Moving off VMware after Broadcom: options for UAE organisations

What changed

Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware in November 2023. Since then VMware has ended the sale of perpetual licences, moved to subscriptions sold as a small number of bundles (VMware Cloud Foundation and vSphere Foundation among them), and cut back its partner and reseller network. Customers who used to buy only vSphere often found the renewal included products they did not need. Some also hit minimum core counts that raised the price for small hosts.

Add hardware that is reaching end of support and older vSphere versions that are out of general support, and many UAE organisations are making a platform decision they had not planned to make for years.

The options

1. Renew

Still valid, especially for large estates deeply tied to VMware tooling, or when the renewal date is too close to migrate safely. Negotiate term length: a one-year renewal buys time without locking you in.

2. Another HCI platform on premises

Hyperconverged platforms such as Sangfor HCI or Nutanix combine compute, storage and networking on standard servers with one management console. Closest in day-to-day feel to a vSphere cluster with vSAN, and they include migration tools for VMware virtual machines. Check hardware compatibility; some platforms can reuse recent servers.

3. Microsoft Hyper-V or Azure Local

Attractive for Windows-heavy estates already licensed with Windows Server Datacenter. Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI) adds Azure management. Licensing rules are detailed; model them properly before you decide.

4. Open source (Proxmox and others)

Low licence cost, capable platforms. The trade-off is support: make sure you have the skills in-house or a partner who will support it at 2am.

5. Hosted private cloud

Your virtual machines run on a provider's platform in the UAE and you pay monthly instead of buying hardware. Useful when hosts are due for replacement anyway or the server room is a risk. See our UAE private cloud hosting case study.

6. Public cloud

Some workloads belong in Azure or another public cloud: those with variable demand or already moving to SaaS. Lifting every VM into public cloud unchanged is rarely cheaper. Check data location requirements, especially for personal data under the UAE PDPL and any sector rules.

How to compare them

Criterion	What to ask
Five-year cost	Licences or subscriptions, hardware, support, migration, staff time, power and space.
Migration effort	Native VMware import tools? Downtime per VM? Special cases (large databases, appliances, Linux variants)?
Skills	Can your team run it? Is training available? Who supports it in the UAE?
Backup and DR	Does your backup tool support it? Can you replicate to a second site or cloud?
Application support	Will your ERP or line-of-business vendor support the new hypervisor?
Exit	How hard would it be to leave this platform in five years?

For a CFO, the decision usually comes down to two numbers: the five-year cost of each option, and the one-off migration cost and risk. Put both on one page.

Building the cost model

The renewal quote is only one line. A fair five-year comparison includes, for each option:

• Platform cost: subscription or licence per core, socket or node, over five years, with the renewal uplift you expect.
• Hardware: whether current hosts can be reused, and when they are due for replacement anyway.
• Operating system and database licences: Windows Server Datacenter and SQL Server licensing can change with the platform. Model it, do not assume.
• Backup and DR: new licences or a new tool if your current one does not support the target platform.
• Migration: partner fees, out-of-hours work, a short VMware renewal to overlap if needed.
• People: training, and the time your team spends running the platform.
• Exit: what it would cost to leave again.

Show the CFO a single table with these lines per option and the total, plus a short note on risk. That table usually settles the decision faster than any feature comparison.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the renewal quote before starting. By then there is no time to migrate.
• Moving every VM unchanged. Retire what nobody uses; move what is already becoming SaaS.
• Forgetting appliances: some vendor virtual appliances are only certified on VMware.
• Switching off VMware before backups on the new platform have been restored and tested.

A migration plan that keeps the business running

1. Inventory: hosts, VMs, storage, networks, licences and the renewal date.
2. Assess: sort VMs into move as-is, rebuild, retire or move to SaaS/cloud.
3. Design: size the new platform, network, backup and DR.
4. Pilot: move a few low-risk VMs, test performance, backups and restores.
5. Waves: migrate in groups outside working hours, each with a tested rollback. VMware stays up until each wave has run cleanly.
6. Decommission: switch off VMware, cancel subscriptions, update documentation and DR runbooks.

VMware exit checklist

• Renewal date and current licence position confirmed.
• Full VM inventory with owners and criticality.
• Five-year cost model for at least three options.
• Application vendors' support for the target platform confirmed.
• Backup and DR design for the new platform, tested.
• Pilot completed and signed off.
• Wave plan with downtime windows agreed with the business.
• Rollback plan for each wave.
• Staff trained, runbooks updated.

Where Missan helps

We are a Sangfor Gold Partner and run a UAE-based Sangfor HCI cluster for hosted private cloud, so we can offer on-premises HCI or hosted capacity, and we will tell you when Hyper-V or public cloud fits better. We do the inventory, the cost comparison, the migration in staged waves with a way back, and the backup and DR design, then support the platform from our Sharjah head office. Fixed quotes after a site survey. Start on our VMware alternatives page.

Related Missan services

• VMware alternatives in the UAE
• Sangfor private cloud and HCI
• Case study: UAE private cloud hosting
• Backup, disaster recovery and cloud

Frequently asked questions

What changed with VMware licensing after Broadcom?

After Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware in November 2023, VMware moved from perpetual licences to subscriptions sold in a small number of bundles, and reorganised its partner programme. Many customers reported that renewals cost more because they had to buy bundles that included products they did not use.

What are the main alternatives to VMware?

The common routes are another hyperconverged platform on premises (for example Sangfor HCI or Nutanix), Microsoft Hyper-V or Azure Local, open-source platforms such as Proxmox, hosted private cloud, or moving workloads to public cloud. Most organisations end up with a mix.

How long does a VMware migration take?

For a single cluster of 20 to 100 virtual machines, assessment and design take two to four weeks and migration another four to eight, run in waves outside working hours. Larger estates, or ones with complex networking, take longer. Start at least six months before your renewal date if you can.

Should we just renew for another year?

Sometimes that is the right call, especially if your renewal is weeks away. A short renewal buys time to migrate properly. Compare the cost of a one-year renewal against the cost and risk of a rushed migration.

Will our backup and DR still work after migration?

Only if you plan for it. Backup tools often depend on VMware APIs. Confirm your backup product supports the new platform, or design new backup and DR alongside the migration and test restores before you switch off VMware.

Which platform does Missan recommend?

We are a Sangfor Gold Partner and Sangfor HCI is often our recommendation for general UAE workloads, but not always. The assessment compares options against your workloads, skills and budget, and we will say when a different route fits better.

This guide is general information for planning, not legal or tax advice. Regulations and deadlines change; confirm the current position with the official source linked in the text and with your own advisers. Last reviewed 17/10/2026.