VMware acquisition: the perfect time to consider cloud-native solutions
Broadcom's acquisition of VMware represents a significant shift in enterprise virtualization solutions. Businesses relying on VMware are now reassessing the future of their infrastructure, as the move raises fundamental questions about VMware's product direction, service model and pricing policy. For many companies, however, this transition may be an opportune time to explore cloud-native alternatives.
November 8, 2024 ┃8 minutes reading
Context and impact of the VMware acquisition
VMware acquisition The $69 billion deal has given Broadcom a strong position in virtualization, as it now controls up to 90 % of this market. This allows it to control pricing and terms, which has raised concerns about VMware significantly increasing the price of its services.
Following the completion of the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom, there have been a number of changes in the direction of VMware. Broadcom announced a significant reduction in VMware's headcount while at the same time a fundamental review of the product portfolio, focusing on product packaging. An important change is also switching to a subscription model, signalling a move away from permanent licences. Broadcom plans to focus mainly on 2000 largest customerswhich means a significant restriction of access for smaller clients. In the context of this strategy also ends the existing partnership programme VMware, which included more than 65,000 partners worldwide.
Impact on business strategy and IT infrastructure
The acquisition also brought a significant increase in costs - according to a report from Business Insider royalties have risen about 50 % to 500 %, giving the impression that customers are being "held hostage." This sharp increase in operating costs, coupled with concerns about reduced support availability and access to the VMware platform, is leading more than 50 % VMware customers is considering leaving, according to a survey from Civo. Organizations deeply embedded in the VMware ecosystem may need to assess whether it's sustainable to continue on this path or begin to diversify their infrastructure. This includes considering alternative platforms supporting hybrid cloud, private cloud or cloud-native architectures.
Examples from industry practice
Sectors such as finance and telecommunications have already begun to move their VMware-based infrastructures to cloud-native solutions, leveraging tools such as Kubernetes for better container orchestration and Red Hat OpenShift for hybrid flexibility. This trend underscores the gradual shift away from traditional virtualization to more agile, scalable cloud-native approaches.
However, moving to alternatives is technically and organisationally challengingwhich places increased demands on customers to prepare back-up plans.
Benefits of going cloud-native
Moving from VMware to cloud-native solutions brings new capabilities to businesses that traditional virtualization cannot offer. While virtualization on platforms such as VMware allows you to efficiently use your own infrastructure, cloud-native solutions provide access to dynamically scalable resources on request. This gives companies the flexibility to respond to current needs without having to invest in expensive hardware. This approach not only reduces the cost of entry, but also enables better take advantage of innovations such as automation, AI and big data.
Moving to a cloud-native or hybrid solution brings significant benefits, especially in terms of flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Companies can choose the model - public cloud, private cloud or hybrid solution - that best suits their needs and budget. If done correctly, using best practices, the migration can be smooth and distortion-free transition current activities. IT teams can prepare for the new environment thanks to training and defined skills, minimising downtime and ensuring smooth running right from the start. Moving to cloud-native solutions also enables companies to better respond to changing market conditions, leverage innovation and remain competitive in a dynamic environment over the long term.
Source: apriorit.com
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Free consultation Key options and strategies for moving to cloud-native
Moving from VMware to a cloud-native infrastructure requires thoughtful planning to ensure that the solutions you choose align with your organization's goals. Two important paths to consider are service adoption AWS or Red Hat OpenShift on AWS (ROSA) with the option of local OpenShift for hybrid needs. Let's explore these alternatives and key migration strategies with a focus on rehosting, replatforming, and upgrading.
Migration with AWS and Red Hat OpenShift (ROSA) for cloud-native infrastructure
AWS provides comprehensive managed services for easy and scalable cloud migration across containerized workloads to serverless applications with AWS Lambda. It also enables flexible data storage, while managed databases simplify scalability and minimize downtime. For organizations with Kubernetes experience, ROSA combines OpenShift on AWS to simplify the management of containerized applications, while OpenShift on-premises provides hybrid capabilities for businesses with a need for local deployment and data sovereignty.
Rehost, replatform, modernization
Migrating from VMware to the cloud often starts with by rehosting or replatforming.
- Rehost (Lift & Shift) quickly moves applications to the cloud with minimal customization, enabling rapid deployment using services like Amazon EC2.
- Replatform (Lift & Reshape) includes minor optimizations to take advantage of cloud features without major architecture changes.
After these steps, the next stage is modernizationwhere applications adapt to cloud-native architectures (e.g. serverless or microservices), increasing their flexibility and performance.
Key stages of the migration process
The migration process consists of three key stages: migration, transition and hyper-support. During the migration, VMware applications and resources are evaluated and mapped to AWS services while the migration process is being prepared. The transition phase assesses the organization's readiness to operate in the cloud, builds the cloud team, and streamlines workflows. The final phase, hypercare, provides intensive support to troubleshoot issues, add skills and stabilize operations.
Migration planning starts with a thorough assessment of your VMware environment, dependencies, and compute and storage needs, and AWS tools such as Migration Hub and Application Migration Service facilitate the process and provide automation options. Transforming the organizational structure, developing the necessary skills, and ongoing optimization through FinOps and other cloud-native solutions.
Conclusion
Moving from a VMware infrastructure to a cloud-native environment requires careful preparation and strategy. The first step is analysis of current VMware infrastructure - Identification of applications, dependencies, compute and storage needs that will be key to successful migration. Based on this analysis, you can better plan how to move different parts of your infrastructure to the cloud and ensure that the entire process is efficient and minimises the risk of downtime.
During migration it is important build a cloud-ready organisation. This means not only adapting your technical infrastructure, but also preparing your team for new cloud workflows and skills. Training and new roles will enable you to use cloud services effectively, from application rehosting in virtual instances, to replatforming to enable applications to take advantage of advanced cloud features, to complete modernization. This process moves your organization closer to an agile and scalable cloud-native model that can respond flexibly to market needs.
For organizations making this transition, partnering with experts can be key. Aspecta provides comprehensive support at every step of the migration - from the initial analysis, through the creation of a migration plan, to the stabilization of operations in the cloud. After the migration, we provide support through the hypercare phase, minimizing issues and allowing the team to gain the necessary skills for a successful cloud operation.
FAQ
Moving to cloud-native solutions offers businesses greater flexibility, cost-effectiveness and scalability. Compared to traditional virtualization, cloud-native infrastructure provides dynamically scalable resources, meaning companies can better respond to changing business requirements without the need for large investments in physical infrastructure.
Migration involves technical challenges such as compatibility of existing applications, the need for expertise in cloud-native technologies (e.g. Kubernetes), and preparing the IT team for new processes. Organizations must also pay attention to security and data sovereignty, especially if they are considering a public cloud.
Popular cloud-native platforms include Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Kubernetes support, Red Hat OpenShift, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). These platforms provide a variety of tools and features to efficiently manage containerized applications and scalable cloud infrastructure.
Yes, moving to a cloud-native infrastructure can be beneficial for smaller companies. The public cloud enables pay-as-you-use, so smaller companies can scale their resources as needed without a large upfront investment. Additionally, cloud-native solutions often offer better automation capabilities, which can reduce operational costs.
Moving to a cloud-native infrastructure requires careful planning. It is recommended to start by analyzing your current VMware infrastructure and identifying applications suitable for migration. This is followed by selecting the right migration strategy, such as rehosting or replatforming, and building a cloud team with the necessary skills. After a successful migration, the key is to provide support and optimize processes to maximize the cloud benefits.
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