Breaking Free: The True Cost of Infrastructure Vendor Lock-in

The VMware-Broadcom acquisition has created a critical situation for enterprise IT. With license costs increasing 3x to 5x, organizations must now evaluate their entire infrastructure strategy. This goes beyond just licensing costs - it affects your technical architecture, processes, and team capabilities.

Understanding Lock-in Impact

From working with 15 clients over the last 12 months, we've documented how vendor lock-in affects every layer of IT operations. These impacts become particularly critical when facing substantial price increases or vendor policy changes.

Current Infrastructure Challenges

VMware dependencies create significant business risks:

• Multiple data center licenses create high vendor dependency and increased exposure to price changes
• Old applications that only work with specific VMware versions, limiting upgrade options
  Automation systems that only work with VMware tools, requiring complete rewrites if you need to change platforms
• Backup and storage systems are locked to VMware products, restricting vendor choice
• Disaster recovery requiring duplicate VMware licenses, doubling the impact of price increases

Technical Limitations

These restrictions affect your ability to innovate:

• Can't freely connect to other cloud providers, limiting hybrid cloud options.
• Storage systems are limited to VMware-compatible options, often at premium prices.
• Server templates that only work with VMware prevent workload mobility.
• Automation is restricted to VMware's PowerCLI, creating technical debt.
• Security and monitoring tied to VMware tools, limiting best-of-breed choices.

Day-to-Day Impact

The operational costs of lock-in:

• Extra maintenance time for VMware-specific tasks rather than business improvements.
• More hardware is needed just for security compatibility, increasing infrastructure costs.
• Limited backup solution options, often leading to higher prices.
• Change processes bound to VMware's way of working, slowing innovation.
• Team skills focused only on VMware products, reducing workforce flexibility.

The Solution: Building Infrastructure Freedom

After understanding the extent of vendor lock-in, the path to freedom requires a methodical approach. Here's how we implemented this transition for a mid-size hospitality client moving from VMware to OpenShift Virtualization:

Phase 1: Setting the Foundation

Unlike traditional VMware deployments, this foundation prioritizes platform-agnostic solutions.

Core Setup

• Deploy OpenShift Virtualization as the new platform-agnostic foundation.
• Connect storage systems using vendor-neutral protocols.
• Set up networking that works across any cloud or on-premises environment.
• Configure resource limits that match your business needs, not vendor constraints.

Infrastructure Setup

• Configure data replication that isn't tied to proprietary protocols.
• Set up backups that work with multiple platforms.
• Implement network connections that span any environment.
• Establish monitoring that works across your entire infrastructure.

Phase 2: Preparing for Migration

This phase focuses on maintaining business continuity while breaking free from vendor-specific tools.

Testing

• Set up migration tools that convert VMware workloads.
• Validate network paths between old and new environments.
• Test storage performance across platforms.
• Map application connections and dependencies.

Planning

• Create migration guides that ensure no service disruption.
• Document rollback steps for risk mitigation.
• Define testing methods that verify successful transitions.
• Set success criteria based on business requirements.

Phase 3: Getting to Production

The final phase ensures your new environment maintains all critical capabilities without vendor lock-in.

Migration

• Verify applications pre-move to ensure business continuity.
• Confirm data replication across platforms.
• Test network connections in the new environment.
• Validate performance post-move against original baselines.

Operations

• Implement runbooks for the new platform-agnostic environment.
• Train teams on new, transferable skills.
• Set up monitoring that works across any future platform.
• Verify backups in your vendor-neutral solution.

Each step in this process is designed to not just move workloads but to ensure you're not creating new vendor dependencies along the way.

Ensuring Success

Making the transition from VMware requires a structured approach to upskilling your team. Here's what's needed:

Core Skills Development

• Understanding OpenShift platform architecture vs traditional VMware environments.
• Moving from vSAN to platform-agnostic storage management.
• Network operations across hybrid environments.
• Resource management in a Kubernetes-based world.

Migration Expertise

• VM to container conversion processes.
• Network cutover procedures with minimal downtime.
• Storage migration and data integrity verification.
• Application testing and validation in the new environment.

New Operational Procedures

• Incident response in a hybrid infrastructure.
• Change management across multiple platforms.
• Capacity planning for containerized workloads.
• Performance tuning in OpenShift environments.

Next Steps

For organizations evaluating their infrastructure dependencies:

1. Document your current VMware footprint, including:
   • License costs and renewal dates
   • Application compatibility requirements
   • Custom automation and scripting
   • Storage and backup dependencies
2. Review your upcoming infrastructure projects against potential vendor changes
3. Schedule an OpenShift Virtualization readiness assessment to understand your specific transition requirements

Contact our technical team to review your virtualization environment and discuss viable migration paths.