Post-Broadcom VMware alternatives that Australian IT teams are already running in production. Proxmox VE for enterprise virtualisation, StarWind for software-defined storage — distributed locally through Cloud Ready Solutions.
Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware changed the economics of virtualisation overnight. Perpetual licences were eliminated. Products were bundled into subscription tiers that force organisations to pay for features they don’t use. Renewal quotes across Australia have doubled, tripled, or worse.
For many Australian organisations — particularly in government, education, and mid-market enterprise — the new pricing doesn’t make financial sense. But VMware has been the default for so long that IT teams often assume there isn’t a viable alternative.
There is. Proxmox VE runs the KVM hypervisor — the same technology that underpins AWS, Google Cloud, and most public cloud platforms. It supports live migration, high availability, software-defined storage with Ceph, and a web-based management interface. It’s not a science project. It’s production infrastructure.
Paired with StarWind’s software-defined storage for high-availability scenarios, Australian organisations can build a virtualisation stack that costs a fraction of VMware — without sacrificing the features that matter.
VMware renewal quotes have doubled or tripled after Broadcom acquisition
Perpetual licences eliminated — forced into subscription bundles you don't need
Feature restrictions in lower tiers that previously came standard
Vendor lock-in concerns with a single virtualisation provider
Renewal deadlines approaching with no acceptable pricing from Broadcom
VMware licensing changes aren’t temporary. The question for Australian IT teams isn’t whether to evaluate alternatives — it’s when.
Broadcom has restructured VMware licensing into bundled subscriptions. For many Australian organisations, this means paying for products they don't use. The old per-socket perpetual model isn't coming back — the question is whether to absorb the increase or move.
Proxmox VE runs KVM — the same hypervisor that powers AWS, Google Cloud, and most of the world's cloud infrastructure. It's not experimental. Australian councils, universities, and enterprises are running Proxmox in production today.
VMware VMs can be converted to Proxmox using standard V2V tools. The networking model is familiar, storage integration is flexible (local, NFS, Ceph, iSCSI), and the web UI is straightforward for VMware-experienced administrators.
Cloud Ready Solutions distributes two vendors that together replace VMware for the majority of Australian use cases.
Open-source enterprise virtualisation platform combining KVM hypervisor and LXC containers with a web-based management interface. No per-socket licensing fees, full feature set out of the box, and a migration path from VMware that Australian organisations are already using in production.
A complete virtualisation stack — hypervisor, storage, networking, and management — without per-socket licensing fees.
Enterprise virtualisation with KVM and LXC. Web-based management, clustering, live migration, and built-in backup.
Software-defined storage that mirrors data across nodes for fault tolerance. No SAN switches or proprietary hardware required.
A VMware-equivalent stack at a fraction of the cost. Suitable for production workloads from 3-node clusters to large deployments.
Australian IT teams evaluating VMware alternatives want to know: can Proxmox actually replace vSphere in production? The short answer is yes — for the majority of workloads. Proxmox supports live migration, high availability, Ceph storage, and VLAN networking out of the box.
The differences matter in specific scenarios. We’ve published detailed comparison guides so you can make an informed decision based on your actual requirements — not marketing claims.
We’re a distributor, not a professional services firm. Here’s how we help partners deliver virtualisation solutions to Australian organisations.
Access to Proxmox subscriptions and StarWind licensing through a single Australian distributor. Local procurement with AUD billing for both platforms.
Australian-based technical guidance for VMware-to-Proxmox migrations. Assistance with V2V conversion planning, storage architecture, and high-availability design.
Training on Proxmox deployment, StarWind HCI configuration, and building virtualisation practices. Resources for positioning VMware alternatives to end customers.
AUD billing with local payment terms. Transparent subscription pricing that makes it straightforward to quote VMware replacement projects with predictable costs.
Broadcom's licensing changes have made VMware significantly more expensive for many Australian organisations. If your renewal quote doubled or tripled, Proxmox and StarWind offer a production-ready path forward.
Managed service providers can offer virtualisation services without per-socket licensing overhead. Proxmox's open-source model and StarWind's software-defined storage create margin-friendly service offerings.
Government, healthcare, and financial services organisations that need to maintain control over their virtualisation stack without vendor lock-in or unpredictable licensing changes.
We’re not suggesting every organisation should migrate away from VMware. If you rely heavily on NSX, vSAN stretched clusters, or specific VMware ecosystem integrations (certain backup vendors, DRaaS platforms), the migration cost may outweigh the licensing savings. The right answer depends on your specific environment.
Cloud Ready Solutions can help partners assess whether Proxmox + StarWind is a fit for their customers’ workloads — and be honest when it isn’t.