The Value of Sticking with VMware

Last week, I posted an article discussing the opportunity in front of open source virtualization platforms, and how it's their time to shine. But I also wanted to flip the script and discuss the virtue of sticking with VMware, as the true costs of moving away are likely to be hidden beneath the surface.

In the rapidly evolving world of IT, the cost of innovation and maintaining cutting-edge infrastructure can sometimes feel like navigating through a storm. Recently, there's been some significant buzz around the shifts in licensing and pricing strategies by VMware, under Broadcom's stewardship. Reports and forecasts suggest that costs for some organizations could potentially increase tenfold, and I have personally witnessed it climb as high as 60x. This surge in expense has prompted a knee-jerk reaction to seek alternative solutions, particularly in the open-source domain. However, before we hoist the sails and chart a course away from VMware, it's worth diving deeper into the auxiliary costs of making such a switch and exploring the reasons why, even with rising costs, sticking with VMware might not just be a necessity ... but a strategic advantage.

Understanding the Auxiliary Costs

• Training and Expertise

Challenge: Transitioning away from VMware necessitates upskilling or reskilling IT staff to proficiently utilize new platforms like KVM, Xen, or Proxmox. This is not merely about learning a new interface but acquiring deep knowledge in new paradigms of virtualization, networking, and storage management specific to each platform.

Example: Consider the transition to an open-source solution like Proxmox VE. IT teams accustomed to VMware's vSphere would need comprehensive training on Proxmox's LXC containers, QEMU/KVM virtualization, and integrated networking features. This process involves not only formal training sessions but also time spent on experimentation and learning from the Proxmox community forums, which could span several months.

• Migration Complexities

Challenge: Migrating from VMware to an alternative solution involves considerable planning and execution efforts. Workloads, especially those running critical services, must be moved with minimal downtime, requiring meticulous compatibility checks and testing.

Example: A typical migration might involve converting VMDK files to the QCOW2 format for use with KVM. However, beyond the file conversion, there are network configurations, storage allocations, and permissions settings that need careful adjustment. VMware's vMotion offers a seamless live migration feature that's hard to replicate, potentially leading to service disruptions during the transition.

• Integration and Compatibility

Challenge: VMware's ecosystem is renowned for its broad compatibility with diverse hardware, software, and cloud services. Replacing it could necessitate additional changes in the IT stack to ensure seamless operation, impacting everything from backup solutions to disaster recovery protocols.

Example: An organization using VMware's Site Recovery Manager for disaster recovery might find it challenging to find an equivalent open-source tool that offers the same level of integration and automated orchestration. Adapting to a new toolset could introduce complexities and potential vulnerabilities in the disaster recovery strategy.

• Support and Stability

Challenge: VMware's commercial support is a linchpin for many enterprises, ensuring quick resolution of issues and access to updates. Open-source alternatives, while robust, may rely on community support or third-party vendors for critical issues, which could vary in responsiveness and expertise.

Example: In a scenario where a critical update or patch is needed to address a security vulnerability, VMware's dedicated support ensures timely access and guidance on implementation. With open-source options, the response time might depend on the community or vary across different third-party support providers, potentially leaving systems exposed for longer periods.

The Strategic Value of Sticking with VMware

Despite the initial shock of cost increases, VMware's ecosystem offers unparalleled strategic advantages that, for many, justify the investment.

VMware's solutions are battle-tested in environments ranging from small businesses to global enterprises, offering proven scalability and reliability. This is particularly crucial for organizations that operate data centers with thousands of virtual machines, where even minor performance issues can have amplified effects.

VMware consistently leads with innovative features that are often unmatched by open-source alternatives for months or years. These include sophisticated security tools like NSX, which offers micro-segmentation for fine-grained network security, and vSAN for high-performance software-defined storage solutions.

VMware's extensive partner ecosystem, including deep integrations with leading cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, facilitates a hybrid cloud strategy that many open-source platforms struggle to match. This ecosystem enables organizations to seamlessly extend their on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, leveraging the best of both worlds.

Investing in VMware is not merely a transactional decision but a strategic one. VMware's vision for a multi-cloud, app-centric future aligns with the direction in which the digital world is moving. For organizations aiming to stay at the forefront of technological innovation, remaining within VMware's orbit offers a strategic advantage, ensuring access to the latest tools and integrations that drive business agility and growth.

Conclusion

The decision to remain with VMware, even in the face of significant cost increases, is not purely financial—it's strategic. The auxiliary costs associated with transitioning to an open-source platform, from the immediate need for training and migration to the longer-term considerations of support, stability, and ecosystem integrations, present substantial challenges. For many organizations, the value proposition of VMware's advanced features, reliability, and strategic vision outweighs these costs, making VMware an indispensable partner in their IT strategy. As we navigate the complexities of IT infrastructure decisions, it becomes clear that VMware continues to offer a compelling blend of innovation, reliability, and strategic foresight that is hard to match.

At the end of the day, I personally believe the right answer is: "a little bit of everything."

It's important to begin considering what workloads truly need the backing of VMware, and which ones can be relegated to a lower-tier open source platform like ProxMox or XCP-ng. In addition, it should be viewed as an opportunity to truly re-evaluate your running workloads. Which of them can be refactored to container-based workloads/stacks, and run natively in the cloud? Do they truly need to be fully-virtualized servers? Is there a managed alternative you could pay a subscription to, in order to offload the underlying infrastructure management from your team internally?

I'm going to discuss this more in detail in later posts, but to me, this is the true opportunity ahead of most IT orgs, especially those building homegrown apps, in-house.