VMware exit readiness
Decide what happens to every VMware workload before the renewal decides for you.
Broadcom's licensing changes have turned VMware renewals into deadlines. In three to four weeks we place every workload, compare the costs and work a dated plan back from your renewal date.
Who it is for
Organisations running VMware on-premises with a renewal in the next six to eighteen months, or a renewal quote that has changed the cost picture. It suits estates with a mix of general-purpose servers, latency-sensitive systems and workloads that have to stay on site.
What we examine
- Inventory and utilisation: what runs, what it uses, and what has been over-allocated
- Dependencies: which systems talk to which, so migration waves keep applications together
- Licence exposure: your current VMware position and the Microsoft licensing each option needs
- Hardware lifecycle: what is due for refresh, and what could host Azure Local
- Constraints: latency, data residency, plant and site systems, and applications with vendor support conditions
What you receive
- A disposition register: each workload placed in Azure, Azure Local, Azure VMware Solution for a defined period, another hypervisor, or retirement, with the reason
- Target architecture options for the platforms you will run
- A cost comparison across the options, including the cost of running two platforms during the move
- A dated migration plan worked back from your renewal date, with the decisions and lead times that set it
- Interim options if the date cannot be met, such as a shorter renewal or a bridge through Azure VMware Solution
What we need from you
- Read-only access to vCenter
- Your renewal date and any quote or licensing paperwork
- About three hours of your team's time across a kick-off, interviews and the readout
- An introduction to the owners of your most critical applications
How it runs
- Scoping: we confirm the estate in scope, the renewal date and the decisions the assessment has to support.
- Discovery: inventory, utilisation and dependency data collected over a representative period.
- Analysis: workloads placed, platforms designed at a high level and costs compared.
- Readout: the plan walked through with your leadership and technical team, then finalised.
What happens next
Your team can run the migration from the plan, or North Ark can deliver it as a VMware exit and Azure Local project and then operate the new platform under Managed Engineering.
Questions buyers ask
Do you recommend a particular platform?
No single platform suits every workload. The register places each one on its merits, and most estates end up split between public Azure, Azure Local and retirement.
Can you help negotiate with Broadcom?
We don't negotiate licences for you, but the assessment gives you the facts for that conversation: what you need to keep running, for how long, and on how many hosts.
Do you quote hardware for Azure Local?
We specify the nodes from Microsoft's validated catalogue and size them. You buy the hardware from your preferred OEM or distributor.
Our renewal is in three months. Is it too late?
Probably too late to move everything, but not too late to plan. The assessment will show which interim options reduce what you have to renew.
Can we use the results with another provider?
Yes. The register, plan and cost comparison are yours to use with anyone.
Start a conversation
Work back from the renewal date while there is still room.
Tell us when your VMware agreement ends.
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