Leaving VMware:
Why and How
Since Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, licensing costs have skyrocketed (+200% to +500%). Many organizations are now actively seeking VMware alternatives. Proxmox VE has emerged as the leading open-source replacement.
The Context: Why Are Companies Leaving VMware?
What Changed After the Broadcom Acquisition
- End of perpetual licenses: mandatory switch to subscription model
- Massive price increases: +200% to +500% depending on configuration
- vSphere Essentials discontinued: the SMB-friendly edition no longer exists
- Mandatory bundles: you pay for features you don't need
- Degraded support quality: widespread negative feedback since the acquisition
Real-World Pricing Example
| Configuration | Before (Essentials) | After (VCF) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 servers, 2 CPUs each | ~600 EUR/year | ~8,000 EUR/year | +1,233% |
Source: client feedback and market analysis following Broadcom's 2024 announcements. See our TCO comparison: VMware vs Proxmox 2026 for a detailed cost analysis.
Case study: How one client saved 88k EUR/year by migrating to Proxmox -- a real-world VMware to Proxmox migration managed by RDEM Systems.
Proxmox VE: The Open-Source Alternative
Why Proxmox?
VMware vs Proxmox Comparison
| Criteria | VMware vSphere | Proxmox VE |
|---|---|---|
| License cost | High (subscription) | Free |
| PVE support | Included in license | Free to 1,100 EUR/year/socket |
| Hypervisor | ESXi (proprietary) | KVM (standard Linux) |
| Web interface | vCenter (paid) | Included (free) |
| High availability | vSphere HA (licensed) | Built-in (free) |
| Backup | Veeam (paid) | PBS (free to 4,480 EUR/year) |
| Containers | Not native | Native LXC |
Assess Your Big-Tech Dependency
VMware is just one example of vendor lock-in
How to Migrate from VMware to Proxmox
The migration is technically feasible but requires rigorous planning. See our complete technical migration guide for the full technical details. Here are the key steps.
Inventory and Analysis
List all your VMs, their resources (CPU, RAM, disk), network dependencies, and hosted applications. Identify critical VMs and prioritize the migration order.
Prepare the Proxmox Environment
Install Proxmox VE on your servers (or on new servers for a progressive migration). Configure networking, storage (Ceph, ZFS, NFS...) and HA clusters if needed.
Convert the VMs
Export VMware VMs in OVF/VMDK format, then convert them to qcow2 (native KVM format). Tools like qemu-img convert make this straightforward — the official procedure lives on the Proxmox VE wiki: Migrate to Proxmox VE (native ESXi importer esxi-storage since PVE 8.2).
Adapt the VMs
Replace VMware Tools with the QEMU Guest Agent. Adjust network and disk drivers if necessary. Test each VM in an isolated environment before moving to production.
Progressive Migration
Start with non-critical VMs. Validate proper operation, then progressively migrate production workloads. Keep VMware accessible in parallel for rollback.
Key Considerations
- - Windows Server: may require driver adjustments
- - Sensitive applications: test in a staging environment first
- - Licensing: verify your software's virtualization terms
- - Training: the Proxmox interface differs from vCenter
RDEM Systems: Proxmox Experts
Our Infrastructure Runs on Proxmox
RDEM Systems has been running its own virtualization infrastructure on Proxmox VE for several years. We host our clients and internal services on high-availability Proxmox clusters.
- Equinix data centers in the Paris region
- Own network AS206014 with resilient multi-ASN DNS
- Distributed Ceph storage
Migration Support
We guide you through your VMware to Proxmox migration: audit, planning, migration, and validation. Already on Proxmox 8? See our Proxmox 8 to 9 migration guide (timeline, pricing, methodology).
Request a quote →Managed Proxmox Hosting
You can also host your VMs directly on our Proxmox infrastructure, with managed services included. Discover our managed Proxmox plans.
Explore our offering →Off-Site Backup Included with Managed Services
After migrating to Proxmox, your VMs are automatically backed up to NimbusBackup PBS (Equinix Paris). Included in every RDEM managed services contract -- not a separate product.
We manage your Proxmox servers at the hosting provider of your choice: OVHcloud, Hetzner, Scaleway, Contabo, IONOS or any other provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Break Free from VMware
Stop absorbing Broadcom's price increases. Migrate to Proxmox with guidance from experts who run this technology in production every day.