Unearned Revenues

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Deferred Revenue Disclosure [Abstract]

Unearned Revenue

J. Unearned Revenues

Unearned revenues as of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 consisted of the following (table in thousands):

	June 30, 2012		December 31, 2011
Unearned license revenues	$	375,644	$	389,225
Unearned software maintenance revenues	2,356,977		2,133,512
Unearned professional services revenues	209,769		185,681
Total unearned revenues	$	2,942,390	$	2,708,418

Unearned license revenues are recognized either ratably or upon the delivery of existing products, future products or services. Future products include, in some cases, emerging products that are offered as part of product promotions where the purchaser of an existing product is entitled to receive a promotional product at no additional charge. VMware regularly offers product promotions as a strategy to improve awareness of its emerging products. To the extent promotional products have not been delivered and VSOE of fair value cannot be established, the revenue for the entire order is deferred until such time as all product delivery obligations have been fulfilled. Increasingly, unearned license revenue may also be recognized ratably, which is generally due to a right to receive unspecified future products or a lack of VSOE of fair value on the software maintenance element of the arrangement. At June 30, 2012, the ratable component represented over half of the total unearned license revenue balance. Unearned software maintenance revenues are attributable to VMware’s maintenance contracts and are recognized ratably over terms of one to five years with a weighted-average remaining term at June 30, 2012 of approximately 1.9 years. Unearned professional services revenues result primarily from prepaid professional services, including training, and are generally recognized as the services are delivered.