PIOLINK HCI Sales Surge 78% Amid VMware Exodus

What happened

On Nov. 12, PIOLINK reported that cumulative sales of its POPCON HCI hyperconverged infrastructure solution, positioned as a VMware alternative, reached 3.2 billion won in the first nine months of this year, up 77.8% year-on-year and nearly double its full-year 2024 sales of 1.7 billion won. Supported by this growth, PIOLINK posted third-quarter revenue of 18.7 billion won, up 28% year-on-year, and operating profit of 2.6 billion won, which rose more than fivefold; net profit climbed 89% to 1.59 billion won from 840 million won, and cumulative results for the first three quarters swung to a profit of 990 million won from a loss of 1 billion won a year earlier. PIOLINK said VMware's licensing policy changes increased costs, prompting more companies and public institutions to replace foreign infrastructure with domestic alternatives, and that POPCON HCI, offering perpetual licensing and disaster recovery (DR) capabilities, captured this demand. Following its acquisition by Broadcom in November 2023, VMware overhauled its pricing and licensing structure: it bundled licenses previously sold for individual functions into packages, completely discontinued perpetual license sales, shifted to a subscription model and sharply increased subscription fees; industry sources say licensing costs have risen between twofold and tenfold for some customers, and discounts for educational institutions and nonprofits have been reduced or discontinued. A recent Rimini Street survey found 90% of IT executives at VMware customers were looking for alternative solutions, and demand for replacements has accelerated this year as three-year subscription contracts signed around Broadcom's acquisition began expiring. POPCON HCI has secured more than 80 customers across financial, public, education and healthcare sectors, of which 37.5% migrated from VMware. Parent company IGLOO, which holds a 31.04% stake in PIOLINK, posted cumulative consolidated revenue of 131.9 billion won for the first nine months of this year, up 73% from 76 billion won a year earlier, but operating results swung to a loss of 1.4 billion won from a profit of 1.1 billion won, operating cash flow shifted to a net outflow of 6.7 billion won from a net inflow of 2.6 billion won, and inventories stood at 16.7 billion won at the end of September, nearly double the 8.4 billion won at the end of last year.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: The Elec · 11/12/2026 · View original source