VMWare Competitors and Alternatives: A Comprehensive List

Virtualization has been a cornerstone technology in the developing digital landscape for years. Virtualization platforms have become increasingly commonplace as companies seek more efficient, cost-effective, and reliable digital infrastructure. VMware has been one of the biggest players in the virtualization field – supplying virtualization software and products to most companies. However, the fate of the VMware empire began to show cracks after Broadcom acquired the company in 2023. Following the acquisition, Broadcom began to make drastic changes to the VMware licensing structures that left most customers and partners disgruntled – suddenly in search of VMware alternatives.

The company then introduced an invite-only exclusive program and began layoffs and divestments in non-core assets while still altering costs, features, and services – changes which also led to Dell canceling its partnership with VMware. Now, more companies are looking for VMware alternatives to cater to their virtualization needs. While Sangfor Technologies stands out as a strong alternative to VMware – with a suite of products that directly compete with VMware's offerings – we will be exploring all the VMware competitors and alternatives that are available.

In this blog article, we look into what Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and server virtualization are while also asking why customers are looking for VMware alternatives at all. We then discuss the factors to consider when choosing a VMware alternative and list some of the main VMware alternatives on the market in 2024. First, let’s cover the basics and get an understanding of the Hyper-Converged Infrastructure.

What is Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI)?

A Hyper-Converged Infrastructure – or HCI – is a unified system that combines storage, computing, networking, and management in one platform. These software-defined systems allow companies to use flexible, agile, and secure cloud environments and infrastructure while cutting costs and ensuring scalable operations. Now, let’s try to understand what server virtualization is and how it relates to the use of hypervisors.

What is Server Virtualization and Hypervisors?

Server virtualization is the process of creating virtual servers – just as its name suggests. Instead of having one physical server that processes all your data, server virtualization allows companies to use multiple virtual servers that each have a primary function and work independently. Server virtualization also ensures cheaper operating costs, reduced server complexity, and faster workload deployment.

For the process of virtualization to work, there needs to be a virtual software program in place to manage it – this is called a hypervisor. The hypervisor is also responsible for creating and running virtual machines and we can further categorize this software into two different types.

Types of Hypervisors

The hypervisor will generally act as a barrier between the virtual elements and the physical resources in the system - such as the processors, CPU, RAM, and more. Hypervisors provide their processing and resources to a host computer – allowing it to run multiple virtual operating systems. Hypervisors come in two main forms:

Type 1 Hypervisor

A Type 1 hypervisor – or a bare-metal hypervisor – will run directly on the host’s hardware and needs direct access to physical resources. These hypervisors will act as a lightweight operating system and are more secure, making them the most common and efficient choice for businesses. However, they can also be difficult to configure and manage.

Type 2 Hypervisor

While a Type 1 hypervisor runs directly on the host’s hardware, a Type 2 hypervisor – or hosted hypervisor – will run on top of the host’s operating system instead. This means that a type 2 hypervisor is installed alongside the operating system and shares its resources - which can affect performance.

Understanding the foundations of the virtualization structure is key to knowing which VMware alternatives to consider. The idea of switching to a new virtualization platform may be daunting for most companies to even consider. So, let’s look closer at why this decision is even necessary.

Why are Customers Looking for VMware Alternatives?

The change of ownership at VMware pushed many customers to reconsider their virtualization platform of choice. With exclusive licensing coming into play, most companies found it simply too expensive to stay with VMware and began looking for VMware alternatives. Forrester predicted that 20% of large VMware enterprise clients will begin to exit the VMware stack in 2024. Some of the main reasons to replace VMware include:

• The need for flexibility and agility
• Failure to integrate with existing systems
• Performance issues
• Cost-effectiveness
• Scalability problems
• Complexity of use and maintenance
• Avoiding vendor lock-in

While these are all valid reasons for customers to seek a VMware replacement, it’s different for each business and its specific needs. We’ll now look at some of the important factors to consider when looking for VMware replacements.

Factors to Consider for Choosing a VMware Alternative

Migrating to a VMware alternative can be difficult when you don’t know exactly what to look for. This is why we’ve listed some of the main factors to take into consideration when choosing a VMware replacement.

1. Cost: One of the main challenges for existing VMware customers is the price hikes. Customers need to be realistic about their budget constraints and what they expect in return. Virtualization platforms demand expenses in the form of OS licenses, hardware, support, and training.
2. Compatibility: The software system you choose for virtualization needs to be compatible with your existing operating system. Some VMware alternatives are also strict about the hardware and components they can use.
3. Ease of Use: While VMware solutions can be advanced, they don’t need to be difficult to operate as well. Try to find a VMware replacement that offers simplified usage and maintenance. This will minimize the time and money spent on training, servicing, and support.
4. Scalability: For every business, infrastructure needs to be able to keep up with growth. This means that your VMware alternative needs to be fully scalable to ensure that multiple virtual machines can be deployed as needed.
5. Performance and Reliability: Your VMware alternative solution needs to maintain a steady, secure, and stable level of performance at all times. Try to find a reliable and well-reviewed platform that prioritizes reliable performance.
6. Support and Service: The VMware replacement platform you use needs to offer a high level of support and service to keep operations running smoothly. Ensure that your chosen solution features a responsive and reliable support team that you can trust.
7. Organization Scale: The size of your organization is also an important factor when considering VMware alternatives. This will decide the level of resource consumption and potential cyber threats to your company.

After considering all the factors, you might find yourself in a better position to choose a VMware replacement. To make this process even simpler, we’ve gone ahead to list some of the best VMware alternatives available in 2024.

A List of VMWare Competitors and Alternatives

When choosing your VMware alternative, it’s important to understand the company you’re investing in and the general opinion of each platform before making the decision. Here are some of the top VMware alternatives on the market today:

Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Founded in 2000, Sangfor Technologies is a leading IT company that provides advanced infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions. Invested in innovation and excellence, Sangfor has established itself globally as a pioneering name in the industry.

Sangfor’s Hyper-Converged Infrastructure uses a 3rd-generation cloud computing architecture that simplifies operations while elevating network security. The Sangfor HCI has also been recognized by Gartner as a server virtualization platform of choice that also provides extensive backup capabilities and data protection. Naturally, this makes the platform an ideal alternative to VMware as well. Please refer to this page for VMWare replacement with Sangfor HCI.

Pros of Sangfor HCI

• High Stability: The platform is reliable and offers stable services and virtualization solutions.
• Easy to Use: The Sangfor HCI GUI is easy to navigate and use and allows customers to have full visibility.
• Easy Migration and Implementation: Sangfor’s HCI ensures that migration is seamless with minimal disruptions or downtime.
• Advanced Security: The security integration ensures that all data and systems are protected from cyber threats.
• Reliable Support Services: Sangfor offers consistent and professional support services that will ensure a speedy and effective response.

Cons of Sangfor’s HCI

• Lack of Integration Capabilities: Sangfor HCI can improve in terms of its integration policies.
• Limited Support on Forums: Due to Sangfor’s smaller capacity in the industry, it can be difficult to find a wider user base to find online support.

Citrix XenServer Hypervisor

Citrix is a company that specializes in technology to elevate remote working infrastructure. Founded in 1989, Citrix now provides data safety and application availability for increased productivity while operating under the Cloud Software Group.

The Citrix Hypervisor is a streamlined virtualization management solution that offers exceptional 3D graphical support, allowing you to run Windows and Linux workloads. The platform is optimized for application virtualization infrastructure, making it easy to handle different workload types, mixed operating systems, and storage or networking configurations - ensuring enhanced performance and simplified maintenance of environments.

Pros of Citrix Hypervisor

• High Performance and Scalability: The platform is built for virtualization and resource optimization while automating and integrating management processes.
• Cost-Effective: Citrix offers a relatively cheaper option as the Citrix Hypervisor platform is free for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops customers.
• Flexibility and Compatibility: Supports multiple guest operating systems and is compatible with other Citrix solutions.
• Easier Workload Virtualization: Rapid VM deployment ensures quick and simplified software installation.

Cons of Citrix Hypervisor

• Integration Challenges: Limited integration with Non-Citrix solutions
• Challenging for Beginners: The platform can be complex for beginners to learn and manage easily.
• Limited Third-party Support: The Citrix Hypervisor has a smaller user base than VMware which limits the support and tools available.

Hyper-V by Microsoft

As a giant in the industry, Microsoft is a common name for IT solutions. The company strives to enable digital transformation and empower every organization to achieve more. Microsoft Hyper-V is a strong VMware alternative that allows multiple operating systems to run on a single physical host computer. The Hyper-V platform is available as a feature of Microsoft Windows Server and a standalone product called Hyper-V Server. It can seamlessly be managed through a GUI or PowerShell and uses an extensive set of APIs to automate tasks and integrate with other tools and systems.

Pros of Hyper-V

• Live Migration Capabilities: The Hyper-V platform provides live migration which allows users to move running VMs between Hyper-V hosts without any downtime.
• High Availability: With high availability, the platform ensures that VMs are always online and running.
• Cost-Effective: The platform is included with Windows Server.
• Linux Workload Support: Hyper-V supports a wide range of Linux distributions.

Cons of Hyper-V

• Limited Compatibility: The platform is compatible with Windows Server but may not fit organizations that are using other operating systems.
• Complex Learning Curve: Hyper-V can be difficult to set up and manage for beginners.
• Less Third-Party Support: With fewer third-party tools and extensions available, the platform’s functions are limited.

Nutanix AHV Cloud Platform 

Nutanix is a cloud software company that provides organizations with a unified platform to run applications and data across multiple clouds. The main objective for Nutanix is to minimize IT complexity and provide cost-effective, simplified, and agile products.

As a VMware alternative, the company offers its Nutanix AHV platform that drives VMs and containers for on-premises and public cloud applications. With intuitive tools and automated workflows, the hypervisor system streamlines the daily administration of VMs and containers while simplifying deployment and providing an all-in-one virtualization solution.

Pros of Nutanix AHV

• Unified Solution: The Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure provides an all-in-one platform with all the tools needed in a simplified stack.
• Flexible Scaling: The platform ensures seamless scaling and adapting as an organization grows.
• High Availability: Includes VM live migration, dynamic scheduling, VM HA, and metro clustering to ensure continuous availability.
• Optimized Resources: Nutanix uses advanced features like memory overcommit, VM affinity, vNUMA, automated CPU compatibility, AHV turbo, and an optimized storage stack to optimize performance and resource management.

Cons of Nutanix

• Complex Installation: The setup may require expertise and training while providing limited documentation and support resources.
• Complexity in Integration and Management: The platform struggles with integrating third-party tools and experiences limitations in Prism interface functionality and challenges with network segmentation or backup utility integration.

Oracle VM Server

Founded in 1977, Oracle is a leading cloud computing and database software company. The company invests heavily in open-source technologies and has products and services that are used worldwide in government services, telecommunications companies, and healthcare settings where data security, redundancy, and complex workload management are critical.

The Oracle VM Server is a VMware alternative that supports x86 and SPARC architectures and a variety of workloads such as Linux, Windows, and Oracle Solaris. The platform is also equipped with Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) authentication and an SDK to enhance its security and authentication requirements.

Pros of Oracle VM

• Optimized for Oracle Integration: The platform is seamlessly optimized for Oracle workloads and integration with the Oracle ecosystem.
• User-Friendly Interface: Oracle VM has a simplified and easy-to-manage interface.
• Advanced Security: The platform provides enterprise-grade security solutions.
• Enhanced Server Virtualization: The platform ensures optimum hypervisor functionality and features live migration.

Cons of Oracle VM

• Costly: The platform will have specific licensing fees and additional expenses.
• Complex Learning Curve: The platform can be difficult to understand and learn for beginners.
• Limited Third-Party Integrations: The dependency on an Oracle ecosystem drastically limits the platform’s integration capabilities and ensures vendor lock-in.

VirtualBox for Desktop

The Oracle VirtualBox is another common open-source virtualization software that allows users to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical machine. The VirtualBox is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris host operating systems. It also supports a wide range of guest operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and various versions of BSD and Solaris. VirtualBox allows users to run multiple virtual machines simultaneously - each with their own set of virtual hardware, including virtual CPUs, memory, storage, and network interfaces.

Pros of Oracle VirtualBox

• Seamless Mode: VirtualBox provides a seamless mode that lets users run virtual machines alongside host applications without needing a separate desktop.
• High Performance: The platform offers high-performance virtualization and can support up to 32 virtual CPUs and 8 terabytes of virtual disks.
• Cross-Platform Support: The VirtualBox VMware replacement supports a range of host operating systems - including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris.
• Snapshotting: VirtualBox allows users to take snapshots of virtual machines and easily revert to earlier states if and when needed.

Cons of Oracle VirtualBox

• Limited Enterprise Support: The platform is primarily designed for desktop use and cannot offer the same level of enterprise support as VMware.
• Performance: While VirtualBox provides enhanced performance, it cannot handle certain high-performance workloads.

1. Red Hat IBM Enterprise Linux 

As a subsidiary of global technology giant IBM since 2019, Red Hat now combines hybrid cloud and innovative platforms to offer enterprise open-source solutions. As a VMware alternative, Red Hat Virtualization is a tool that seamlessly manages workloads in Linux and Microsoft environments. With an easy-to-use interface, it allows users to manage their work efficiently in a short period and is compatible with large deployments – requiring significant server density. The platform uses Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) to process applications and virtualized resources. It can also scale up to 400 hosts and handle the maximum tested workload of around 1 VM per GB.

Pros of Red Hat Virtualization

• Open-Source Foundation: This ensures that the platform has community support and provides flexibility for its users.
• Integration with Red Hat Ecosystem: The platform provides seamless integration and compatibility within the Red Hat ecosystem.
• Advanced Security: With enhanced security and compliance support, users are always kept safe.

Cons of Red Hat Virtualization

• Complex Learning Curve: The platform can be difficult for beginners to learn and understand.
• Red Hat Integration Dependency: The platform is limited in terms of third-party integrations to Red Hat ecosystems.
• Licensing Complexity: The platform can be difficult to license properly in certain areas.

Proxmox VE - Open-Source Hypervisor 

The Proxmox company strives to develop powerful and efficient open-source software that simplifies server management and ensures an affordable, secure, and open-source deployment of IT infrastructure. The Proxmox VE platform is an open-source VMware alternative that efficiently manages virtualization setups while ensuring exceptional performance. With a user-friendly interface and versatile features, it easily became a favorite for users who prioritize simplicity and performance.

Pros of Proxmox VE

• Free and Open-Source: The free and open-source platform is more affordable and has community support.
• Uses a Combination of Virtualization and Containers: the platform makes use of a combination of KVM virtualization and LXC containers.
• High Availability: This ensures that the platform doesn’t suffer from downtime and makes use of HA clustering and live migration features.
• Integrated Backup: The Proxmox solution uses built-in backup and restoration features to ensure data safety and storage integrity.
• Centralized Management Interface: The Proxmox GUI ensures a simplified and easy-to-use interface.

Cons of Proxmox VE

• Complex Learning Curve: The system might be too difficult for beginners to understand quickly.
• Limited Third-Party Ecosystem: The platform is limited to a smaller ecosystem for integration.
• Resource Requirements: The platform needs sufficient hardware resources for optimal performance in larger deployments.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

Founded as a global entity, SUSE aims to provide enterprise-grade, open-source solutions. The company is known for solutions with proficiency in Linux for critical businesses, Management of Enterprise Containers, and Edge solutions. As a VMware alternative, the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) ensures a robust and versatile server operating system that is designed to support a wide range of workloads in virtualized, cloud, and physical environments. The platform provides businesses with a stable, secure, and scalable platform for their virtualization needs while leveraging open-source technologies and strong enterprise support.

Pros of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

• KVM and Xen Hypervisor Support: The SLES platform supports both Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and Xen hypervisors to provide flexibility and customization.
• Scalability: SLES is designed to handle large-scale workloads and can support multiple VMs.
• High Availability: The SUSE Linux Enterprise ensures High Availability with advanced clustering capabilities that enable automated failover and recovery - ensuring uptime and reliability for critical workloads.
• Cloud Integration: The SLES platform is optimized for cloud environments and supports major cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
• Full System Rollback: With a Btrfs file system, the platform can provide a full system rollback and offer a safety net for system updates and configuration changes - minimizing downtime and enhancing system stability.

Cons of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

• Complex Learning Curve: The system might be difficult for beginners to learn quickly.
• Third-Party Limitations: The platform may experience limitations when trying to integrate with other systems.

Virtuozzo Hybrid Server 

Virtuozzo is a full-stack hyper-converged cloud platform that is used by service providers, ISVs, and enterprises. The company provides production-ready OpenStack Infrastructure-as-a-Service, multi-cloud Platform-as-a-Service, Kubernetes hosting, S3-compatible storage, cloud database management, and other cloud services. As a VMware alternative, the Virtuozzo Hybrid Server offers a versatile and high-performance virtualization platform that combines traditional virtual machine technology with modern containerization.

Pros of Virtuozzo Hybrid Server

• Cloud-Ready: The Virtuozzo Hybrid Server was created for seamless integration with public, private, and hybrid cloud environments.
• Integrated Virtualization and Containerization: The platform also supports both virtual machines and containers within a single platform for flexible resource management and usage.
• High Availability and Disaster Recovery: The Virtuozzo Hybrid Server includes advanced high availability and disaster recovery features to ensure continuous uptime and data protection.
• Scalability: The platform is designed to handle extensive enterprise workloads and demands.

Cons of Virtuozzo Hybrid Server

• Complex Learning Curve: Organizations new to containerization or hybrid virtualization may find it difficult to use and learn this system quickly.
• Compatibility with Legacy Systems: Some legacy applications and systems may not be fully compatible with Virtuozzo Hybrid Server’s containerized environment.

Now, we can look at a table comparing the relevant factors for VMware alternatives and the best VMware alternatives on the market today:

Why Sangfor is the Best Alternative to VMware

• Equivalent Offerings Compared to VMware: Sangfor HCI is the fundamental building block of cloud, virtualized computing, storage, networking, and even security, offering equivalent features to VMware and more! Please refer to this page for detailed comparison for each Sangfor HCI component.
• Smooth Migration: Proven methodologies to migrate diverse workloads from VMware to Sangfor with a few simple clicks.
• Established Reputation: Top 2 APAC Vendor for Hyperconverged Infrastructure Systems in Gartner® Market Share (2Q+3Q, 2023) Recognized in the Gartner ® Magic Quadrant for Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software High Rating on Gartner® Peer Insights for HCI
• Perpetual and Subscription Licensing: Sangfor HCI is available on both perpetual and subscription licenses to suit customer requirements.
• Dedicated Support: Sangfor offers the best support across the entire sales cycle, covering sales, presales, and aftersales, together with operators available 24/7 for our customers and partners. We challenge ourselves daily to lead the change we envision for IT.

Choosing the right VMware alternatives might seem like a difficult process but once you know what you’re looking for in a virtualization solution, it becomes much easier to choose a VMware replacement. We’ve explored all the options available and provided a way to judge and organize your VMware options realistically and constructively to ensure that your virtualization needs are fully met. For more information on Sangfor’s HCI VMware alternative solution or to read about Sangfor’s cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity platforms, visit our Sangfor HCI webpage or contact your local Sangfor office.

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