VMware has returned to the lower end of the virtualization market with a new offering labeled VMware Express. Unlike VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), VMware Express is distributed only through Broadcom’s partner network. Advertised as a solution for smaller environments requiring “essential” virtualization capabilities, the offering is effectively “VMware in a Box”.
Let’s take a look at what’s included, and what’s not.
VMware Express: What’s In the Box
As promised, the core virtualization tools are included:
- 128 CPU core license
- VMware ESXi Hypervisor: The core virtualization engine.
- vSphere vMotion: Live migration of running virtual machines with zero downtime.
- High Availability (HA): Automatic restart of virtual machines if a hardware failure occurs.
- vSphere Distributed Switch: Centralized network management across multiple hosts.
- Security & Patching: Support for TPM 2.0, vTPM 2.0, and vCenter Quick Patch
- VMware Product Support
What buyers need to understand is that VMware Express is a rigid, sealed box. There are no extra SKUs, no add-ons, no upsell. There’s nothing to upsell because there’s nothing you can add, and that rigidity shows up in more ways than one. A few other salient points
- The pricing is flat. It cannot scale up or down, so there is no discount for a lower core count.
- One license per customer; you cannot buy additional cores past 128
- No multi-site scaling
- No multi-year contracts available; customers are limited to a one-year term
There is also some fairly standard functionality that is specifically excluded from the Express offering that many would consider to be basic features for any enterprise virtualization solution.
VMware Express: What’s Not in the Box
- Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS): Administrators need to monitor resource consumption; VMs must be manually migrated to put a host in maintenance mode.
- NSX-style networking: While the distributed switch is included for layer-2 networking, microsegmentation, overlay networks, and advanced routing are not available.
- Operations and Automation: VCF Operations (vRealize), VCF Automation, and lifecycle automation like Proactive HA and ESX Live Patching are unavailable
- vSAN: Express is a compute-only hypervisor. Customers must use SAN/NAS or local storage.
You might be wondering what happens when you need functionality beyond the box, to match what you have today. VMware is being pretty open about this. “We have been listening to the market at the low end, and they want a basic core server virtualization platform,” said Prashanth Shenoy, VP of Product Marketing in Broadcom’s VMware Cloud Foundation. “This is tested for small implementations. We do not want a customer to run this on thousands of cores.”
Customers wanting more than the contents of the VMware Express box need to look at VVF or VCF. The Express product is designed exclusively for small virtualization implementations. Organizations needing intelligent resource automation, Kubernetes, and other capabilities would have to move up to VVF at a minimum. The same applies for expanding beyond the 128 core limit.
If this offering seems like an entrée into sales discussions with customers Broadcom has been attempting cut ties with, I’m inclined to agree. Customers who felt forced into a migration off VMware are now being offered a way to stay.But the reality is VMware Express is a severely limited solution that strips away many functions most VMware users count on. The one-year term also means no long-term protection from price increases.
The distribution method is also a first for VMware. Previously, products were available directly from VMware or from partners. As we all know, the partner program underwent a significant revamp last year and the number of qualified partners dropped dramatically. In the U.S. alone, the number of authorized partners went from over 4,500 down to just 19, with Broadcom suggesting that displaced organizations contract with the remaining partners to continue their VMware licensing. Industry data suggests that this hasn’t happened. Funneling VMware Express through these partners could be read as an effort to steer business to the remaining few after the hoped-for consolidation never materialized.
Why This Might Seem Attractive
Many organizations live in fear of a migration off VMware. Maintaining the status quo is always more comfortable. The question you need to ask is: is this what is best for my organization long term? It is not easy to move away from something you’ve trusted for years. VMware has been the backbone of countless IT environments, and organizations have invested heavily in its technology, training, and ecosystem.
But staying with something simply because it’s familiar isn’t necessarily the best business decision.
From our own customer stories and what we’re hearing across the market, the options on the other side are much better than many organizations realize. Customers no longer have to accept unpredictable licensing changes, oversized product bundles, or the uncertainty of wondering what their next renewal will look like. There are mature alternatives available today, and migrating doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch.
Migrations don’t have to be the onerous slog many industry veterans fear. Customers are already implementing phased migrations that go beyond reducing their VMware footprint. As organizations move off VMware they can reassess their workflows, simplify business processes, and standardize infrastructure. The results? Lower operational costs, reduced complexity, and greater transparency. The ability to scale and accommodate modern workloads can be built into the migration plan. VMware Express may even have a place in it, a semi-static cluster for legacy applications in a cost-controlled environment.
Moving off VMware doesn’t have to happen all at once. A phased migration gives organizations room to reassess workflows, simplify operations, and build infrastructure to suit both present and future needs. VMware Express may very well have a role in that transition for some organizations. But staying with VMware should be a deliberate business decision, with a clear understanding of the limitations and future risk. The question is whether the box fits your plans, or if you’re changing your plans to fit in the box.
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