Accelerating OpenShift Virtualization Adoption: Strategies for Infrastructure Modernization

As enterprises look beyond legacy virtualization platforms like VMware, OpenShift Virtualization is rapidly emerging as a powerful catalyst for operational modernization. With rising licensing costs, static infrastructure, and growing demand for agility, IT leaders are turning to container-native virtualization to unify workloads, embrace DevSecOps, and future-proof their architecture.

In this guide based we’ll explore best practices for deploying OpenShift Virtualization in the enterprise—and how to enable your teams for long-term success.

Why IT Leaders Are Moving From VMware to OpenShift Virtualization

For Enterprise IT Directors, the strategic need to modernize infrastructure while optimizing operating costs has never been more urgent. OpenShift Virtualization is a Kubernetes-native evolution of traditional virtualization—it allows organizations to run legacy VMs and modern containers side-by-side on the OpenShift Container Platform (OCP). 

Unlike VMware, which often requires high licensing spend and siloed infrastructure, OpenShift Virtualization runs atop Red Hat OpenShift, a certified, enterprise-grade Kubernetes platform. That means virtualization, container orchestration, and full-stack DevOps automation converge into a single unified footprint.

Business Outcomes That Matter:

• Cost Reduction: Simplify licensing and consolidate workloads on a single platform.
• Faster Innovation: Enable DevOps and GitOps for infrastructure and application delivery.
• Operational Continuity: Retain legacy VMs while building future readiness with containers and AI.

Recommended Deployment Architecture: What Hardware You Really Need

Success with OpenShift Virtualization starts with a well-planned architecture. Convincing reasons for separation include high availability, scalability, and operational clarity. Based on Shadow-Soft’s proven delivery methodology, the recommended baseline cluster includes:

• 3 Control Plane Nodes – manage cluster state and orchestration.
• Infrastructure Nodes – host platform services like logging, metrics, routing.
• 3+ Worker Nodes – run workloads (VMs and/or containers).
• Optional: Fiber Channel or bonded network interfaces for storage and migration performance.

Red Hat-assisted installer simplifies provisioning, reducing the need for bootstrap, web, and provisioning servers for smaller scale deployments—ideal for organizations new to bare-metal Kubernetes.

Networking Considerations: Bridging Virtual and Cloud Networks

Unlike VMware, OpenShift uses Kubernetes-native networking. VMs live in Open vSwitch-based virtual networks, configurable across VLANs with tunable IP ranges. More importantly, tools like Red Hat Service Interconnect (Skupper) can connect multiple OpenShift clusters securely—even across data centers—with minimal operational overhead. This is crucial for hybrid and edge readiness.

Migration Made Practical—with Repeatable Methodologies

OpenShift provides an official Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV) for importing VMware-based VMs (OVA/OVF) into OpenShift Virtualization. For large-scale migrations, automation is critical. Tools like Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform extend your migration capabilities with GitOps workflows for repeatability and control.

Key Tip: Warm migrations are possible where the VM runs during most of the sync—but final cutover requires a scheduled VM shutdown. Planning around business impact is essential.

Upskilling Your Teams with Practical Enablement

One of the biggest challenges in modernization isn’t technology—it’s people. Many VMware admins are apprehensive about change. The key is structured enablement:

• Bridge the Skills Gap: Offer role-specific enablement—platform, networking, storage.
• Embrace GitOps: Introduce Git-based change control to implement CI/CD even for VM infrastructure.
• Build Confidence: Deliver hands-on labs for staging deployments and sandbox practice to reduce fear.

Showcase: A Unified Platform for Infrastructure Modernization

When OpenShift Virtualization is combined with certified third-party storage solutions like Portworx and enterprise-grade GitOps tools like Argo CD, teams can modernize infrastructure while laying the foundation for application modernization and AI integration.

For DevOps Managers and Consultants, this results in:

• Unified tooling for both legacy and cloud-native workloads.
• Faster provisioning through code-based templates and pipelines.
• Observable, scalable architecture delivering compliance and agility.

Final Thoughts: Vision + Execution

As Red Hat continues to shape OpenShift into a comprehensive innovation platform—from containers to VMs to AI—strategic IT leaders must act as visionaries and implementers. The shift to OpenShift Virtualization isn’t just a technical upgrade—it’s a chance to transform your delivery model, empower your teams, and future-proof the enterprise.

Shadow-Soft and Red Hat are committed to enabling that infrastructure modernization through certified expertise, GitOps-driven methodologies, and full lifecycle support—because modernization shouldn’t happen alone.

Ready to start your journey? Contact us today to design your OpenShift Virtualization roadmap with certified Red Hat and Kubernetes experts.