Nine in 10 VMware users consider alternatives, survey suggests

Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes are pushing customers to reassess virtualisation strategies, with many exploring alternative platforms, hybrid architectures and third-party support to regain cost control and flexibility.

A survey of nearly 300 organisations using VMware suggests that rising licensing costs are forcing many businesses to consider alternatives to the virtualisation software. Some 90% of the respondents worldwide said they were considering alternatives to VMware.

The research was commissioned by Rimini Street, which provides third-party support for VMware and other enterprise software, including products from Oracle and SAP. Rimini conducted the survey in partnership with independent research firm Unisphere Research.

The survey found that 54% of respondents were considering alternatives because Broadcom had ended support for perpetual licence holders.

Broadcom's acquisition of VMware has led to significant changes to its licensing and product strategy, with customers reporting substantial increases in their costs. Some VMware customers have said their bills increased by as much as 1,500% , while others have reported more moderate increases of between 100% and 300%.

Cost savings were identified as a major consideration by 73% of respondents when deciding on their future virtualisation strategy.

The survey also suggested several challenges for organisations looking to change their infrastructure. Operational complexity was cited by 40% of respondents, followed by managing multiple vendors at 38%. Securing a larger attack surface and meeting team skills requirements were each identified by 37%.

Businesses consider multi-hypervisor strategies

The survey also indicates that some organisations are moving towards more diverse virtualisation environments rather than simply replacing VMware with another single platform. 60% of respondents said they were considering a multi-hypervisor strategy, while 47% were favouring hybrid environments combining hypervisors and containers.

Such approaches could allow businesses to place different workloads on infrastructure that best suits their cost, performance, security and operational requirements.

The research also found that VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), Broadcom's integrated private cloud platform, is not being adopted universally.

Forty-eight percent of respondents said they had no current plans to move any of their assets to VCF. That suggests some organisations are taking a cautious approach as they assess existing investments and consider how much of their infrastructure should remain within the VMware ecosystem.

Rimini said the trend pointed towards increasingly customised virtualisation strategies combining on-premises infrastructure, private and public cloud services, alternative hypervisors and containers.

Third-party support gains interest

Third-party support is also being considered by a significant proportion of VMware customers.Some 66% of those surveyed said they were either already using or considering third-party support.Security was the leading reason, cited by 60% of respondents, followed by installation and implementation assistance at 57%. Service and support concerns were cited by 54%.

Joe McKendrick, lead analyst at Unisphere Research, said the changes were more than simply finding a replacement for VMware.

"It reflects a broader effort by enterprises to reduce dependency on a single provider, maintain continuity for mission-critical systems and modernize at a pace that fits their own business requirements," McKendrick added.

Keith Costello, chief operating officer at Rimini Street, said the findings showed organisations wanted greater choice and control over their virtualisation strategies.

"These survey findings reinforce the need for practical, vendor-independent strategies that put business priorities back on the client's terms."