantec audit posture that hardened in EMEA but not the Americas. A VCF concession that closed twice but failed a third time.

"The Field Notes piece on the VCF core minimum read like our own renewal letter. We brought it into the room with us."CFO · Logistics group

Below is the live archive. The three featured pieces are the most recent, the table beneath lists everything published this quarter. Each piece links to a service or practice area for the work behind it, and to two related field notes for context.

§ 02

This week's field notes

Published Wk 22 · 2026 · Anonymised at source
VMwareQ2 · 7 min read

Three signs your VCF renewal quote is built on stale entitlements

Most renewal quotes inherit the entitlement footprint from three years ago, not from what the buyer is using today. Three signals show up before signature that say so.

Read essay →
Audit defenseQ2 · 9 min read

What to do in the first 30 days after a Broadcom audit notice

The first thirty days set the posture for the whole engagement. Specific moves to make, and specific things to refuse to do.

Read essay →
MainframeQ2 · 11 min read

The IPLA versus MSU decision that changes your mainframe contract

It is presented as a technical metering choice. It is a contract-structure choice. Here is what changes when you pick one over the other.

Read essay →
§ 03

Quarter archive

22 pieces published in Q2 2026
#TitleCategoryWkRead time
01
Why the VCF core minimum is the wrong fight to pick first
Subscription conversion mechanics, ramp protection, real leverage.
VMware · The Lever
227 min
02
The three Broadcom audit triggers nobody is talking about
Pre-notice signals. What precedes the formal compliance review.
Audit defense · The Calendar
229 min
03
What a defensible three-year commit looks like in 2026
Multi-year structures that survive mid-term consumption changes.
Strategy · The Position
2211 min
04
Three signs your VCF renewal quote is built on stale entitlements
The audit signal nobody connects to the renewal cycle.
VMware · The Tell
217 min
05
The DLP licensing clause Broadcom is enforcing more aggressively in 2026
Pre-acquisition paper. New-team enforcement. What to do.
Symantec · The Trap
219 min
06
What to do in the first 30 days after a Broadcom audit notice
Posture, response, what to refuse. Sequence matters.
Audit defense · The Audit
2011 min
07
The IPLA versus MSU decision that changes your mainframe contract
A metering choice that is really a contract-structure choice.
Mainframe · The Lever
2011 min
08
The mainframe MIPS capacity squeeze nobody saw coming
A Q1 capacity pricing shift that lands quietly on true-ups.
Mainframe · The Calendar
198 min
Correspondence Invited

Write before the quote becomes a position.

Two analyst calls. No pitch. We tell you what we would do, what the leverage actually is, and whether we are the right firm. If we are not, we will say so.
Who we work for. Buyer-side only. No reseller relationship with Broadcom. No partnership of any kind. We do not earn anything from products sold or renewed. Only from outcomes delivered against the contract.