VMware Refugee Guide: VVF Discontinuation and the Roadmap to Virtualization Alternatives

Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware continues to reshape the virtualization market, with an impact far deeper than most had anticipated. The shift to a subscription-only model, the discontinuation of VVF and VVEP, and Broadcom’s broader bundling strategy have collectively disrupted the long-established cost structures of enterprises worldwide. These changes pushed many teams to reevaluate their infrastructure strategy, triggering what the industry now calls the VMware Exodus.

For many IT leaders, the challenge is not only financial—it is operational. Teams now must determine how to ensure stability, reduce licensing risks, and retain architectural control. As more organizations identify as VMware refugees, the search for credible VMs alternatives, virtualization alternatives, and practical De-VMware migration paths has become a top priority.

This guide brings together market insights, public industry analysis, and an understanding of ZStack’s virtualization and cloud platform portfolio to provide a straightforward path forward.

The Broader Forces Behind the VMware Exodus

Broadcom’s Licensing Transformation – From Perpetual to Subscription + Bundle

One of the sharpest shifts driving the VMware refugee movement comes from how product families like VVF and VCF were restructured. Many organizations that previously relied on VMware vSphere Foundation suddenly found themselves obligated to adopt VMware Cloud Foundation through a full-suite subscription.

Now essential hypervisor features now come packaged with a broader set of tools—lifecycle management, cloud modules, and storage capabilities. For some teams, these additions are beneficial; for others, they represent unnecessary cost expansion.

Why Many Organizations Are Paying for vSAN They Don’t Use

A major point of frustration arises from bundled components like vSAN, even in environments that exclusively rely on external storage arrays or SDS systems. This mismatch between actual needs and mandatory components puts pressure on budgets and encourages IT teams to search for virtualization alternatives that offer modularity rather than enforced bundles.

Especially for organizations working with fixed annual budgets.

The Rising TCO and Market Pressure

As subscription renewals approach, many teams discover that their total cost of ownership has increased significantly—even when workload footprints remain unchanged. Combined with adjustments in the support model and licensing consolidation, many IT departments have elevated “De-VMware planning” to an urgent priority.

The concern is not merely the current pricing. It is the long-term predictability of architectural and financial planning—an area where many VMware refugees now seek more transparent, stable alternatives.

Evaluating De-VMware — What to Check

Workload Composition and Storage Dependencies

Before selecting VMs alternatives, teams should map out:

1. VM density and performance requirements
2. Storage types—SAN, NAS, distributed, local SSD
3. Network topology, VLAN/VXLAN usage, and bandwidth considerations
4. Hypervisor extensions or plugins that may not transfer directly

This assessment ensures a realistic migration timeline and avoids unexpected operational gaps.

Cost Structure: Licenses vs. Actual Usage

A recurring theme in public technical discussions is misalignment between purchased bundles and real usage. Evaluating each platform’s licensing transparency is essential, particularly for teams trying to avoid repeating the issues associated with VCF pricing.

The ideal alternative provides:

• Clear per-node pricing
• Optional modules rather than mandatory bundles
• Freedom to choose storage backends independently

Migration Risk, Operational Overhead, and Long-Term Flexibility

IT leaders must determine whether they seek:

• A like-for-like hypervisor to enable rapid migration
• A cloud platform for long-term modernization
• An HCI architecture to simplify storage and compute

This decision influences timelines, training, and future scalability.

Alternative Paths for VMware Refugees

 VMware refugees generally follow four primary migration paths—each suited to different goals, budgets, and timelines. This section also incorporates ZStack’s corresponding platforms, helping map options to real, practical technologies.

Lightweight Virtualization Platforms for Immediate Stabilization

For teams seeking the fastest path away from VMware with minimal operational change, lightweight KVM-based virtualization platforms provide a familiar administrative experience. These solutions typically focus on VM lifecycle management, live migration, high availability, template management, and resource scheduling.

ZStack ZSphere Virtualization Platform aligns with this path by offering:

• A KVM-based hypervisor engine
• VM provisioning, live migration, HA, snapshots
• Integrated virtual networking
• Straightforward deployment and node expansion

Its design suits organizations needing quick stabilization without shifting immediately to cloud operations.

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure for Unified Compute + Storage

When environments require consistent performance across compute and storage, HCI platforms streamline resource management through tight integration.

The ZStack HCI Appliance provides:

1. Compute + storage integration in a single cluster.
2. Distributed storage with high availability
3. Linearly scalable capacity
4. Native virtualization support without separate licensing layers

This path is ideal for teams already planning hardware refresh cycles.

Cloud-Ready Platforms for Long-Term Flexibility

Some organizations ask not only “What replaces VMware today?” but also “What supports our next five years of evolution?”

For these scenarios, cloud-ready platforms bring:

• Multi-tenant architecture
• API-based automation
• Resource orchestration
• Self-service workflows
• Multi-cluster management

ZStack Cloud Platform fits this vision by delivering a full private cloud ecosystem built on virtualization, distributed storage, and network virtualization—all managed in a unified control plane.

Container or Container-Friendly Architectures for Modern Workloads

Teams with increasing container adoption may prefer platforms that support both VM and container workloads within the same operational framework.

ZStack Zaku Container Cloud supports this path by integrating container orchestration with virtualized infrastructure, enabling the coexistence of VMs and Kubernetes-based services.

Migration Best Practices for a Smooth Transition

Inventory Your Existing VM / Storage / Networking Layout

A detailed inventory is the foundation of every successful De-VMware migration. This step ensures dependency visibility for storage protocols, network mappings, and VM configurations.

Perform Pilot Migrations and Benchmarking

Testing ensures that workloads retain performance characteristics across hypervisors or platforms. Key metrics often include:

• VM CPU scheduling behavior
• Disk IOPS and latency
• Memory ballooning behavior
• Network throughput and jitter

Phased Cutover and Testing to Minimize Downtime

A staged migration strategy allows:

• Early identification of incompatibilities
• Reduced operational risk
• Parallel operations during transition
• Controlled testing in each phase

This smoothens the experience for both IT teams and business stakeholders.

ZStack： Let Every Company Have Its Own Cloud

ZStack’s Unified Virtualization, HCI, and Cloud Portfolio

ZStack develops a complete full-stack platform covering virtualization, cloud management, container cloud, distributed storage, HCI appliances, and multi-cloud management. Its unified architecture offers users the flexibility to adopt virtualization only, deploy HCI, or build a fully cloud-ready environment.

ZStack has empowered over 4,000 enterprises across 30+ countries in industries such as government, telecom, finance, energy, transportation, education, healthcare, and manufacturing. More than 1,000 enterprise customers worldwide have replaced VMware with ZStack, proving that ZStack is a trusted partner for organizations transitioning to cloud-native platforms.

ZStack has been recognized in Gartner’s 2025 Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms with its ZSphere virtualization platform, and has ranked #1 among independent cloud vendors in the IDC China Cloud System Software Market report with its ZStack Cloud platform.

Why ZStack Serves as a Practical Alternative for Former VMware Users

ZStack addresses the core pain points driving the VMware Exodus by offering a platform centered on operational clarity and cost transparency. Former VMware users gain a clean licensing model without mandatory bundles, making it easier to escape the constraints associated with changing the pricing and the broader Broadcom bundling strategy.

For teams undergoing De-VMware transitions, ZStack’sfast deployment process significantly reduces migration friction. Administrators familiar with traditional virtualization workflows can adapt quickly, as VM operations, network configuration, and storage management follow intuitive patterns aligned with industry-standard KVM practices.

Unlike bundled suites that require adopting components such as storage services even when unused, ZStack allows organizations to select exactly what they need—whether virtualization-only clusters, HCI deployments, or full private cloud environments. This modularity helps teams avoid over-licensing and maintain predictable long-term budgets.

These strengths position ZStack as a practical, low-risk choice for enterprises evaluating VMs alternatives or broader virtualization alternatives, enabling them to regain architectural control while ensuring continuity in performance and operations.

Use Cases: Private Cloud, HCI Deployment, Hybrid Scenarios

ZStack deployments support private cloud modernization, all-in-one HCI deployments for mid-scale data centers, and hybrid models where VM workloads and cloud services coexist. This gives former VMware customers operational continuity while opening paths to long-term evolution.

FAQ

Q: Why are so many organizations moving toward VMware Alternatives and migration?

A: The discontinuation of VVF, the shift toward mandatory VCF subscriptions, and Broadcom’s broader bundling strategy have significantly increased the total cost of ownership (TCO) for many teams. As a result, organizations are actively exploring virtualization alternatives and more flexible licensing models.

Q: What are the most common VMs alternatives for a De-VMware transition?

A: Popular options include KVM-based virtualization platforms, HCI solutions, enterprise cloud platforms, and container service platforms.

Q: How can I avoid paying for vSAN I don’t use?

A: By choosing platforms where compute and storage licensing are decoupled. Several virtualization alternatives, including ZStack-based deployments, allow customers to select their preferred storage backend without mandatory bundles.

Q: For a VMware refugee team, is migrating existing workloads difficult?

A: With proper inventorying, pilot testing, and phased cutover planning, most VMware workloads can be migrated smoothly to modern platforms without major architectural redesign.

Q: What makes ZStack a practical route in a De-VMware strategy?

A: ZStack offers multiple replacement paths—including virtualization, hyper-converged infrastructure, enterprise cloud platforms, and container service platforms—along with flexible licensing models, KVM-based technology, unified management, and the long-term architectural flexibility required for modernizing IT infrastructure.