Many organisations have implemented Vmware and are happy with it. However, when it comes to the time to renew their Vmware support,  the cost may cause them to consider alternatives.  In this article I have provided pricing examples for the leading contenders.

The comparison is based on an estate of 10 x 2 CPU x86 servers including management tools and 3 year , 24 x 7 x 365 telephone support with licence to use updates (equivalent to Vmware Platinum Support).  The pricing is based on list price for commercial customers and does not take into account any discount for Academic or Non-profit organisations.

Microsoft doesn’t publish list pricing so the numbers are based on the indicative figures from the Microsoft Web site.  It is also worth pointing out that Microsoft Software Assurance is a 2 year agreement and doesn’t include any technical support.  This makes it difficult to do a like for like comparision. 

We have selected Citrix Xen Server Enterprise Edition as the most comparable product to Vmware Vsphere Enterprise Plus.  Citrix also offer a more expensive Platinum Edition which includes additional features such as Site Recovery, which is a chargeable option with Vsphere.

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualisation (RHEV) is available in one version and is priced per socket with 1 or 3 year support. We have priced for the 3 Year Premium subscription as a like for like comparison.

It is clear from the comparison that Vmware is the most expensive option by some distance.  Certainly, organisations who haven’t virtualised their servers should consider the alternatives as a way of saving money.  Citrix and Red Hat are the lowest in price and are certainly worthy of consideration.  Red Hat has recently introduced version 2.2 of their virtualisation platform with an improved management console and VDI support. 

Customers who have already invested in Vmware will see less price advantage in moving to another platform.  Renewing Vmware support is still more expensive that purchasing the Citrix or Red Hat products, but when you factor in the change and retraining costs, there is little to be gained.

Microsoft is promoting HyperV as the best alternative to Vmware and, with 2008 R2 now out, it is a very capable product.  It is certainly worthy of consideration in Windows only environments where there is the opportunity to negotiate volume discounts.  Even so, the cost of renewing software assurance every two years does keep running costs high, especially when technical support is an extra.

About the author:

Nigel Wright is Sales Director of Abtech UK, who are a UK based IT Reseller and Integrator.   Abtech holds partnership agreements with Red Hat, Vmware and Citrix and is able to advise on the suitability of these vendors in meeting customer needs.  Abtech’s software practice is backed up by a team of experienced consultants who hold accreditations from Red Hat, Vmware and Citrix.