Globalization 2.0 | Hong Kong Smart Transportation Provider Achieves VMware-to-ZStack Migration

In the wave of global digital transformation, a leading smart transportation solutions provider in Hong Kong faced rising costs and vendor lock-in challenges following VMware’s shift to a subscription-only model.  

After a comprehensive evaluation, the company selected ZStack Cloud as its next-generation cloud infrastructure platform. By completing a VMware-to-ZStack migration, the provider successfully achieved cost optimization, operational efficiency, and technological autonomy — laying a solid foundation for continuous innovation in smart transportation services.  

As a key participant in Hong Kong’s smart city development, the company’s business spans multiple critical areas, including smart road systems, smart logistics, and smart mobility.

As a core technology enterprise supporting city operations, the stability, scalability, and cost controllability of its IT systems directly impact the quality and efficiency of public services.  

The provider urgently needed a new software platform to replace VMware — one that could lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and protect existing investments — with these specific requirements:  

Significantly reduce TCO and eliminate recurring subscription pressure

Seamlessly reuse existing HPE servers and connect to centralized SAN storage to protect hardware investments

Ensure business continuity and a smooth migration from VMware without disruption

Offer open APIs and monitoring integration capabilities

ZStack’s Three-Phase Migration & Deployment Plan

Phase 1: Migration Assessment & Planning

ZStack conducted a deep analysis of the workloads and business characteristics running on the company’s VMware environment, and developed a detailed migration roadmap. The agentless migration solution — utilizing the ZMigrate tool and direct VMware API integration — allowed seamless migration without installing agents inside virtual machines. It supported mainstream Windows and Linux operating systems, ensuring a smooth transition from VMware to ZStack Cloud.  

Phase 2: Hardware Reuse & Business Continuity

Leveraging ZStack Cloud’s hardware reuse capabilities, the company retained its existing HPE servers and HPE SAN storage resources to build a unified private cloud infrastructure. The platform’s second-level fault recovery capability safeguarded business continuity and greatly reduced the risk of service interruptions caused by system failures.  

Phase 3: Operations Integration & Optimization

Through ZStack’s open API interfaces, the company created and managed cloud resources using CLI. By integrating SNMP with the Zabbix monitoring platform, they achieved centralized monitoring of cloud resources and events, while receiving real-time alerts directly from the cloud platform.  

Outcomes & Benefits

Through this VMware-to-ZStack migration, the Hong Kong smart transportation provider achieved significant improvements across cost, service continuity, migration risk reduction, operational efficiency, and technological autonomy:  

50% reduction in overall TCO

Full reuse of existing hardware resources

Second-level fault recovery ensuring stable and continuous smart transportation operations

Smooth online migration via agentless tools, minimizing operational intervention and business risk

Automated resource management and centralized monitoring through open API and SNMP integration

Freedom from vendor lock-in, granting greater control over future technology choices

An open ecosystem enabling multiple options for future technological evolution

By adopting ZStack’s solution, the company not only optimized its IT infrastructure but also gained strategic flexibility to drive ongoing innovation in smart road systems, smart logistics, and smart mobility — contributing to Hong Kong’s sustainable and intelligent urban development.