What to Look for When Searching for a VMware Alternative

Whether it’s a potential customer feeling priced out of VMware’s virtualization offerings or an existing customer concerned with the direction of the company after its acquisition by Broadcom, finding the right infrastructure software to empower an organization is a high priority for many right now. The following criteria should be among the top considerations when searching for an ideal alternative to VMware, according to experts at VergeIO.

1. Cost – High usage fees and licensing complexity make VMware inaccessible to many organizations worried and confused about how much a VMware infrastructure will ultimately cost them. Those wanting to buy more powerful servers to meet growing business demands are stymied because licensing costs make this untenable. Additionally, the cost of storage to support the virtualized infrastructure can get very expensive.  Organizations should look for node-based pricing alternatives that allow them to stop counting cores, RAM, and capacity.
2. Support – As infrastructure software that touches all parts of the data center, an organization cannot afford a solution that only offers electronic-only support or support solely via email. It is important to select a solution that provides a high level of support through quick response times and human involvement to ensure the environment is up and running. When dealing with a situation like a ransomware attack, no one wants to be going back and forth with a support bot that might not be able to provide timely help.
3. Complexity – As onerous as VMware can be, many open-source alternatives are far more complex than VMware. Finding a solution that provides ease of operations, improves data efficiency and resiliency, and minimizes time spent managing infrastructure is key. Rather than manage networking and storage independently or having to buy expensive, unintegrated vSAN and NSX, an ultraconverged approach to infrastructure simplifies operations for often overburdened IT personnel.
4. Choice of Hardware – To deploy a virtualized infrastructure, many organizations are faced with having to choose between turnkey bundles that are only available from the vendor, solutions that are proffered from a certified vendor or that can only be implemented with components from a hardware compatibility list. Finding an alternative that instead features a minimum requirement list offers flexibility of choice as to who, when and how to use. Being able to mix hardware or brands – especially existing hardware – provides cost, performance and scalability benefits over locked-in solutions.
5. Ease of Migration – Whether implementing a new infrastructure solution or moving off of VMware, most data center refreshes require months of testing and migration to make the change properly. This complex process can easily scare off many companies who do not feel they are positioned to handle such a changeover.  Finding a solution that can seamlessly copy virtual machines to the new target until it can be brought into production will eliminate headaches and ensure a successful migration.

“In talking with nearly 700 existing VMware customers since April about the issues they were facing, we’ve found that there is a lot of concern with the direction the company is going regarding changes to its licensing, increasing deflection to e-support and general confusion about what will happen in the near future,” said George Crump, Chief Marketing Officer at VergeIO. “Deciding on an alternative is challenging and confusing, so we worked on this list of things to look for in an alternative, based on feedback that we’ve received from VMware customers, that will hopefully make a transition from VMware easier for those affected.”

In light of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and growing user concerns about the state of the virtualization software and the company behind it – ranging from rising licensing costs, ransomware vulnerabilities, and diminishing quality of support – VergeIO is stepping up, offering complimentary professional services for VMware customers seeking an exit. The company recently announced its risk-free VMware conversion services to those looking for a frictionless transition of VMware virtual machines to VergeOS with just a few clicks. Additional information, including important next steps in how to exit VMware, is available at https://www.verge.io/vmware-alternative/a-no-compromise-vmware-alternative/