VMware rivals see a rise in migrations away from the virtualisation giant
VMware rivals see a rise in migrations away from the virtualisation giant
ClearScale, Inevidesk and Nutanix are all tracking a "notable increase" in VMware's workloads to their platforms.
Published on 18th March 2025
Even as Broadcom touts successes around the changes it has made to VMware since the late 2023 acquisition, and as it shows significant improvements in the virtualization provider’s margins, some rivals say they’re making headway with VMware migrations.
“We’re seeing a notable increase in interest from both enterprise and SMB/midmarket companies looking to migrate away from VMware,” said Jimmy Chui, CEO of ClearScale, a cloud managed service provider, and top Amazon Web Services partner. “Essentially, we’re seeing a ‘squeeze’ effect. Larger enterprises are seeking specialized expertise for complex [VMware] migrations, while SMBs are seeking a reliable partner who can guide them through the uncertainty and offer solutions that fit their needs and budget.”
Much of the momentum appears to come from the customers Broadcom has opted not to focus on through VMware. Broadcom emphasizes serving global, enterprise-level organizations, although CEO Hock Tan has claimed SMBs would not be neglected; yet, amid pricing, licensing and portfolio changes, this has left many smaller (and, to be fair, some larger) VMware users in a quandary.
But the shift gives companies such as Inevidesk an advantage. A relative newcomer to the indirect channel, Inevidesk reports traction akin to that of ClearScale’s. The virtual desktop infrastructure provider launched its partner program in late 2024 and says it’s capitalizing on interest in VMware migrations. Since its founding in 2019, Inevidesk has primarily served the architectural, engineering and construction sector, which tends to comprise SMBs.
As of last year, however, Inevidesk has steadily expanded its scope as it fielded more interest in VMware migrations.
“An important aspect of our mission was to open up high-performance VDI to organizations of all sizes,” said Tim Whiteley, co-founder of U.K.-based Inevidesk.
Right now, Inevidesk is present mostly in firms with 10-300 people. That said, Whiteley added, “there is no reason that Inevidesk could not be deployed in an enterprise setting. We are actively looking at this with partners as part of our continued evolution.”
Over at Nutanix, perhaps the most high-profile VMware competitor, revenue potential is coming from brand-new prospects interested in VMware migrations.
“We have a lot of customers that were previously white space to Nutanix, that are now in process of migrations,” said Dave Gwyn, senior vice president of worldwide channels at Nutanix.
The same applied to cloud managed service providers; in response, Nutanix spent much of 2024 beefing up its channel program, taking aim at VMware Cloud Service Provider partners making the switch.
VMware Migrations Largely About Choice
Meanwhile, what seems to represent a key theme among companies targeting unhappy VMware users is that of choice. Broadcom’s mandated product bundling has caused consternation among users and partners who say they don’t need the software forced upon them, while others report benefiting from learning about, and implementing, solutions they once overlooked. ClearScale, Inevidesk, Nutanix and other companies are keen on the latter group.
“We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work, and we tailor our solutions accordingly,” Chui said. The MSP recently teamed with Matilda Cloud to assess and help with VMware migrations to AWS.
Whiteley agreed.
“We have no mandated bundles or minimum amount, and billing is monthly. Our aim is to be as flexible as possible, and the annual commitment provides our partners and ourselves with assurance over the mid-term,” he said.
Nutanix takes a similar view.
“What Nutanix has always done is tried to allow the customer to buy exactly what they need for the task at hand, and to be able to scale it up as needed, to have flexibility in terms of the platform that it’s hosted on,” Gwyn said. “[Y]ou can move the licenses around. There’s transferability between where you run the licenses, as well as even within the private cloud.”
While VMware migrations might be top of mind among many CIOs and IT experts, carrying them out can be easier said than done. Gartner says costs could add up to $3,000 per virtual machine and take years. Forrester Research recommends using third-party services such as Rimini Street, though the analyst firm delivers that suggestion with caveats.
For his part, ClearScale’s Chui says moving VMware workloads with Matilda Cloud’s help happens “quickly and with higher business impact and value.”
Nutanix, too, is doing its best to keep new customers from having to work from two brands for too long.
“We are in a in a phase right now where migrations are a huge part of our world,” Gwyn said. “And migrations, how quickly they can be done, is a big factor. … The more qickly the migration happens, the more quickly you can decouple from the one that you’re dragging behind you.”
