Executive summary

Broadcom generated a lot of noise after acquiring VMware in late 2023. VMware client concerns range from price hikes to service disruptions, and many companies are struggling between weathering the storm or facing the daunting task of moving off VMware. Some organizations are taking a smarter approach to the latter option, leveraging software intelligence technology to migrate with speed, safety, and confidence.

The VMware Dilemma

According to a research study conducted by CloudBolt and Wakefield Research, 99% of VMware clients are concerned after VMware’s acquisition, with pricing the primary cause. More than 70% of survey respondents expect VMware prices to more than double, and 95% expect the move to cause major disruption to their operations. Broadcom is also shaking up their partner channel with controversial decisions such as preventing AWS and partners from reselling the VMWare Cloud on AWS service going forward.

Embarking on the perilous journey off VMware

Although some clients may take the perceived easier (albeit much more expensive) path of staying with VMware, many organizations plan to move their applications to an alternative solution such as cloud-based virtual machines, containers, or modernizing their applications to get off virtual machines altogether. This is easier said than done.

Many organizations have large portfolios comprising hundreds or thousands of custom software applications -- critical business systems underpinning enterprise operations that cannot afford any disruptions during a move. Many of these systems are incredibly complex, evolving over decades with limited documentation. They contain intricate dependencies and blockers in the application code that could dramatically slow down or prevent migration. Even worse, dependencies could break during the move if the blockers are not identified in advance. Then, there is also different treatment needed of applications deployed classically on VMware versus those dependent on VMware Tanzu, which are often containerized or often native to the VMware Tanzu platform services, further complicating the path forward. You can imagine why some organizations would be terrified to move off VMware and are choosing to stay.

Software intelligence for VMware departure

Software intelligence is insight into the inner workings of custom software to make informed decisions about reducing technical debt, improving resiliency, controlling open source risks, or modifying applications to migrate from an environment like VMware to an alternative. CAST is the pioneer in software intelligence technology. It makes products that understand custom software by automatically analyzing the source and producing fact-based insights. (See diagram below for more about how it works.)

One product called CAST Highlight has recently introduced a new capability available natively called the Portfolio Advisor for VMware Departure. The dashboard automatically builds a fact-based roadmap for migrating applications from VMware virtual machines to the ideal cloud-based alternative. It then recommends the optimal path for each application such as Cloud-based VMs, Containers, Rearchitecting, Rebuilding, or Retiring the application.

Finally, it enables instant drilldowns to each application to identify blockers to address before the move, including remediation recommendations and the estimated effort required. A simple example of one of these blockers would be if an application uses a hard-coded IP address in its code. This could break the application if moved without changing the pattern first. CAST Highlight identifies hundreds of these patterns automatically and provides guidance on how to address them so that the move can happen faster and safer.

Hundreds of organizations globally such as Wells Fargo, Telefonica, and the US Air Force are leveraging the intelligence produced by CAST Highlight to safely move applications to cloud based alternatives.

Learn more: https://learn.castsoftware.com/faster-application-migration-and-optimization-for-cloud