VMware Exit & Migration
Your VMware decision, made with data.
Broadcom's licensing changes have forced every VMware customer to revisit their virtualization strategy. We model the real options and execute whichever path wins, on time and without disruption.
Why it matters
Renew, re-platform or move to cloud? It depends, and we'll show you on what.
Since Broadcom acquired VMware in late 2023, it has moved to subscription-only licensing and consolidated its product bundles. Many customers have reported significant cost increases at renewal. The decision is now urgent, but it isn't simple: virtualization underpins thousands of workloads, operational runbooks and skills.
We give infrastructure leaders a defensible decision in weeks, not quarters. That means a workload-by-workload analysis of the realistic options, five-year total cost of ownership, migration effort and risk, and a plan that buys time where you need it.
Options we evaluate
- Optimize and renew: right-size licensing and footprint, and negotiate from a position of data.
- Alternative hypervisors: Nutanix AHV, Microsoft Hyper-V / Azure Local, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, Proxmox and others.
- Hosted VMware in public cloud: as a bridge while you modernize.
- Re-platform to cloud-native: for workloads that benefit from containers or managed services.
- Retire: because every estate has workloads that shouldn't move at all.
What we deliver
Capabilities
Delivered by senior architects and specialist engineers, with security and governance designed in.
Estate discovery
Automated inventory of VMs, dependencies, utilization and licensing.
Options & TCO modeling
Five-year TCO by option, including migration, skills and tooling.
Renewal strategy
Data-backed footprint reduction and negotiation support.
Target platform build
Landing zones or alternative hypervisor clusters built as code.
Migration execution
Wave-based VM conversion and migration with rehearsed cutovers.
Operations transition
Runbooks, monitoring, backup and team enablement on the new platform.
Approach
How the engagement runs
Clear phases, clear exit criteria, and a working result at every stage.
Discover
Inventory, utilization, dependencies and contract position.
Decide
Options analysis, TCO, risk and recommended path.
Build
Target platform, tooling and pilot migrations.
Migrate
Wave-based migration, hypercare and decommissioning.
Typical starting engagement
VMware Options Analysis
Fixed scope, fixed fee, and a clear decision at the end. Final pricing is confirmed after a short scoping call.
Scope this engagement →Starting at
- Complete VMware estate inventory
- Workload-level disposition
- Five-year TCO by option
- Recommended path and risk register
- Renewal negotiation fact base
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to the questions CIOs, CTOs and procurement ask us first.
What changed with VMware licensing?
After acquiring VMware, Broadcom ended perpetual licenses in favor of subscriptions and consolidated products into bundles such as VMware Cloud Foundation. Many customers have seen substantial price increases at renewal, prompting re-evaluation.
What are the main VMware alternatives?
Common options include Nutanix AHV, Microsoft Hyper-V and Azure Local, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, Proxmox VE, hosted VMware on public clouds, and re-platforming to cloud-native services. The right answer varies by workload.
How long does a VMware migration take?
An options analysis takes four to six weeks. Migration of a few hundred VMs typically takes three to six months; larger estates take longer and are often phased around renewal dates.
Can we migrate without downtime?
Most workloads can be migrated with minimal downtime using replication-based tooling and planned cutover windows; some legacy applications need special handling, which we identify up front.
Start here
Get a senior architect's view of your fastest path to value.
A 45-minute working session, not a sales pitch. Bring your toughest AI, data or cloud problem; leave with a point of view, a rough plan and a realistic budget range.
- Senior architects onlyNo account managers in the first meeting.
- Fixed-fee optionsClear scope, price and outcomes up front.
- Mutual NDA on requestBefore any detailed discussion.