Exploring VMware Alternatives: Three Questions To Ask

Your virtualization strategy probably isn’t set in stone yet. Take time to optimize before it is.

Is your company considering a new virtualization strategy following Broadcom’s controversial VMware® sales and licensing changes? Tens of thousands of customers are figuring out their next steps with the platform due to a loss of perpetual licensing and potential price hikes, which some users report can be as high as 300% to 1,200%.

Most organizations are still uncertain regarding their exact plans and the steps required to achieve them. But whether your company is clear on the various enterprise VMware alternatives it plans to leverage or not, taking time to optimize your approach can increase your security posture, give your estate better stability, and save your IT operation millions of dollars.

Here are some key points to think about as you develop your new virtualization strategy.

Would we be making this change if Broadcom hadn’t changed VMware licensing?

For most companies, the answer is a simple “no.” VMware is hands down the biggest player in its space for a reason, and finding an alternative that does all the same things is challenging at best. Even if you do find a strong substitute, retraining IT operations personnel to be fluent in the new solution will require a large expenditure in terms of time and dollars.

If you’re happy with your current implementation and are only making the leap because you think you must, a hybrid VMware licensing approach might be more appropriate for your business needs. Under this methodology, you can migrate or re-platform the VMware offerings that absolutely must go and keep the rest of your perpetually licensed products by partnering with an independent software maintenance vendor to provide security, support, and maintenance.

Does my company have the skills/knowledge it needs to create and execute a plan?

Training is an essential part of change management. Whatever your company’s plans look like, every step of the process – from initial strategizing to actual implementation to ongoing use – will require your team to pick up new knowledge and platform skills. Taking care to outline the information your people will need upfront can be a huge help as you go through a rigorous, costly, and potentially high-risk migration or re-platforming.

But there’s also the fact that companies undergoing such a complex process don’t know what they don’t know. Every virtualization use case is unique, and the list of viable VMware alternatives and associated implementation steps will be different for every business. If your current strategy includes blind spots in terms of what your team will need to know or the tasks they’ll need to carry out, it’s always better to consult with a VMware expert and review your options as far in advance as possible.

What would my company’s virtualization strategy look like without Broadcom’s time constraints?

Through no fault of their own, a large percentage of customers have landed in a time crunch due to Broadcom’s VMware perpetual licensing changes. Customers with perpetual licenses only have until the end of their current Support and Subscription (SnS) to determine whether they’ll move to a subscription-based bundle or find a suitable VMware alternative.

With a change as large as an enterprise virtualization migration/re-platforming, short timelines can easily lead to rushed, suboptimal decisions that can slow the company down operationally and financially for years to come. Take time to plot out an idealized virtualization strategy, and keep in mind that practices like hybrid licensing can add years back to the clock for your team to build a more suitable plan.

Don’t let VMware by Broadcom push your strategy the wrong way

If you’re not in their top 2,000 customers, it’s not a good time to be a VMware customer right now. Broadcom’s changes to the platform’s licensing, pricing, and support models have put virtualization strategies across the enterprise into question, pushing customers into snap decisions they might not be comfortable making.

With this kind of pressure, it pays to make sure to understand what you want from your strategy and realistic ways to get around the constraints Broadcom has placed on your roadmap. If you have questions about optimizing your approach, reach out to the Origina team for VMware strategic licensing and support pointers that guide you to the best decisions for your business.

Get a new outlook on your VMware estate. Talk to Origina about your VMware maintenance and support options.