George Crump

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VergeIO and Inuvika Partner to Deliver a Cost-Effective, High-Performance Alternative to VMware Horizon and Citrix

Ann Arbor, Michigan – March 18, 2025 – VergeIO, the leading alternative to VMware, and Inuvika, a leading provider of application virtualization and VDI solutions, today announced a strategic partnership to deliver a more cost-effective, high-performance virtual desktop and application delivery platform. This collaboration provides organizations with a seamless, scalable alternative to VMware Horizon and Citrix, addressing the increasing cost and complexity of legacy VDI solutions.

Organizations can reduce IT costs by integrating VergeOS’s ultra-efficient, software-defined data center platform with Inuvika OVD Enterprise’s high-performance application and desktop virtualization while improving user experience and operational simplicity. The combined solution offers enterprises, educational institutions, and service providers an affordable and efficient way to deploy and manage virtual desktops and applications without the licensing constraints of traditional VDI platforms.

“With VMware and Citrix raising prices and complicating their offerings, organizations need a more efficient and cost-effective approach to VDI,” said Yan Ness, CEO of VergeIO. “Our partnership with Inuvika enables organizations to eliminate unnecessary software licensing fees while improving the performance and manageability of their virtual desktop environments.”

Kevin Gallagher, CEO of Inuvika, added, “Partnering with VergeIO allows us to provide organizations with a modern, scalable VDI solution that can replace both VMware Broadcom and Omnissa Horizon for a complete solution for end customers and MSP/CSP partners. Inuvika OVD’s Linux-based architecture, combined with VergeOS’ highly integrated infrastructure, delivers a faster, more secure, and cost-effective alternative to legacy desktop virtualization solutions.”

A Smarter, More Efficient Approach to Virtual Desktops

Unlike traditional VDI solutions that require expensive third-party hypervisors and complex storage architectures, the VergeIO and Inuvika solution leverages VergeOS’ integrated storage and virtualization capabilities to reduce hardware requirements and simplify IT management. Inuvika OVD complements this by efficiently delivering Windows and Linux applications and desktops and reducing the Microsoft server licensing costs, enabling organizations to deploy VDI at a fraction of the cost of VMware/Omnissa Horizon or Citrix.

Key benefits of the joint solution include:

  • Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Say goodbye to costly hypervisor and VDI licensing fees with a more streamlined pricing model.
  • High-Performance VDI: Eliminate boot storms and slow logins with VergeFS’s integrated storage and Inuvika’s optimized application delivery.
  • Simplified Management: Reduce administrative complexity with a single, intuitive management interface for infrastructure and virtual desktops.
  • Flexible Deployment: Support for persistent and non-persistent desktops and Linux and Windows applications ensures organizations can tailor VDI to their unique needs.

Organizations currently using VMware Horizon or Citrix and seeking a cost-effective alternative are encouraged to explore the combined VergeIO and Inuvika solution.

Join Us for a Live Webinar

To learn more about how VergeIO and Inuvika deliver a cost-effective, high-performance VDI alternative, join our upcoming webinar on March 27, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT. This session will feature live demonstrations of the solution and a detailed framework for evaluating VDI alternatives. Register now: https://www.verge.io/webinar-vdi-alternatives-vio/

About VergeIO

VergeIO is the leading alternative to VMware. It provides a highly efficient, software-defined data center solution that integrates virtualization, storage, and networking into a single, easy-to-manage platform. With its innovative approach, VergeIO helps organizations reduce IT complexity, lower costs, and improve infrastructure performance. Learn more at www.verge.io.

About Inuvika

Inuvika is a leading provider of virtual application and desktop delivery solutions and a leading alternative to VMware/Omnissa Horizon and Citrix. Its OVD Enterprise platform enables organizations to deliver Windows and Linux applications securely on-premises or on any private or public cloud. Inuvika helps organizations reduce VDI costs while enhancing performance and security. Learn more at www.inuvika.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Judy Smith
JPR
[email protected]
818-522-9673

Filed Under: Press Release

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SDN at the Edge should be part of evaluating a VMware alternative. While organizations often focus on reducing licensing costs and simplifying data center management, they should also consider using software-defined networking at the edge. Extending SDN beyond the core to edge locations, remote offices, and branch networks further cuts costs, eases expansion, and simplifies operations. 

Conventional networking architectures face high costs and intricate configurations when implemented in distributed settings. Proprietary hardware, dedicated appliances, and vendor-specific solutions complicate and increase the expense of scaling edge networking. Furthermore, traditional SDN solutions rely on a separate application operating within a set of VMs, consuming resources that might be limited at the Edge, ultimately elevating deployment costs. 

An SDN solution integrated into the hypervisor can eliminate these challenges and bring cost-effective, policy-driven networking to edge sites.  

The Challenges of Traditional Networking at the Edge  

Many enterprises rely on branch offices, remote sites, manufacturing facilities, and IoT-driven edge computing deployments that require reliable, secure connectivity. However, networking at the edge is often limited by:  

at the edge
  • Costly proprietary hardware – Branch offices and remote sites require routers, firewalls, VPN appliances, and SD-WAN hardware, each adding expense and complexity.
  • Limited IT resources – Edge locations often lack on-site IT staff, making hardware management and troubleshooting difficult.
  • Inconsistent security – Network segmentation and firewall enforcement become complex when multiple sites rely on independent appliances or per-site policies.
  • Scalability challenges – Expanding remote networks typically require vendor-specific hardware upgrades, increasing costs.
  • Slow Expansion – Each site must be carefully planned, and IT must ensure that the exact or similar hardware is placed at the new location.

The Problems with Traditional SDN Solutions at the Edge  

Traditional SDN solutions are challenging to deploy in edge environments due to high resource consumption, added complexity, and elevated costs. Since most SDN platforms run as standalone applications within dedicated virtual machines, they require additional CPU, memory, and even hardware—resources that edge locations often cannot spare. Licensing models based on cores or ports further increase costs, making SDN adoption impractical for distributed environments. 

Key challenges of traditional SDN at the edge:  

  • High resource consumption – Requires dedicated VMs that consume CPU and memory, limiting application performance at edge sites.
  • Increased hardware costs – Edge locations may need additional servers just to support SDN functionality.
  • Complex licensing models – Many SDN solutions charge per core or per port, making widespread deployment costly.
  • Management overhead – Running SDN as a separate application means additional maintenance, updates, and security policies.

The alternative, instead, is to virtualize networking alongside compute and storage, integrated into a single platform. With this platform, organizations can extend software-defined policies and automation to remote sites without requiring expensive proprietary appliances.  

The Solution: Integrate SDN into the Hypervisor

Watch Our Integrated SDN Demonstration

To overcome the challenges of traditional networking and standalone SDN at the edge, organizations need a fully integrated SDN solution that eliminates unnecessary complexity, reduces hardware costs, and operates seamlessly within existing infrastructure. Instead of relying on separate networking appliances or resource-intensive SDN controller VMs, an integrated SDN approach builds networking capabilities directly into the data center operating platform.

By embedding SDN into the virtualization layer, organizations can extend network automation, security, and connectivity to edge locations without requiring additional hardware or per-core licensing fees. This approach removes the inefficiencies of legacy networking and makes software-defined networking practical, scalable, and cost-effective for distributed environments.

Key benefits of integrated SDN:

  • No dedicated SDN hardware required – Networking is handled within the hypervisor, eliminating the need for separate appliances or extra servers.
  • No additional resource drain – Unlike standalone SDN solutions, an integrated approach does not consume excess CPU and memory, ensuring optimal application performance at the edge.
  • Lower deployment and licensing costs – Integrated SDN eliminates per-core or per-port licensing, making it cost-effective for large-scale edge deployments.
  • Seamless network automation – Extends software-defined policies, security enforcement, and routing to edge sites without manual configuration.
  • Built-in security and segmentation – Enables per-VM and per-VDC security policies, reducing attack surfaces.
  • Scalable multi-site connectivity – Supports site-to-site VPNs and dynamic routing (BGP, OSPF, EIGRP) without external SD-WAN appliances.

at the edge

With integrated SDN, edge networking becomes a seamless extension of the data center—without additional infrastructure burden or cost.

Centralized Network Management Without Dedicated Hardware  

One of the most significant advantages of integrated SDN is the ability to manage remote locations from a single interface without requiring separate, site-specific networking appliances. IT teams can:  

  • Apply security and routing policies across all locations centrally
  • Eliminate the need for dedicated edge firewalls, routers, and VPN devices by using software-defined networking overlays
  • Reduce the need for on-site IT staff by enabling cloud-based or centralized administration

Using Virtual Data Centers and Segmentation At the Edge  

One of the biggest security risks at edge locations is network sprawl and inconsistent segmentation policies. Remote sites often connect back to the main data center without proper isolation, increasing the attack surface.  

An integrated SDN solution provides:  

  • Virtual Data Center (VDC)-level isolation to segment traffic between remote sites
  • Per-VM security policies that ensure devices and workloads remain protected regardless of location
  • Built-in firewalls without requiring additional security appliances

This approach ensures that edge workloads remain secure without the complexity of VLANs, hardware-based firewalls, or external appliances.  

at the edge

Why Now Is the Time to Use SDN  

For organizations already evaluating a VMware alternative, now is the perfect time to extend networking modernization beyond the core data center. Instead of replacing only the hypervisor, IT teams should consider how a fully integrated SDN solution can:  

  • Reduce the cost of edge networking by eliminating single-purpose hardware and SD-WAN appliances
  • Simplify network management by centralizing policy enforcement across remote sites
  • Improve security with built-in segmentation and software-defined firewalls
  • Enable future-proof scalability with vendor-neutral networking that works across hybrid, cloud, and edge environments

at the edge

A Smarter Approach Using SDN at the Edge  

A SDN solution built into the hypervisor, rather than a separate licensing tier or add-on, allows organizations to extend cost savings and network automation to all locations.  

VergeOS, with its integrated VergeFabric SDN, enables seamless, software-defined networking across distributed environments without requiring additional licensing fees or dedicated hardware.  

For organizations seeking a VMware alternative, this is the ideal time to rethink networking—not just in the data center but at the edge. Learn more about other options to proprietary networking in this blog.  

Learn More: On-Demand Demonstration  

Discover how VergeFabric can eliminate costly networking appliances while simplifying edge connectivity. Watch the on-demand webinar to see it in action.  Then, check out our hands-on labs to see for yourself how easy networking within VergeOS can be. 

Filed Under: Networking Tagged With:

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A StorageReview write-up highlights VergeIO’s integration of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) into VergeFabric within VergeOS, eliminating the cost and complexity of VMware NSX. This update provides enterprise-grade networking without extra licensing fees or proprietary hardware, simplifying VM and Virtual Data Center segmentation while automating network management. Unlike traditional SDN solutions, VergeFabric conserves resources and streamlines management. CEO Yan Ness emphasized that this integration removes barriers to SDN adoption, making advanced networking more accessible and cost-effective, especially for VMware migrations.

Filed Under: News

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Organizations considering a VMware exit should also consider alternatives to proprietary networking. Extending infrastructure modernization to networking has the potential to further lower costs and improve flexibility. Why continue paying for expensive, proprietary networking hardware when an integrated, software-defined alternative is available at no extra cost?

The Hidden Costs of Proprietary Networking

alternatives to proprietary networking

Many IT teams have spent years managing networking the traditional way—with dedicated hardware appliances for routing, firewalls, VPNs, and vendor-locked switches. These environments were built assuming that specialized, proprietary hardware was necessary to maintain performance, security, and reliability.

Proprietary networking relies on multiple dedicated appliances, each playing a specific role in the infrastructure. A typical IT environment might include:

  • Routers for managing external and internal traffic
  • Firewalls for enforcing security policies and filtering traffic
  • VPN appliances for remote access and site-to-site connectivity
  • Proprietary switches that lock organizations into a single vendor’s ecosystem

Managing this environment necessitates distinct management interfaces, multiple licensing agreements, and firmware updates across various devices. Scaling or implementing changes can be cumbersome, requiring additional licenses or expensive hardware upgrades. Furthermore, proprietary networking often demands specialized vendor-specific expertise, frequently leading organizations to invest in classes and certifications.

Interoperability is another major challenge. Many networking vendors design their hardware and software to work best within their ecosystem, making it difficult—or even impossible—to mix and match solutions from different vendors. This locks organizations into a single vendor’s roadmap and pricing model, reducing flexibility and increasing long-term costs.

The Alternative: VergeOS with VergeFabric

alternatives to proprietary networking

One of the alternatives to proprietary networking is VergeFabric, a SDN solution fully integrated into VergeOS, provides all the core networking functions needed to replace legacy network hardware at no additional cost and without requiring extra resources from physical servers.

Instead of managing separate proprietary networking appliances, IT teams can consolidate routing, firewalling, VPN services, and network segmentation into a software-defined solution that runs natively within VergeOS.

By replacing dedicated network appliances with VergeFabric, organizations gain:

  • Integrated routing and traffic management that eliminates the need for standalone routers with BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP support
  • Built-in firewalling that provides stateful rule enforcement directly within the hypervisor
  • VPN capabilities that support IPSec and WireGuard VPNs without requiring a separate VPN appliance
  • Multi-site connectivity that establishes seamless software-defined network overlays between remote locations without complex SD-WAN hardware
  • Switching without vendor lock-in that works with any standard Ethernet switch, reducing dependency on expensive proprietary hardware
  • Mixed hardware support allowing disparate switches to act as one

No Additional Licensing Fees, No Extra Resource Overhead

Unlike standalone SDN solutions or VMware NSX, VergeFabric is not an add-on, a separate virtual appliance, or a paid upgrade—it is fully integrated into VergeOS, which means:

  • No additional software or licensing costs, as all networking features are included as part of VergeOS, which is licensed by server and not by core.
  • No resource drain on the physical server hardware, unlike VMware NSX, which requires dedicated SDN controller VMs that consume CPU and RAM
  • No complex setup or configuration, as VergeFabric is built into VergeOS and managed through a single interface alongside compute and storage

How VergeFabric Replaces Dedicated Appliances

Considering alternatives to proprietary networking as organizations move away from VMware to lower costs enables them to extend their savings. Proprietary networking often means managing multiple appliances and licensing agreements. VergeFabric eliminates the need for these devices by offering complete networking functionality as a software-defined solution inside VergeOS.

Integrated Routing and Firewalling Without Dedicated Appliances

Instead of relying on a Cisco, Juniper, or Fortinet router, VergeFabric provides fully integrated Layer 3 routing and firewalling with:

  • Dynamic routing protocols including BGP, OSPF, and EIGRP
  • Stateful firewalling with per-VM and per-VDC rule enforcement
  • Network segmentation at both the VM and Virtual Data Center (VDC) level

With VergeFabric natively handling these functions, there is no need for a separate firewall or router appliance, saving both hardware costs and administrative overhead.

Secure VPN Connectivity Without a Dedicated Appliance for VPNs

Many organizations rely on hardware-based VPN appliances, such as Cisco AnyConnect, Fortinet FortiGate, or Palo Alto Prisma Access, to establish secure site-to-site and remote access connections. VergeFabric eliminates the need for standalone VPN devices with:

  • Site-to-site VPN using IPSec and WireGuard for secure, multi-location connectivity
  • Client-based VPN access for remote workers, enabling secure user connections without extra VPN licensing fees
  • End-to-end encryption that ensures traffic between sites is protected without requiring third-party security appliances

SD-WAN Alternative for Multi-Site Networking

VergeFabric is an alternative to SD-WAN solutions for organizations with multiple locations, eliminating the need for proprietary SD-WAN appliances. Features include:

  • Software-defined inter-site networking that enables seamless communication between remote data centers without dedicated SD-WAN hardware
  • Dynamic routing to optimize traffic flow between locations automatically
  • Integrated VPN encryption to secure connections without requiring expensive SD-WAN tunnels

Network Services Without a Separate DHCP or DNS Appliance

Many IT teams rely on dedicated DHCP and DNS servers, such as Windows Server DHCP or Infoblox appliances, for network services. VergeFabric eliminates this requirement by providing:

  • A built-in DHCP server for automatic IP address management
  • Static DHCP reservations for simplified device provisioning
  • Integrated DNS services to reduce dependency on external DNS servers

Since these features run inside VergeOS, there is no need for separate networking appliances or additional virtual machines, further reducing infrastructure complexity.

A Future-Proof Networking Strategy

Proprietary networking locks organizations into expensive, complex architectures that are difficult to scale. VergeFabric provides a future-proof alternative that:

  • Eliminates vendor lock-in and reduces costs by using software-defined networking instead of hardware appliances
  • Simplifies management by consolidating routing, security, and VPN functions into VergeOS
  • Improves security and scalability with built-in firewalling, VPN, and site-to-site networking
  • Provides a gradual transition path from hardware-based networking to fully software-defined networking
  • Mix hardware from different vendors as needs or relationships change

If your organization plans to move away from VMware, now is the perfect time to rethink your networking strategy. VergeFabric provides a seamless, integrated alternative to proprietary networking without extra cost or resource overhead.

Explore VergeFabric today and see how software-defined networking can transform your infrastructure.

Learn More | Download the White Paper | Register for the Webinar

Filed Under: Networking Tagged With: , ,

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Integrated SDN That Eliminates the Cost and Complexity of VMware NSX 

Ann Arbor, MI – Tuesday, March 11 – VergeIO, the leading VMware alternative, today announced an update to VergeFabric, an integrated Software-Defined Networking (SDN) solution built into VergeOS. Unlike standalone SDN offerings, VergeFabric delivers enterprise-grade networking without licensing fees, dedicated controller VMs, or vendor lock-in, making SDN more accessible and cost-effective for organizations of all sizes. 

As businesses transition from VMware, many overlook networking, yet it offers an opportunity to extend infrastructure savings beyond just the hypervisor.

Most organizations continue to use proprietary networking hardware and appliances because of VMware’s NSX licensing costs and operational complexity. VergeFabric makes cost-effective networking available to data centers of all sizes by embedding advanced networking capabilities directly into VergeOS. This enables seamless network virtualization, security enforcement, and multi-site connectivity without additional infrastructure costs. 

The Benefits of SDN—If It Were Affordable 

SDN has long been recognized for its ability to simplify network management, enhance security, and improve agility. However, due to high licensing costs, complex deployments, and vendor lock-in, it has remained out of reach for many organizations. 

If SDN were truly affordable and seamlessly integrated, IT teams could: 

  • Eliminate proprietary networking hardware costs – Avoid expensive, vendor-specific networking appliances and switches. 
  • Improve security at no additional cost – Implement built-in VM and VDC-level segmentation to block lateral movement of threats without adding external firewalls or VLAN appliances. 
  • Automate network management – Remove manual configuration tasks, reduce errors, and improve overall infrastructure agility. 
  • Support multi-site workloads effortlessly – Establish software-defined interconnectivity between on-prem, edge, and cloud environments without complex VPNs or expensive WAN solutions. 

Breaking the Barriers to SDN Adoption 

Traditional SDN solutions, including VMware NSX, require expensive per-core licensing, dedicated virtual machines, and complex configurations that limit adoption. VergeFabric removes these obstacles by providing: 

  • Integrated SDN at no additional cost – Included with VergeOS, VergeFabric eliminates the need for standalone SDN software or per-core licensing fees. 
  • Simplified network management – Fully integrated within the VergeOS management interface, reducing complexity and streamlining operations. 
  • No dedicated SDN VMs required – Unlike VMware NSX, VergeFabric does not consume CPU or memory resources with separate controller VMs. 
  • Seamless multi-site connectivity – Built-in tools for secure, software-defined interconnectivity between remote data centers. 
  • Enhanced security and segmentation – VM and Virtual Data Center (VDC)-level security without external firewalls or VLAN complexities. 

“With VergeFabric, we are removing the cost and complexity barriers that have historically stalled SDN adoption,” said Yan Ness, CEO of VergeIO. “Integrating SDN directly into VergeOS enables organizations to modernize their network infrastructure without additional costs or complexity—a game-changer for those leaving VMware.” 

A Seamless Networking Transition for VMware Customers 

As VMware customers seek cost-effective alternatives, VergeFabric allows them to extend infrastructure savings beyond the hypervisor and to the network. By integrating with existing network hardware and providing a gradual adoption path, organizations can transition to a software-defined network architecture at their own pace. 

For organizations planning their post-VMware infrastructure, VergeFabric ensures that networking is no longer an afterthought—but rather a key component of a cost-effective, high-performance IT strategy. 

Availability & More Information 

VergeFabric is available immediately as part of VergeOS. To learn more, visit VergeIO’s website:

https://www.verge.io/advanced-networking-with-vergeio/

and/or join the upcoming webinar: 

📅 Date: Thursday, March 13

⏰ Time: 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT

📍 Live Webinar + Interactive Q&A 

🚀 Register Now

About VergeIO 

VergeIO is the leading VMware alternative, delivering a next-generation infrastructure platform that combines virtualization, storage, and networking into a single, efficient software-defined solution. Built on a highly scalable ultraconverged infrastructure (UCI) model, VergeOS enables organizations to achieve high performance, reduced costs, and streamlined IT operations—all without the licensing complexity of traditional hypervisors. 

As IT organizations move beyond VMware and traditional HCI, VergeIO provides a future-proof alternative that simplifies data center management while maximizing flexibility and cost efficiency. 

For more information, visit VergeIO’s website or contact: 

Media Contact

Judy Smith, JPR Communications

📧[email protected]         

📞 818-522-9673 

Filed Under: Press Release

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As IT budgets tighten and infrastructure demands grow, organizations must scrutinize every technology investment, and maximizing storage refresh ROI (return on investment) while keeping the TCO (total cost of ownership) under control as a part of that process. One of the most expensive and disruptive refresh cycles in the data center is storage. IT teams have been locked into the buy, refresh, repeat model of purchasing dedicated storage arrays for decades, only to face another refresh cycle a few years later.

maximizing storage refresh ROI

Many IT leaders have explored vSAN-based architectures to eliminate the cost and complexity of traditional SANs. However, maximizing storage refresh ROI using legacy vSANs from VMware and Nutanix falls short, often introducing new challenges such as hardware compatibility restrictions, performance bottlenecks, and high licensing fees. These solutions rely on storage software running as an application within a virtual machine under control of a hypervisor. As we discuss in our white paper “Comparing vSANs” These design decisions add unnecessary layers of complexity and inefficiency.

VergeFS, the storage component of VergeOS, is fundamentally different. Instead of treating storage as a second-class citizen within a hypervisor, VergeFS is fully integrated into the core of VergeOS, alongside virtualization and networking. This deep integration creates an Ultraconverged Infrastructure (UCI), eliminating the overhead of running storage in a VM, and delivering superior performance, scalability, and efficiency. VergeFS provides the benefits legacy vSANs promised but never fully delivered—true enterprise-class storage with radically lower costs, better performance, and seamless scalability.

The High Cost of Traditional SAN Refreshes

Replacing a SAN is one of the most expensive IT projects an organization can undertake. It requires new hardware, software licenses and migration services. Additionally, the downtime for deployment and cutover make maximizing storage refresh ROI almost impossible.

The costs of a traditional SAN refresh typically include:

  • Expensive proprietary hardware – Dedicated storage arrays often require vendor-certified drives, controllers, and networking, significantly increasing upfront costs.
  • Complex implementation and migration – Moving from one SAN to another is rarely seamless. The migration process introduces downtime, risks data loss, and increases IT labor costs.
  • Scalability limitations – Scaling a SAN requires purchasing additional proprietary expansion units, often at a significant markup.

Despite these high costs, traditional SANs do not fundamentally change how storage is managed, meaning IT teams remain locked into high daily operation overhead and never-ending future refresh cycles.

Lowering TCO with VergeOS and VergeFS

Maximizing storage refresh ROI and lowering TCO is easy with VergeIO. VergeOS integrates storage directly into the virtualization layer using VergeFS, a high-performance, enterprise-class vSAN, unlike dedicated storage arrays. Instead of buying and deploying a separate SAN, IT teams can use existing servers to create a software-defined storage solution that eliminates the need for traditional storage arrays and provides a VMware exit at the same time, solving two IT problems with one solution.

Reducing Upfront Costs

With VergeOS, organizations can eliminate expensive SAN purchases. VergeFS allows IT teams to repurpose existing server hardware, dramatically reducing capital expenditures. Instead of purchasing new storage controllers, RAID cards, and expansion shelves, VergeOS transforms standard x86 servers, usually the ones running VMware, into a high-performance storage infrastructure without impacting application VM performance. Learn more about how VergeOS enables you to leverage your current VMware servers for both your storage refresh and VMware exit in our article “Use VMware Servers for Your Storage Refresh.”

Additionally, VergeOS supports commodity SSDs, meaning organizations can purchase storage at market prices rather than paying a premium for vendor-certified drives. For example, adding 100TB of all-flash capacity with standard SSDs costs up to 10 times less than buying an enterprise all-flash array.

Eliminating Licensing Fees

Traditional vSAN vendors charge separate fees for critical enterprise storage features, including snapshots, replication, deduplication, and high availability. VergeFS includes these capabilities natively, eliminating the need for costly add-ons, enabling IT to maximize storage refresh TCO. Organizations gain:

  • Global inline deduplication to optimize storage efficiency
  • VM-aware and Virtual Data Center aware snapshots for instant rollback and recovery
  • Single-file recovery from within a snapshot
  • Asynchronous replication for disaster recovery across sites
  • Multi-tier storage support for performance and cost optimization with live VM migration between tiers.

These capabilities are all included within VergeOS, and no additional licensing is required.

Lowering Operational Expenses

Beyond upfront savings, VergeOS significantly reduces the ongoing operational costs of managing storage.

  • No dedicated storage management – VergeFS is fully integrated into VergeOS, allowing IT teams to manage storage, compute, and networking from a single interface rather than maintaining a separate SAN.
  • Automated data resiliency – VergeOS eliminates RAID bottlenecks by using a distributed redundancy model, ensuring faster rebuild times and reducing the risk of downtime.
  • Seamless scaling – Instead of forklift upgrades, organizations can scale incrementally by adding more drives or nodes without complex migrations.
  • Granular Scaling — With VergeOS scale the resources you need when you need to. It supports storage-only, compute-only and GPU-only nodes.

By removing the administrative overhead of managing a dedicated SAN, organizations free up IT staff to focus on more strategic projects. To dive deeper into how VergeOS compares to dedicated storage arrays, download our latest whitepaper “Your Next Storage Refresh Should Be a vSAN.”

The ROI of Converging Storage and Virtualization

VergeOS’s real return on investment comes from its ability to eliminate two major IT expenses at once: SAN refreshes and VMware licensing.

  • SAN replacement savings – No need to purchase a new storage array or pay per-terabyte licensing fees.
  • VMware alternative savings – Organizations moving to VergeOS can eliminate costly VMware licensing, cutting virtualization expenses by 50 percent or more.
  • Ongoing infrastructure cost reduction – VergeOS enables organizations to consolidate infrastructure, run workloads more efficiently, and eliminate unnecessary hardware.

For IT teams looking to maximize the value of their storage refresh, investing in VergeOS delivers long-term savings that a new SAN cannot match.

Future-Proofing Your Infrastructure

One of the biggest challenges with traditional SANs is their inflexibility. Most storage arrays are built around a single type of drive (e.g., all-flash), locking IT teams into specific storage media for years. However, storage needs evolve, and workloads increasingly demand different performance characteristics.

maximizing storage refresh ROI

Moving data between drive types matters more than ever. VergeFS provides true multi-tier storage, allowing organizations to mix and match different drive types within the same infrastructure, including NVMe, TLC, QLC, and HDDs. IT teams can assign workloads to the appropriate storage tier and even live-migrate VMs between tiers as performance needs change.

This flexibility future-proofs the environment, ensuring organizations can use emerging storage technologies without another expensive forklift upgrade.

Conclusion: Don’t Buy Another SAN

Organizations planning their next storage refresh should consider alternatives to traditional SAN replacements. Instead of continuing the cycle of expensive storage arrays and licensing fees, IT teams should consider a UCI approach with VergeOS.

By replacing a dedicated SAN with VergeFS vSAN, organizations can:

  • Eliminate upfront hardware costs by using existing servers
  • Avoid high licensing fees associated with traditional SANs
  • Reduce ongoing operational costs with an integrated management model
  • Improve scalability and flexibility by mixing different drive types
  • Future-proof storage infrastructure with a unified, high-performance platform

Ultimately, the best ROI comes from eliminating unnecessary expenses. VergeOS makes it possible to replace your SAN and VMware in one streamlined transition, delivering the lowest total cost of ownership and the highest long-term value.

Before committing to another costly storage array, explore how VergeOS can help you permanently break free from the SAN refresh cycle, schedule a technical whiteboard session with one of our experts now.

maximizing storage refresh ROI

Filed Under: Storage