The Pivot to Proxmox: Changes in the Virtualization World
Virtualization is the backbone of many companies’ IT infrastructure. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), virtualization technology allows them to gain more value from their IT investments by running multiple “virtual” computers (called virtual machines, or VMs) on a single physical server.
Recently, the virtualization world has experienced a shake-up. In 2023, the popular virtualization company VMware was acquired by Broadcom. How was this move going to affect most of VMware’s client base?
With Broadcom being an IT software powerhouse in the tech world, VMware focused on streamlining their offerings to suit large enterprises only. Some enterprise or university customers face extreme price hikes of up to 1,000% or even 10x. These service changes and price increases have caused VMware users to look for new virtualization options.
Time to Pivot
How were managed service providers (MSPs) around the globe, such as Computers Nationwide, affected by the changes to VMware?
After Broadcom acquired VMware, MSPs experienced cost increases up to 10x, penalty charges for late renewals, and major changes in licensing requirements for their SMB clients.
Just like in The One Where Some Friends Try to Move a Couch, it was time to PIVOT.
For many organizations, pivoting means moving to Proxmox to achieve virtualization through a hypervisor in a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) so they can control expenses.
What Is Proxmox?
Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) is a comprehensive, open-source virtualization platform. Through HCI that provides compute, network, and storage in a single solution. Proxmox VE enables users to leverage the virtualization capabilities of VMware solutions in a more cost-effective alternative.
With Proxmox VE, users can use a single interface to manage:
- VMs and Containers
- Software-Defined Storage (SDS) and Networking
- High-Availability (HA) Clustering
- Multiple Out-of-the-Box Tools
Enterprise-class features, and a software-based focus make Proxmox VE the ideal choice for companies looking for an alternative to VMware that optimizes existing resources and increases efficiencies while controlling costs.
Why Move to Proxmox
Moving to ProxMox made the most sense for our customers at Computers Nationwide after this VMware shakeup. In an interview, CN’s IT Director Tyler Shoemaker explained this recommendation when responding to questions about the changes to VMware.
What made Proxmox the easiest choice with all the changes to Broadcom/VMware?
Tyler: “Beyond going with a hyperconvergence solution and/or sticking with VMware, options aren’t extensive to do a seamless transition to an effective solution. COST also made this the easiest choice for our clients.
How many clients of CN were affected by this?
“Pretty much all of them, if not in Azure AD, in regard to swapping over and/or dealing with price increase to sticking with VMware.”
Tyler points out that options are limited for companies that want to move away from VMware solutions while decreasing expenses. According to Tyler, Proxmox presents the most cost-effective and worry-free transition for CN customers.
“COST also made [Proxmox] the easiest choice for our clients.”
–Tyler Shoemaker, IT Director, Computers Nationwide
Key Features of Proxmox
Key features of Proxmox include:
- Support for both virtual machines and containers
- Built-in backup and snapshot capabilities
- Live migration and high availability clustering
- Open-source, transparent development
- Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface (REST API) and Command-Line Interfaces (CLI) for automation
- ZFS, Ceph, and iSCSI storage support
Exploring Virtualization Alternatives to VMware
If your organization is feeling the pressure to find an alternative for virtualization due to VMware’s service and pricing changes, it might be time to take a serious look at what Proxmox has to offer.
Computers Nationwide can work with your company to evaluate your virtualization needs and find the right solution that delivers the capabilities of VMware without additional expense. We offer Proxmox management and support as part of our services for modernizing the IT infrastructure.
