COMMENTARY: VMware migrations are more complicated at remote sites, where hardware is limited, IT support may be offsite and downtime can stop sales, production or essential services. MSPs and channel partners can help by moving customers in phases, testing less critical workloads first and matching each location to the right platform and hardware plan. The goal is not just to leave VMware, but to do it without creating a new set of operational problems.
Since
Broadcom acquired VMware in 2023, many organizations have had to take a harder look at their infrastructure strategy. For years, VMware was treated as the default choice for virtualization. It remains dependable, widely understood, and has historically been deeply embedded across businesses of all sizes. But as licensing, cost, and support expectations have become less predictable, organizations are asking a more difficult question: how do we make a change at our remote locations without adding more risk to already complex IT environments?
For many companies, the current focus is on finding an alternative platform. That decision matters, but it does not solve the migration challenge on its own. IT teams still need to determine what moves first, what can wait, and how much downtime the business can tolerate.
VMware migration is a big planning challenge
The planning challenge is bigger than switching technologies. Organizations reevaluating VMware are looking for more control over cost, operational risk, and long-term flexibility. A decision that is not well thought out may solve the immediate VMware cost problem, but it can also create new issues that become difficult to deal with later.
That risk becomes harder to manage when an organization is supporting a mix of IT environments (data centers and varying distributed locations). A data center and a remote site do not operate the same way, which means, in the majority of cases, that they should not follow the same migration plan. Data centers have IT staff, more hardware, and flexible maintenance windows. Branch offices, retail stores, factories, civil industrial facilities, and clinics often have smaller hardware footprints and little or no on-site IT support.
These may be smaller locations, but they run critical systems that keep businesses operating. A retail store needs point-of-sale systems available. A factory depends on systems tied to production. A city needs traffic light systems to be operational. Staffing, hardware and downtime limitations need to shape migration planning from the beginning.
The role of channel partners
Organizations should not have to make these decisions alone. VMware migration is difficult to plan when so much of the business has relied on one platform for years. Channel partners can help customers work through to a strategy that is realistic and aligned to how the business actually operates.
MSPs, resellers, and VARs understand their customers’ environment because they are close to the day-to-day realities of the business. They can help identify which systems should move first and how much downtime each site can tolerate. They can also assess hardware, support, and management needs, including where existing infrastructure can stay in place and where changes are required.
Partners are strategic advisors. Their value comes from helping customers understand the full impact of each decision before the work begins, then guiding the migration in a way that protects continuity and avoids unnecessary disruption. Done well, the move away from VMware does not have to be risky. The path forward for the IT teams should be manageable.
Reducing risk starts with a practical plan
CloudBolt research found that
86% of surveyed companies are actively reducing their VMware footprint, showing that many organizations are already moving from evaluation to action. One of the most important pieces of advice channel partners can give customers is that VMware migration does not need to happen all at once. A phased approach lets organizations start small, learn quickly, and reduce risk as they move forward.
For example, a retailer with a data center and hundreds of stores may not want to begin with its busiest locations or point-of-sale systems. It may be safer to start with a smaller store, a less critical workload, or a location where the IT team can provide closer support, should it be needed. That first phase can prove operationally how long the migration takes, where support issues appear, and what needs to change before more critical sites are moved.
Hardware should be part of the migration conversation from the beginning. Moving away from VMware should not automatically mean replacing infrastructure that still has useful life, especially when many organizations are
facing hardware cost pressure and supply uncertainty. Partners can help customers look site by site at what can stay in place, what needs to change, and where new hardware is actually required. Extending the life of current systems can reduce cost and risk while giving the business more room to make the right long-term decisions.
That same evaluation should apply to the next platform. VMware migration should help customers gain more control, rather than move them into another model that creates new constraints. The replacement platform matters, but customers also need to understand how it will support different parts of the business, from the data center to edge and branch locations. They need to know whether it can adapt as costs, workloads, and operational needs change.
Service providers and channel partners should continue pushing for clarity. Vendor transparency, support quality, and roadmap stability should all be part of the evaluation. Partners should also ask for proof around reliability, migration support, and customer outcomes, especially when customers are moving systems that keep daily operations running.
A successful VMware migration should do more than move customers from one platform to another. It should protect operational availability and performance, preserve flexibility, and reflect how the business actually operates across every location. Service providers are in a strong position to help customers make that shift with less disruption, clearer planning, and a better understanding of what comes next.
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