UK-based Fintech cloud operator Beeks Group has chosen to migrate from VMware to the open-source Open Nebula platform, which counts another significant loss for Broadcom in the VMware space. This switching affects most of Beeks’ 20,000 virtual machines (VMs) and indicates increasing dissatisfaction with VMware under Broadcom’s management.

Beeks’ Motivation for Moving to OpenNebula

Beeks Group, which offers a range of virtual private servers and bare-metal solutions tailored for financial services, operates across 20+ data centers and manages over 3,000 bare-metal servers.

According to Matthew Cretney, Beeks’ Head of Production Management, the switch to OpenNebula was driven by several key factors:

1. Rising Costs: Broadcom’s licensing fee was ten times more than previous costs.
2. Customer Feedback: Clients no longer viewed VMware as essential, citing alternative solutions with equivalent or superior value.
3. Declining Support and Innovation: Beeks’ tech team observed minimized quality in VMware’s support services and a lack of meaningful innovation.

Moreover, Beeks found VMware’s infrastructure burdensome, requiring excessive resources to manage VMs rather than run client operations.

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Technical Challenges and Benefits of Beeks Migration

The migration to OpenNebula impersonated significant challenges, particularly because Beeks’ proprietary software relied heavily on VMware APIs. The development team had to rebuild these integrations to align with OpenNebula’s framework.

Metrics collection tools presented another difficulty. OpenNebula’s native capabilities for monitoring critical resources, i.e. CPU, disk, and memory, were insufficient for Beeks’ high-performance trading environment. Conversely, the open-source nature of OpenNebula enabled Beeks to customize and optimize these tools to meet its needs.

Despite the challenges, the results were impressive. Beeks achieved a 200% increase in VM efficiency, enabling more VMs per server and reducing operational costs for both the company and its clients.

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Migration of Notable Companies from VMware

Beeks’ decision aligns with a broader industry trend, as other notable companies like Geico, Computershare, Boyd Gaming, and John Deere have also migrated away from VMware. Common themes in these transitions include disappointment with Broadcom’s post-acquisition licensing terms and cost structures.

Though Broadcom continues to position VMware’s Cloud Foundation (VCF) as a comprehensive solution for large IT estates, Beeks’ experience highlights the appeal of more flexible, cost-effective alternatives like OpenNebula.

Wrap-up:

Despite the fact Beeks still offers VMware services for clients who prefer it, the majority of its operations now run on OpenNebula. This move serves as a case study for organizations evaluating their virtualization strategies as VMware contracts come up for renewal.

Broadcom’s challenge is clear: it must address concerns over cost and innovation to regain its customer base in an increasingly competitive virtualization market.