VMware

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What comes after the VMware exit matters more than what you leave behind. Don’t replace VMware with Nutanix, or Hyper-V, or the hypervisor du jour, and declare the problem solved. That approach misses the real opportunity. The VMware exit served as the compelling event that enterprises needed to finally consolidate years of tactical decisions, which had built silos across the data center, edge, and cloud, leaving them ill-prepared for future workloads.

Most enterprises already run multiple hypervisors. VMware sits at the core, but Hyper-V handles Windows-centric applications. Nutanix crept in through departmental projects. Edge sites run different stacks. Cloud platforms host workloads that were meant to be temporary but never came back. Swapping VMware for another hypervisor leaves this mess intact.

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The right move is to use this disruption to drive complete consolidation. One operating model must span the data center, edge, ROBO, and venues. One platform must handle virtual machines, containers, AI workloads, backup, and disaster recovery. Anything less retains the same fragmented complexity, albeit under a different label.

The path forward is clear. Enterprises must modernize on-premises infrastructure to consolidate silos, pull back workloads that never belonged in the cloud, and build a platform ready to run AI alongside every other workload. Anything less leaves IT repeating the same cycle of sprawl under new names.

After The VMware Exit, Modernize Infrastructure

After the VMware exit modernize infrastructure

After the VMware exit the goal should be complete consolidation of the infrastructure. Consolidation starts with modernization, but not the kind most vendors sell. Too often, “modernization” is a rebrand of the same fragmentation—another hypervisor, another storage system, another management console. Real modernization means collapsing silos into a single operating model, extending the useful life of hardware, and giving IT the agility to run any workload on a standard foundation.

Modernization done right reduces the number of moving parts, stretches servers and storage to five or seven years instead of three or four, and creates a single system capable of supporting virtual machines, containers, and AI workloads without building separate stacks. The VMware exit is the moment to stop layering tactical fixes and start building a strategic, consolidated platform that lasts.

After The VMware Exit, Repatriate the Cloud

After the VMware exit repatriate cloud workloads

Another step after the VMware exit is cloud repatriation, which involves consolidating on-premises resources and pulling back workloads that should never have been moved to the cloud in the first place. The public cloud provided quick relief when IT needed capacity fast, but many of those temporary moves became permanent. Enterprises now pay unpredictable monthly bills for capacity they could run more consistently and economically on infrastructure they already own.

Those costs rise every quarter, driven by storage growth, variable I/O performance, and punitive egress charges. The fix is repatriation. Pull back the steady-state workloads—databases, file services, ERP systems, and VDI—that run better under direct control. Keep the cloud for temporal workloads where its economics make sense. Renting a car for a trip is practical. Renting one every day for your daily commute is reckless. The same logic should be applied to cloud consumption.

AI makes the case even stronger. Training and inference create data gravity that punishes cloud economics. Large and growing datasets need to sit close to the GPU and compute resources. Moving them back and forth only adds cost and latency. Repatriation is not just about saving money. It is about putting the right workloads in the right place and preparing the enterprise for AI.

After The VMware Exit, Prepare for Private AI

Another step after the VMware exit is preparing infrastructure to run AI as a core function, not as an afterthought. AI is no longer experimental, and it cannot be treated as a side project or pushed into the cloud as a service. The datasets that feed AI are the most valuable assets enterprises own. Sending them to a public cloud raises sovereignty concerns, exposes sensitive data, and locks the enterprise into consumption models that only grow more expensive.

After the VMware exit prepare for AI

Cloud-based AI also adds token costs that accumulate with every transaction. What begins as a pilot quickly becomes an unpredictable monthly bill. Treating AI this way repeats the same mistakes that left steady-state workloads stranded in the cloud.

The right move is to make AI a first-class citizen in the same operating system that runs virtual machines, databases, and desktops. GPU pooling, high-throughput storage, and predictable networking must be built into the core platform, not added later as separate stacks. Vendors eager to sell AI-only servers and storage will lead enterprises straight into another silo. Building AI into the unified infrastructure from the start prevents this and keeps the estate ready for tomorrow’s demands.

What’s Required for Complete Consolidation

Modernizing on-premises, repatriating the right workloads, and preparing for AI all point to the same conclusion: consolidation only works if the foundation is built right. Enterprises can’t afford to solve one problem only to create another. To break the cycle of sprawl, two non-negotiable capabilities are required. Miss either, and the silos return under a new set of logos.

The first requirement is a universal infrastructure operating system. It must integrate virtualization, storage, networking, GPUs, backup, and disaster recovery into a single code base. One policy model must stretch from the data center to the edge, ROBO, and venues. The operating system must run on a wide range of x86 servers so organizations can reuse hardware during transitions and extend refresh cycles to five or seven years instead of three. Licensing must be per server, not per core or per socket. The platform must treat AI as a core workload with GPU pooling, high-throughput storage, and predictable networking built into the design.

The second requirement is a universal migration path. The path must cover VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, OpenStack, and workloads sitting in a public cloud. It must synchronize data while production continues to run and cut over in minutes. It must scale through automation, with migration-as-code recipes that standardize each step and log every action for audit. Without this path, consolidation remains an idea on paper, not a result in production.

To learn more about complete consolidation, register for our live webinar, “After the VMware Exit—How to Consolidate, Repatriate, and Prepare for AI”

The Requirement: Universal Path + Destination

Consolidation only succeeds when both requirements are met: the path to move workloads and the destination where they land. One without the other leaves IT stuck with the same problems under different branding.

Cirrus Data provides the path. Its block-level migration runs while production stays online. Intelligent QoS manages I/O so applications remain responsive during synchronization. Cutovers take minutes, not hours, making migrations fit inside standard change windows. With MigrateOps, migrations become recipes—repeatable, auditable, and consistent across hundreds of workloads. Migration risk, once the barrier to change, is removed.

VergeOS provides the destination. It is a single operating system that unifies virtualization, storage, networking, GPU sharing, backup, and disaster recovery. VergeOS runs on standard x86 servers and uses per-server licensing, so enterprises can extend hardware life and deploy large hosts without penalty. Most importantly, VergeOS treats AI as a core workload. GPU pooling, high-throughput storage, and predictable networking are built in, preventing the creation of yet another silo.

Together, Cirrus Data and VergeOS address both sides of the consolidation equation. Cirrus Data clears the way out of sprawl. VergeOS delivers a consistent operating model across the data center, edge, ROBO, and venues. Unlike other platforms that claim unification, VergeOS is built on a single code base—a distinction that makes a difference when stability and scale matter.

Why a Single Code Base Matters

Not every platform that calls itself “unified” deserves the label. Most competitors stitch together a collection of modules written by separate development teams, often acquired through M&A, and then shoehorn them into a common management GUI. The interface hides the seams but does not remove them. Each module carries its own dependencies, update cycles, and failure modes. When workloads push the system, those seams show up in outages, support escalations, and stalled upgrades.

A true universal infrastructure operating system is different. Built on a single code base, VergeOS delivers compute, storage, networking, GPU support, backup, and disaster recovery through the same logic and policy framework. Features work together because they were designed together. One update applies across the platform. One roadmap drives progress. One support model resolves issues without finger-pointing.

The difference matters. Layered modules behind a GUI add fragility that IT pays for later. A single code base gives enterprises confidence that every workload—traditional applications, cloud-repatriated systems, and private AI—runs on the same consistent foundation. Anything less is not consolidation. It is simply sprawl wearing a new logo.

Conclusion

The VMware exit is not just a licensing shift. It is the compelling event that enterprises need, to confront the cost and complexity created by years of tactical decisions. Treating it as a hypervisor swap misses the point. Replacing VMware with another logo keeps the same fragmentation in place and leaves the enterprise just as unprepared for AI, cloud repatriation, and future workloads.

The right move after the VMware exit is complete consolidation. That requires both a universal migration path and a universal infrastructure operating system. Cirrus Data provides the path, with live block-level migration, automation through MigrateOps, and cutovers measured in minutes. VergeOS provides the destination, with a single code base that unifies compute, storage, networking, GPU sharing, backup, and disaster recovery. Together, they address the two most critical questions following the VMware exit: how to escape sprawl and where to land once you do.

This is not the time to patch or postpone. Enterprises that seize the moment can consolidate once, extend hardware life, and prepare their infrastructure for AI without creating new silos. Enterprises that miss it will be back in the same place in three years—only weaker and even less ready. The choice is clear: consolidate now with Cirrus Data and VergeOS, or carry the weight of sprawl into the future.

Filed Under: VMwareExit Tagged With: , ,

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Ann Arbor, MI — September 16, 2025 — VergeIO, the leading VMware alternative, today announced a partnership with Cirrus Data Solutions (CDS), a leader in data mobility technology and services, to help enterprises eliminate infrastructure sprawl—the costly mix of multiple hypervisors, duplicate tools, and isolated stacks, that has crept into data centers. The collaboration combines Cirrus Data’s patented software-only data mobility technology with VergeOS, the industry’s only single-codebase infrastructure operating system for virtualization, storage, networking, and AI.

Sprawl has accelerated as organizations juggle VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, OpenStack, and public cloud IaaS. The result is higher licensing spend, fragmented operations, and slow recovery. VergeIO and Cirrus Data address both sides of the problem: a universal migration path that keeps production online and a unifying destination that consolidates platforms into one operating model.

  • Cirrus Data delivers zero downtime migrations for clustered applications. Its software-only solution can migrate from nearly any hypervisor, including VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM), Proxmox, OpenStack, and others, in addition to the public cloud IaaS. Organizations can now automate the move of heterogeneous estates on schedule and without disruption.
  • VergeOS replaces stacked products with a single operating system covering virtualization, storage, networking, and AI. Per-server licensing, hardware portability, and deep abstraction extend hardware life and simplify operations across core, edge, ROBO (remote office/branch office), and Venues.

Review the VergeIO/Cirrus Data solution brief to learn more.

“Sprawl is the tax on indecision,” said Yan Ness, CEO of VergeIO. “Enterprises didn’t plan to run three hypervisors and a cloud sidecar, but that’s where the market led them. Our partnership with Cirrus Data gives IT a practical way out: move everything with minimal downtime and land on a single, cohesive platform.”

“Consolidation isn’t a one-off,” said Wayne Lam, CEO of Cirrus Data. “Our data mobility solutions give organizations an easy, automated way to securely migrate every acquisition or new business unit to VergeOS quickly, regardless of the starting platform. With Cirrus Data and VergeIO, organizations can prevent sprawl from returning and keep operations streamlined.”

According to analysis highlighted in VergeIO’s new white paper and solution brief, enterprises that consolidate into VergeOS with Cirrus Data can reduce three-year total cost of ownership by 50%+, achieve 12–18 month payback, and gain a platform ready for private AI without standing up separate clusters.

To learn more, register here for the VergeIO/Cirrus webinar on 9/25 at 1:00pm ET.

About VergeIO
VergeIO is the VMware alternative. Its ultraconverged infrastructure platform, VergeOS, integrates virtualization, storage, networking, and AI into a single operating system with unmatched simplicity and cost savings. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, VergeIO helps enterprises, service providers, and public sector organizations consolidate infrastructure, extend hardware life, and prepare for the future of AI.

About Cirrus Data
Cirrus Data Solutions Inc. (CDS) is a leader in the block data mobility technology and services market for global enterprises. The company distributes its solutions through systems integrators, managed service providers, channel resellers, and partners. CDS is headquartered in Syosset, New York, with support centers in Dublin, Ireland, and Nanjing, China, with sales and support offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Dallas, Denver, London, Melbourne, Munich, and Tampa. For more information, visit CDS online https://cirrusdata.com/cloud-migration-vergeio 

Media Contact:
Judy Smith
JPR for [email protected]
818-522-9673

Media Contact:
Julie McKenna
Cirrus Data
[email protected] 

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: , , , , ,

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In 2026, IT professionals face a double infrastructure disruption problem that threatens to overwhelm budgets and complicate long-term planning. Server virtualization is undergoing a dramatic change, driven by Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and the expiration of thousands of VMware contracts within the year. At the same time, the VDI market is unsettled by rising costs and vendor reshuffling.

This is not the time for simple hypervisor swaps or VDI broker switches. Treating each disruption as an isolated project preserves the fragmentation that created today’s challenges. There is a unique opportunity to modernize infrastructure architecture as a whole—reducing cost, simplifying management, and preparing for future workloads like private AI.

Infrastructure Disruption One: Broadcom’s Strategic Customer Abandonment

Broadcom’s VMware strategy is not only about higher prices. It actually represents a deliberate narrowing of focus to large enterprises. CEO Hock Tan first pointed to “upselling VMware’s largest 2,000 customers,” later revised to just 500 top accounts served directly. Mid-market organizations are left with dramatically higher costs or the need to find alternatives.

double infrastructure disruption

The numbers tell the story of the first part of the infrastructure disruption problem. Surveys show 98% of VMware customers are exploring alternatives. Forty-eight percent report costs doubling, 30% see costs quadrupling, and 15% have faced tenfold increases (Heise). New licensing rules add a 72-core minimum order requirement and a 20% penalty for late renewals. For many, what was once 15–20% of the IT budget now consumes 40–60%.

This is not vendor greed; it is market repositioning. For organizations outside Broadcom’s target segment, it is the right moment to rethink architecture rather than pour more money into a fragmented model.

Infrastructure Disruption Two: VDI Market Uncertainty

infrastructure disruption

Desktop delivery is the second part of the infrastructure disruption problem. It is in parallel turmoil. VMware Horizon’s transfer to Omnissa creates questions about support and product direction. Citrix customers face rising prices and growing complexity, often tied to Windows Server back ends.

The pattern is clear. Per-user licensing penalizes growth. Feature bloat drives expensive add-ons. Multiple management consoles increase operational overhead. What was meant to simplify end-user computing has become harder to maintain than the desktops it replaced.

Why an Infrastructure-Wide Vision is Essential

Most IT teams approach these problems in silos. The VMware group looks at hypervisor replacements. The VDI team investigates alternative brokers. The storage team negotiates a SAN refresh. Each makes the best choice within its domain, but the organization still carries multiple licensing models, management planes, and support contracts.

This is the fragmentation tax. It shows up as duplicated labor, integration overhead, and troubleshooting inefficiency. Studies suggest it adds 35–50% to operational costs as compared to unified platforms.

An infrastructure-wide modernization strategy removes that tax while solving the double infrastructure disruption challenges. Unified platforms combine server virtualization, storage, networking, and desktop delivery into a single architecture. Costs drop because organizations are not paying four or five vendors. Labor drops because teams manage one system. Performance improves because the environment is built to work as a whole, not stitched together after the fact.

These benefits compound. By combining VMware licensing savings with simpler VDI economics and reduced operational overhead, IT can build a stronger case for modernization. Future workloads, such as private AI, can run on the same architecture without creating a separate silo. Even if budget cycles don’t align perfectly, taking a big-picture view of infrastructure and incorporating components as renewals and refreshes occur, creates a rare opportunity to present modernization as a single project with a clear ROI.

Even further Infrastructure Disruption: Hardware Deprecation

The legacy licensing models that contribute to the double infrastructure disruption problem also drive unnecessary hardware refresh cycles. Perfectly functional servers are marked “unsupported” to push new purchases or reduce testing costs. Organizations waste capital and create e-waste when older systems could continue to serve production workloads.

Modern ultraconverged platforms take the opposite approach. They run on standard x86 hardware without restrictive hardware compatibility lists. Servers remain in service as long as they meet performance needs. Refreshes happen on IT’s schedule, not the vendor’s. Extending server life by even two years can defer or eliminate $25,000–100,000 in capital costs per 50 users per year.

Why Partners Must Act Now

For VARs, MSPs, and CSPs, the double disruption presents an opportunity to transition from transactional product swaps to strategic infrastructure modernization. Many partners will take the easy route and replace whatever component is failing. That path keeps costs high and complexity intact.

The better path is to guide customers toward a unified infrastructure. Partners who take this approach, deliver measurable savings, protect hardware investments, and become trusted advisors. The result is repeat business and recurring revenue.

Join our exclusive webinar with Inuvika and Ethos Technology to learn how to position unified infrastructure solutions that solve both VMware licensing and VDI complexity simultaneously. This session provides specific strategies for guiding customers toward architectural modernization rather than component-level replacement. Register here.

The VergeIO and Inuvika Answer

VergeIO delivers ultraconverged infrastructure that integrates server virtualization, enterprise-class storage, networking, and AI in a single code base. Licensing is per server, avoiding Broadcom’s per-core penalties. The platform runs on standard x86 hardware, protecting existing investments and extending hardware life. As end-users become dependent on their virtual desktop instances, VergeOS provides the resilience needed to meet user expectations.

Inuvika’s Linux-based VDI works perfectly within this environment. It eliminates the need for Windows Server back ends and simplifies desktop and application delivery. Together, VergeIO and Inuvika provide coordinated support, predictable pricing, and an end to vendor finger-pointing.

The ROI on an Infrastructure-Wide Vision

Focusing on traditional infrastructure updates maintains operational complexity while changing vendors. Innovative infrastructure teams use this disruption to implement unified platforms that solve multiple problems simultaneously. Based on our interviews, VergeIO customers see significant annual savings using this approach:

Traditional vs. Modern Infrastructure Economics (per 500 users):

Cost CategoryFragmented StackUnified PlatformAnnual Savings
Software Costs$90,000-120,000$40,000-60,000$50,000-60,000
IT Labor20-30 hours monthly5-8 hours monthly$25,000-40,000
Hardware RefreshRequired every 3-4 yearsExtended 5-7 years$37,500-75,000
Total Annual Savings$112,500-175,000

Large enterprises report $500,000-2,000,000 annual savings moving from fragmented to integrated platforms, while avoiding strategic risk from vendors that explicitly deprioritize their market segment. Hardware investment protection adds another layer of savings, with organizations typically deferring $25,000-100,000 in capital expenditures per 50 servers by extending hardware lifecycles based on performance needs rather than vendor compatibility requirements.

Real-World Elimination of the Double Infrastructure Disruption Problem

CCSI, a cloud service provider, solved its double infrastructure disruption problem by implementing VergeIO’s ultraconverged infrastructure with Inuvika’s VDI platform. They achieved:

  • 80% reduction in infrastructure costs compared to the VMware stack
  • 3-day migration completion vs. 6-month VMware refresh timeline
  • Single vendor relationship replacing five separate support contracts
  • Simplified operations without SAN dependencies or complex networking

“The integrated approach eliminated the vendor finger-pointing we experienced with our previous fragmented infrastructure,” reports CCSI leadership. “When issues arise, we have single-point accountability instead of coordination between multiple vendors.”

The Wait-and-See Strategy is Over

Many IT leaders renewed short-term agreements after Broadcom’s acquisition, hoping for stability. That stability has not arrived. Renewal mechanics now dictate timing and cost. Terms are tighter, penalties higher, and deadlines closer.

The wait-and-see strategy is no longer neutral. The impending double infrastructure disruption problem makes waiting a penalty. The time to modernize is now. Contact VergeIO for a technical whiteboard session to explore how VergeIO with Inuvika can provide a comprehensive solution to the double infrastructure disruption problem.

Filed Under: VDI Tagged With: , ,

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upgrade Edge data protection

The Broadcom acquisition of VMware is prompting IT leaders to reassess remote deployments, making it an ideal time to upgrade Edge data protection. The Edge encompasses Remote Office Branch Offices (ROBO), Venues in the entertainment industry, and true Edge sites for data collection.

Organizations with any or all of these location types adopted VMware for server consolidation, not resilience. A few small servers could run all workloads and remain online without the cloud or core, providing local processing and independence in the event of a WAN failure.

Now the economics and packaging of VMware have changed, but exiting VMware should be more than a hypervisor swap. It’s a chance to upgrade edge VMware protection and DR.

upgrade Edge data protection

Doing so can reduce licensing and hardware costs, eliminate redundant backup appliances, and enhance recovery speed after outages or accidental deletions. It also prepares IT for new edge use cases, such as AI inference, where local processing demands stronger resilience and faster recovery. If you are an IT professional with multiple sites, download our comprehensive guide to a VMware exit for multi-site organizations.

The Old Data Protection Model

Backup dependency
VMware offered rudimentary edge protection. Customers relied on third-party backup appliances or agents, each with extra licensing, hardware, and management overhead. This added cost and complexity for ROBO and venue sites which typically have little or no IT staff. Backup servers and storage arrays also consumed precious rack space that edge and ROBO locations rarely had. This is why it is time to upgrade Edge data protection.

Replication challenges
Replication was never native. Organizations turned to SRM or external tools, which were complex, expensive, and impractical for small sites. Many locations simply went unprotected.

Snapshot limitations
VMware snapshots were tied to VMFS or vSAN, resulting in degraded performance and increased capacity consumption. Many customers avoided them or used them as a temporary staging copy for backup before deleting. VMware’s own documentation warns that snapshots should not be considered a form of protection.

Recovery gaps
Recovering workloads was a complex process that required the use of runbooks. These were manually created, brittle, and often untested until a crisis. Testing DR was especially hard for venues and edge sites with limited or no maintenance windows. The first “test” was usually a real outage, with predictable failures.

Scale mismatch
VMware’s protection stack was designed for four to sixteen node clusters, not two- or three-node sites. vSAN requires at least three nodes or two plus a witness, adding cost and complexity. VxRail requires four or five nodes—well beyond the needs and budgets of edge or ROBO locations.

Why VMware Data Protection Falls Short

VMware’s protection model was never designed for distributed sites. It layered point products on top of the hypervisor and left IT to tie them together, resulting in tool sprawl, increased overhead, and higher costs—another reason why it’s time to upgrade Edge data protection.

Tool sprawl
Even with central management, IT had to juggle separate logins, passwords, and consoles across dozens or hundreds of sites. Context switching became exponential overhead.

Fragile protection
RPOs were measured in hours or days, with even longer RTOs. Every restore relied on backup servers and brittle runbooks. Secondary backup steps added delays and new failure points.

No cyber recovery
VMware snapshots—whether standard or vSAN—were not immutable, and replicas usually lived in the same location. A ransomware attack or corruption could wipe out both production and “protected” copies.

Inconsistent coverage
Some sites were protected, others were not. It could take weeks to notice, and even longer to diagnose. Without a shared telemetry stream, IT had to log in and out of multiple systems, making correlation across sites nearly impossible.

Testing and validation gap
DR testing was rare. Venues and edge sites have little or no downtime, so runbooks went untested. The first recovery attempt usually came during an outage, with poor results.

The Modern Model: Integrated Data Protection

upgrade Edge data protection

VergeOS eliminates the sprawl of point products by integrating protection directly into the same stack that delivers virtualization and storage. This changes protection from an add-on to a native capability and is clearly a way to upgrade Edge data protection.

Site virtualization
VMware virtualized servers. VergeOS virtualizes entire sites. Its Virtual Data Center (VDC) technology captures workloads, storage, and networking as one logical entity. A VDC can be migrated to the core, another site, or a new facility, enabling protection and mobility beyond VM portability. It also allows patch testing by cloning an entire site into a safe environment for updates and validation before production.

Built-in snapshots
Snapshots in VergeOS are instant, immutable, and policy-driven. They can be taken at the site, VDC, or VM level, with recovery just as granular. They impose no performance hit and avoid capacity sprawl, so they can be kept long enough to provide real protection.

Native replication
Replication is built in. It is lightweight, policy-based, and supports site-to-site, hub-and-spoke, or paired topologies—removing the need for SRM or third-party tools. Policies can be defined once and applied everywhere. Combined with VDC virtualization, recovery works the first time, bringing an entire site back online in a few clicks.

Policy-driven tiers
Different site types can be assigned different protection profiles. A ROBO might use nightly replication, a venue may require aggressive POS and video protection, and edge sites can run short-interval snapshots. Policies are defined centrally and enforced locally.

Cyber recovery isolation
VergeOS snapshots are read-only, and replicas can live in independent locations, giving IT true isolation. Clean copies can be launched for testing without impacting production, making cyber recovery a routine process.

Centralized fleet management
Policies, snapshots, replication, and compliance are visible in a single console. Upgrades can be staged regionally and rolled out live, even across hundreds of sites.

AI-aware protection
With VergeIQ GPU workloads at the edge can be protected just like VMs. VergeOS snapshots and replication cover models, embeddings, and inference data, allowing rollbacks, recovery, or moves alongside the rest of the site.

VMware vs. VergeOS Data Protection

CapabilityVMware / Legacy ApproachVergeOS Integrated Model
SnapshotsTied to vSAN/VMFS, performance hitInstant, immutable, no impact
ReplicationSRM or 3rd party, costly/complexNative, lightweight, policy-driven
BackupRequires separate appliancesBuilt-in to core platform
RecoveryManual runbooks, brittleConsistent object recovery, few clicks
Cyber RecoveryNot immutable, no isolationImmutable snapshots, isolated replicas
Fleet ManagementMany consoles, siloed telemetryOne pane across all sites

Edge Data Protection’s Impact on the Core

upgrade Edge data protection

Running the same software stack at the edge and in the core delivers consistency VMware never offered. VergeOS runs everywhere, so IT doesn’t need different tools for small sites and large clusters. Operations are predictable, upgrades are faster, and risk is reduced.

Replication from the edge to the core is straightforward. Sites arrive as complete Virtual Data Centers, making recovery as simple as starting a consistent object instead of piecing workloads together.

The core can host tenants by geography or business unit, define protection policies once, and push them everywhere. Fleet-level upgrades and policies can be staged regionally and applied without downtime.

Observability is unified. VergeOS provides a single telemetry stream, eliminating the need to chase logs across multiple products. IT sees protection status and compliance in one console.

The core becomes the foundation for AI. Models can be trained centrally, distributed to sites, and protected with the same snapshots and replication used for VMs.

With VergeOS, the edge and core operate as one system, running the same software with the same protection capabilities.

Conclusion

The Broadcom acquisition of VMware forces a choice. IT can either repeat the old model with another hypervisor and bolt-on tools, or take the opportunity to build something better.

Exiting VMware should not be a lateral move. It should be an upgrade. By integrating snapshots, replication, site virtualization, and fleet visibility, VergeOS replaces fragile point products with one platform. Protection becomes routine, recovery becomes reliable, and AI readiness is built in.

The VMware exit is more than just a cost issue—it is the chance to reset edge data protection and lay the foundation for the next decade.

Filed Under: Edge Computing Tagged With: , , ,

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To exit VMware, Topgolf is choosing VergeOS across more than 100 venues and its central data center. The company is replacing a mix of VMware software, vxRail hardware, and third-party backup with a single, integrated platform.

Each venue now runs a three-node VergeOS cluster. The infrastructure supports Kubernetes-based services, camera systems, real-time analytics, and venue-specific compliance workloads. VergeOS provides Topgolf with a repeatable design that runs consistently at every site, eliminating the need for multiple point products.

Why Topgolf Moved Away from VMware

The decision started with licensing. After Broadcom acquired VMware, Topgolf saw projected costs increase by 400%. Even with negotiation, the savings weren’t enough to rebuild trust in the platform. Changes to licensing terms, feature bundling, and support made future planning unpredictable.

Instead of waiting for more confusion, the team evaluated alternatives. VergeIO stood out for its simplicity and control. The team needed software they could operate without licensing constraints or hardware lock-in. VergeOS delivered that.

Migration Experience

Topgolf executes the migration to VergeOS with minimal disruption using ioMigrate. Each site follows a repeatable process that allows the team to move from VMware to VergeOS, perform upgrades, and validate functionality within a few hours.

One venue was scheduled for migration the night before an unplanned board visit. The site went live on VergeOS ahead of schedule. The following morning, the board meeting took place as planned—with no awareness that a complete platform transition had occurred the night before.

Topgolf is Choosing VergeOS

This confirmed that VergeOS could meet operational demands without requiring venue downtime. Based on this result, the team is proceeding confidently with phased rollouts across all other sites.

Every Topgolf venue runs independently. VergeOS handles all core infrastructure functions—virtualization, storage, networking, snapshots, replication, and more. Topgolf doesn’t rely on a WAN link or central controller to keep a location online. That matters when the business runs from 9 a.m. to midnight and can’t afford downtime.

Venue Deployment at Scale

The VergeOS deployment strategy includes more than 100 three-node clusters. Topgolf is replacing 6-node vxRail appliances and separate backup infrastructure with leaner 3-node configurations, utilizing standard Dell servers that offer improved performance and lower costs. VergeOS’s deduplication and resource efficiency allowed them to downsize nodes without sacrificing performance.

Operational Simplicity and Resilience

The IT team uses VergeOS Site Manager to control operations across all venues and their central data center. They organized deployments into three tenets—East, Central, and West—corresponding to the respective time zones. This design supports regional upgrades, backups, and disaster recovery without overlapping maintenance windows.

Topgolf is choosing VergeOS

For data protection, the company replaced Rubrik with VergeOS’s built-in data protection. VergeOS uses ioClone for snapshots, ioGuardian for data repair and enhanced resiliency, and ioReplicate for near real-time DR across tenants. These features are integrated into the core platform and do not require add-ons or separate licenses.

Topgolf leveraged ioMetrics and its Terraform provider to build automated recovery workflows using VergeOS’s API. If a venue loses power, the system shuts down workloads within 15 minutes. That entire sequence used to take up to 45 minutes of manual intervention per site. When power returns, VergeOS automatically restarts operations and posts a Slack notification to the operations team.

VergeOS Deduplication: A Fundamentally Different Approach

VergeOS’ Global Inline Deduplication is a stand-out capability for Topgolf, demonstrating unique capabilities versus competing solutions. It is fundamentally different from traditional solutions because deduplication is not an afterthought but a foundational component of the entire infrastructure. Rather than being a bolt-on feature, deduplication is an integral part of the storage fabric itself, utilizing the same metadata for both deduplication and file system management, resulting in negligible overhead. This integration enables customers to use it without impacting performance while enjoying one of the industry’s best deduplication ratios.

VergeOS’s Global Deduplication is set apart by its global scope and infrastructure awareness. The hypervisor and networking are fully aware of deduplication, allowing data across all components to be deduplicated once for the entire infrastructure, unlike traditional solutions that work at the storage layer. The global capabilities ensure that no data is sent over the WAN more than once, making it ideal for multi-site deployments while achieving 4:1 or greater deduplication ratios and providing unique benefits, such as ransomware detection through data pattern analysis.

Improvements to the Player Experience

Players don’t see infrastructure, but they notice when it fails. VergeOS has enabled Topgolf to reduce recovery times, eliminate disruptions during upgrades, and keep local applications online even when a fiber cut occurs.

Faster restarts and uninterrupted venue availability directly support a smoother guest experience. This becomes particularly critical when venues host events, run tournaments, or handle high guest volumes.

The team plans to use VergeIQ, VergeIO’s integrated AI platform, for real-time player analytics and swing classification. The infrastructure is in place with GPU-equipped nodes at the central data center. These capabilities will enable Topgolf to build new guest features without requiring data to be moved to the cloud.

Cost, Scale, and Control

Topgolf expects to achieve significant annual savings by eliminating VMware, Rubrik, and vXrail. But cost wasn’t the only goal. The VergeOS deployment provides them with better operational control, a consistent platform across locations, and the flexibility to run future workloads where they make the most sense—either on-site or in the core.

VergeOS provides Topgolf with a platform that aligns with their business model: repeatable, efficient, and capable of running anywhere.

Filed Under: VMwareExit Tagged With: , ,

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Advanced Data Resilience

An advanced data resilience strategy is crucial when evaluating alternatives to VMware. As organizations begin their research, they encounter many hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions. However, legitimate HCI performance and resilience concerns arise, leading many to hesitate about leaving familiar All-Flash Arrays (AFAs) and traditional three-tier architectures.

The VergeOS white paper, “Solving the HCI High-Performance Problem,” addresses these performance issues. This article focuses on advanced data resilience, detailing how VergeOS resolves common HCI resiliency limitations, enabling organizations to confidently transition away from traditional architectures and AFAs.

Executive Summary – Advanced Data Resilience

VergeOS provides a sophisticated and comprehensive advanced data resilience architecture designed to outperform traditional All-Flash Array (AFA) and Storage Area Network (SAN) solutions. Its multi-layered design includes synchronous replication, High Availability (HA) clustering, ioGuardian fault tolerance, and ioClone snapshot technology, ensuring continuous operations and superior resilience even during severe hardware failures. This technical brief details how VergeOS’s integrated solutions deliver exceptional reliability, backed by compelling real-world use cases and measurable customer outcomes.

Attend our upcoming webinar, How to Replace Your AFA, where we will cover all aspects of VMware and AFA replacement, including migration, performance, and data resiliency.

Advanced Data Resilience Foundation: Drive Protection

Architecture Overview

VergeOS implements synchronous replication to ensure immediate redundancy of data across all cluster nodes. Write operations are confirmed only after successfully synchronizing with all replicas, maintaining strict data consistency and preventing data loss, a significant advancement over traditional RAID systems. This replication occurs in real-time and utilizes global inline deduplication, minimizing storage overhead and network bandwidth requirements. Unlike traditional RAID controllers and external arrays, VergeOS’s replication mechanism efficiently mirrors only unique data segments, enhancing performance and simplifying storage management.

Operational Mechanics of Advanced Data Resilience

When a drive failure occurs, virtual machines (VMs) continue running without interruption on their original hosts. VergeOS employs advanced network protocols that transparently retrieve mirrored data from healthy cluster nodes, ensuring uninterrupted operations without performance degradation.

Advanced Data Resilience: Continuity

Failover Architecture

VergeOS’s HA clustering ensures that complete server node failures do not lead to service interruptions. In the event of a full node outage, affected virtual machines automatically migrate to healthy cluster nodes. This migration leverages already synchronized data replicas, ensuring immediate data availability and continuous service operation.

Advanced Data Resilience AND Rapid Recovery

Rigorous production environment testing demonstrates VergeOS’s capability to recover from a full server node failure within approximately 90 seconds, including a complete VM restart. Rapid recovery is achievable due to pre-existing data mirrors and streamlined failover mechanisms, outperforming traditional SAN and AFA systems, which typically experience longer downtime periods.

Intelligent Resource Orchestration

HA clustering in VergeOS features intelligent orchestration that selects the optimal target host based on current resource availability. This automated and dynamic resource allocation prevents contention, maintains high performance levels, and guarantees consistent service delivery during and after failover events.

Advanced Data Resilience: N+X Protection

Superior Multi-Fault Protection

ioGuardian technology sets VergeOS apart by maintaining continuous data access even when experiencing simultaneous failures across multiple drives and nodes. This advanced fault-tolerant mechanism surpasses the redundancy provided by traditional AFAs and competitive hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) platforms, ensuring superior reliability in catastrophic failure scenarios.

Continuous Operation in Extreme Scenarios Delivers Advanced Data Resilience

ioGuardian ensures continuous VM operation even during severe hardware failures. It creates an independent, third copy of data stored on a separate VergeOS server(s), external to the primary production environment. When the production environment experiences multiple simultaneous node or drive failures, the ioGuardian server provides data fragments to instantly reconstruct any required data in real-time. This capability enables uninterrupted VM access, eliminating downtime or noticeable degradation during extreme failure conditions.

Technical Implementation

The ioGuardian architecture includes an external VergeOS instance that stores an independent third-party data replica. Advanced algorithms within the primary VergeOS environment dynamically leverage this external copy. As long as at least one node remains active in the production cluster, ioGuardian reconstructs and delivers necessary data fragments instantly and transparently. This design ensures continuous VM availability and operational integrity, exceeding the fault tolerance capabilities of traditional AFAs or HCI solutions.

Advanced Data Resilience: Recovery

Storage-Layer Snapshots

VergeOS’s ioClone technology provides instant snapshot capabilities directly at the storage layer without impacting the performance of running applications. Unlike traditional snapshot approaches that rely on incremental data chains or external backup systems, ioClone provides immediate, independent, and reliable recovery points.

Space-Efficient Retention

Global inline deduplication enables ioClone to store snapshots efficiently, using minimal storage resources. This efficiency allows organizations to maintain unlimited snapshots over extended periods, addressing the retention challenges and storage constraints commonly associated with traditional snapshot technologies.

Granular and Rapid Recovery

ioClone facilitates recovery at multiple granular levels—individual files, full virtual machines, or entire Virtual Data Centers (VDCs). Recovery operations complete in seconds, dramatically enhancing operational agility and ensuring compliance with rigorous data protection and recovery requirements.

Advanced Data Resilience: Networking

Eliminating Data Locality Limitations

VergeOS uses an optimized internode networking protocol designed to accelerate data transfer between cluster nodes. Unlike traditional architectures dependent on data locality, VergeOS retrieves data across nodes rapidly and efficiently. VergeOS’s deduplication engine, as it is available to the entire infrastructure, reduces network traffic by 60-80%, thereby lowering bandwidth demands and maintaining optimal performance even during fault conditions. The combination of the network protocol and data efficiency is critical in high-performance and data-intensive environments.

Accelerating Synchronous Replication and ioGuardian

The optimized networking protocol powers VergeOS’s synchronous replication and ioGuardian technologies. Synchronous replication instantly mirrors data, thanks to fast communication between nodes. Similarly, ioGuardian leverages rapid cross-node data retrieval to reconstruct data fragments instantly, providing continuous access during severe failure scenarios.

Technical Advantages

The efficiency of VergeOS internode communication results in sub-millisecond latency during cross-node data access. Extensive testing demonstrates consistent performance that exceeds that of traditional SAN or HCI solutions. This capability enhances system responsiveness, reliability, and advanced data resilience, allowing IT teams to confidently eliminate data locality constraints from infrastructure design.

Conclusion

VergeOS’s integrated, multi-layered, advanced data resilience approach delivers superior data protection, operational resilience, and infrastructure simplification. By combining synchronous replication, High Availability clustering, ioGuardian fault tolerance, and ioClone snapshot capabilities, organizations can confidently transition from traditional AFA solutions, avoiding the AFA tax, to VergeOS. For a deeper dive into these topics, register for our “Data Availability Analysis” white paper.

Filed Under: Storage Tagged With: , , , ,