There are two versions of function more popular in our industry. One is the VMware solution, and one is Hyper-V. We choose VMware. We manage the VMware solutions with the vSphere. If you have a VMware solution, we have to use vSphere. However, if we choose Microsoft we have to use Microsoft management tools.
IT Manager at Cobantur
Easy to deploy and manage with pretty good reliability
Pros and Cons
- "The scalability has been good."
- "It is easy to deploy and manage backups for me, upgrades and restores are simple, the product is stable as well, and the scalability has been good."
- "The solution should be more secure."
- "The solution should be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It is easy to deploy and manage backups for me. That said, I've used it a long time and therefore am quite comfortable with it. Upgrades and restores are simple.
The product is stable as well.
The scalability has been good.
What needs improvement?
Technical support could be a bit better at assisting.
The solution should be more secure. Of course, it can depend on the deployment of your system on your side. Sometimes if the system is closed, you don't necessarily need more security. However, since we use different applications and tools, we must use different tools. We don't combine our security tools. However, we need to ensure that products like these are secure, and it would be ideal if more security was baked in.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about 14 years or so. It's been well over a decade. I've used it for a while now.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is very simple. You can improve or expand it as needed. It's not a problem at all if you want to expand it out.
vSphere is for managing an organization's solutions management software. The size is not based on the number of users. Only IT, those responsible for managing the system center, or the hardware, or software of the solutions really have access to the product.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support isn't ideal. They are slow to respond. We've had issues previously.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also have used Microsoft's Hyper-V solution.
How was the initial setup?
I find the solution, based on my long history with the product, very easy to set up. It's a pretty straightforward step-by-step process.
Typically, you just need one person to set it up. It only takes maybe an hour or so. Of course, the first time a person does an implementation, they might go slower.
We have two people on the system side and five people on the software side that are capable of working directly with the product.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself. I didn't need the help of any integrators or consultants. I'm capable of reinstalling it or doing a whole new setup as needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay a yearly licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
We're using version seven or thereabouts.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
I would recommend it to other users and companies.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Manager at KIRLOSKAR PNEUMATIC CO. LTD.
Built-in backup, effective backup and recovery features
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of VMware vSphere are backup and recovery."
- "When you spend on this solution you will get it back."
- "The setup is easy. However, the configuration expansion can be difficult. The full implementation took three to four days. This included the move from physical servers to virtual ones."
- "The solution is stable. However, sometimes it goes down, which can be time-consuming because it requires some complex scripts only the support team know."
What is our primary use case?
VMware vSphere is used for server virtualization. We are using Microsoft Active Directory, file, and Linux servers
How has it helped my organization?
The built-in backup and hyper-converged systems have helped our organization.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of VMware vSphere are backup and recovery.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. However, sometimes it goes down, which can be time-consuming because it requires some complex scripts only the support team know.
I am the only person doing the maintenance of this solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is scalable.
We have approximately 500 users using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support has been good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Microsoft previously and we have found VMware to be more mature.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is easy. However, the configuration expansion can be difficult. The full implementation took three to four days. This included the move from physical servers to virtual ones.
What about the implementation team?
We used a reseller for the implementation and had a good experience.
What was our ROI?
When you spend on this solution you will get it back.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay for the solution on an annual basis. There are no additional fees other than the standard license.
What other advice do I have?
It's quite stable, has good support available, and is a mature product.
I rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
April 2026
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
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Manager at TCX
It's more mature and reliable than competing solutions
Pros and Cons
- "Our customers opt for virtualization because it's cheaper and better than non-virtualized solutions. VMware is probably the best on the market now."
- "Our customers opt for virtualization because it's cheaper and better than non-virtualized solutions, and VMware is probably the best on the market now."
What is our primary use case?
We implement all the standard VMware data solutions. Typically, that's vSphere and sometimes DataCore, the other product we like. We use vSphere for the virtualization of data servers, and other common uses.
How has it helped my organization?
Our customers opt for virtualization because it's cheaper and better than non-virtualized solutions. VMware is probably the best on the market now.
For how long have I used the solution?
We're implementers and we started using vSphere when it was first released. We've been with VMware since the beginning. There was no ES6 at that time, only GS6 on Microsoft, so we started with Windows-based VMware. It's an old solution. We've been using it for a long time.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't encountered any limitations with vSphere's scalability. At the same time, we usually do not install huge server farms here in the Slovak Republic, so we only use VMware for small installations with a few host servers. I don't think we'll reach the limits of VMware's scalability since we only work with small organizations.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We tried Hyper-V a few years back, but there was a problem with the 2012 version of Hyper-V, so we prefer VMware because we know it works. However, I'm not sure about the newer versions of Hyper-V. I can only speak to our experiences with the older one. We weren't satisfied with the features, and the Microsoft code had bugs that they didn't repair those errors.
Overall, Hyper-V was a highly unstable solution at the time, so we decided to stick with VMware because it was much more reliable. Maybe Microsoft has improved Hyper-V since then. I can't say.
What other advice do I have?
I rate VMware vSphere nine out of 10. It does what we need it to do, and works fine. There aren't any additional features that we need at this time.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Senior Product Specialist at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Simple, easy to use and has a lot of features for the virtualized environment.
Pros and Cons
- "VMware vSphere helps us in not wasting resources like we did when we were using physical servers. It changed our whole environment."
- "VMware vSphere helps us in not wasting resources like we did when we were using physical servers; it changed our whole environment."
- "In terms of what could be improved, we do face some bugs when cloning the virtual machine - it fails sometimes."
- "In terms of what could be improved, we do face some bugs when cloning the virtual machine - it fails sometimes."
What is our primary use case?
VMware vSphere is the basic application for making the virtualization on our environment.
How has it helped my organization?
VMware vSphere helps us in not wasting resources like we did when we were using physical servers. It changed our whole environment.
What is most valuable?
The features that I have found most valuable are its vMotion and the other features that are basic in any product. Snapshot, Virtual switch, and VDS are very useful. Its features are so good and fit our needs.
What needs improvement?
In terms of what could be improved, we do face some bugs when cloning the virtual machine - it fails sometimes. Also, using the customization certification also fail sometimes. Sometimes powering-on the virtual machine fails. But we opened the ticket with VMware as we have the warranty.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Of course VMware vSphere is scalable.
In our 15 member team, all of us work on vSphere. We are all system operation engineers.
Overall, we just require two people for deployment and maintenance.
Of course we'll increase our license in the future. Our business needs to improve every time. So we'll use it extensively.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is so good. My friend works at the support team for VMware.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It is so easy.
The ISO file is available for everyone to download and there is a trial period so if you don't purchase this product, you can try it for free.
We increase our servers every year. So for one server, deployment takes about one hour or less to deploy a product.
There are many strategies to install the product using vCenter. We can make clones from the profile of the server itself so it could take less time.
What about the implementation team?
We deploy it ourselves.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did an overview on the Hyper-V, which is another solution. VMware vSphere was simpler and easier to use and had a lot of features. The Hyper-V must be installed on a Windows server which has a lot of vulnerabilities and it's not stable as VMware vSphere.
So after I did an overview I thought this solution is the best in the meantime.
What other advice do I have?
I don't need to give any advice - this product sells itself.
My recommendation to anyone considering VMware vSphere is that if you need to virtualize your environment, you will buy this solution for sure. But you have to have the servers before buying the license. You can first install it for free on a demo, or you can get the virtual environment to try the solution. But it doesn't need any advice, it is quite simple.
After working on this solution, I have joined the official course for vSphere and I took the certificate, so it allowed me to know all the features in this product.
On a scale of one to ten, not to be extreme, but I would give VMware vSphere a nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Freelance, Automation Project Administration, DCS, I&E at Centennial Cayman Corp Chile S.A
The connectivity is good, and many functions can run together in one server
Pros and Cons
- "The connectivity is fantastic, and many functions can run together in one server. If you need to scale, we can continue to add components or modules. It's a beautiful virtual solution that has many advantages over physical hardware, where you have to use devices and wiring to connect all your projects."
- "The connectivity is fantastic, and many functions can run together in one server."
- "I'm using vSphere at a high level. Sometimes, I find it challenging to integrate different networks, but I think it's just my lack of knowledge."
- "I'm using vSphere at a high level. Sometimes, I find it challenging to integrate different networks, but I think it's just my lack of knowledge."
What is our primary use case?
vSphere is for virtualizing some real computers, and then they can be used as hot spares. Sometimes you need to complement some functions or perform some work on them.
What is most valuable?
The connectivity is fantastic, and many functions can run together in one server. If you need to scale, we can continue to add components or modules. It's a beautiful virtual solution that has many advantages over physical hardware, where you have to use devices and wiring to connect all your projects.
What needs improvement?
I'm using vSphere at a high level. Sometimes, I find it challenging to integrate different networks, but I think it's just my lack of knowledge. For example, some companies have private internal networks, so we must connect to external networks, routers, or switches.
And the backups are something we have to integrate with one of them because they are just running with what they have. And I don't know why it wasn't considered from the beginning because they believe that they can back up the whole computer, but it's not a good solution. I have taken measures like exporting critical databases that I normally modify and figure out, but I would prefer a centralized system.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't had any problems with stability.
How are customer service and support?
I'm usually able to find solutions for my issues by logging into the blogs and searching for answers.
How was the initial setup?
When I first got involved with vSphere, I thought it was fantastic to use the default. Once it was deployed, I could check on the rail systems, and everything worked very well. The best thing is that the tests I run to understand the situation can also run parallel. So I found it all straightforward. However, primarily I'm working on a platform already built by the companies that provide them. I do some maintenance and modifications of the customer's applications. Setting up this solution isn't generally part of my job.
What other advice do I have?
I rate vSphere 10 out of 10. It's perfect. I know some people are very conservative and don't want to even mess with them, but I would argue that it's a way to avoid risking physical installations or making mistakes in real life. You can do all your testing virtually.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT Supervisor at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
It's stable and easy to scale
Pros and Cons
- "VMware vSphere is easy to scale. We haven't had any problems scaling what we're scaling now."
- "VMware vSphere is easy to scale, and we haven't had any problems scaling what we're scaling now."
- "We'd always like to see the price drop, but I realize that may not be realistic."
- "We'd always like to see the price drop, but I realize that may not be realistic."
What is our primary use case?
We use vSphere for production work on defense projects.
What needs improvement?
There's a lot of things they can improve on, but it's just a matter of where they are at in their development cycle right now. I wish they would have been able to handle Apple at this point, but they can't. So it's just one of those things. They've got features I'm still trying to understand. We haven't gone to containers yet, and I'm trying to find a use for a container.
For how long have I used the solution?
My company has been using vSphere for four years, but I've been using it since about 2003.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Everything has been stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is easy to scale. We haven't had any problems scaling what we're scaling now.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted VMware support in the past, but I haven't needed to in a couple of years. They got back to me. Once you actually get in the queue and they actually talk to you, you're fine. It took me 48 hours to get in the queue because it wasn't a life or death issue. It was just a question. I've called them for more urgent stuff before, and they picked right up and answered the questions. They got us back online within a few hours.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This department happens to run VMware. Other departments run VMware and also use Citrix for certain things. We're looking at running BDI rather than Citrix.
How was the initial setup?
It depends on how you're setting vSphere up and deploying it. They've added some products recently like vSAN and a few other things to the base loads. You have to know what you're doing with those, but it works beautifully if you're doing a standard deployment with general IP storage.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
On a government contract, everything's just a base price. You don't get much of a choice. We'd always like to see the price drop, but I realize that may not be realistic.
What other advice do I have?
I rate VMware vSphere nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Founder & Technology Advisor at EUC Solutions
Easy to set up and maintain, feature-rich, professional support
Pros and Cons
- "It is the number one virtualization-layer platform available, and a lot of people trust it."
- "VMware is a wonderful product and it will definitely provide you with the functionality to meet your technical requirements."
- "To manage it properly, you have to know this product really well."
- "To manage it properly, you have to know this product really well."
What is our primary use case?
The primary reason our customers use vSphere is to consolidate their workloads and realize the other benefits that virtualization provides. For example, they create HA or VM-level HA to facilitate DR.
Essentially, our clients use vSphere for all of the reasons that people use a virtualization layer.
I am a virtualization technician, doing software technology consulting for virtualization and VDI.
How has it helped my organization?
This is a solution that is normally very straightforward. It doesn't give you many surprises. It's very stable. However, one should have good knowledge when it comes to it because sometimes, you have to use the command line for troubleshooting. For unseen problems, you sometimes need to dig deep to troubleshoot.
What is most valuable?
vSphere is a robust and feature-rich virtualization platform. It is the number one virtualization-layer platform available, and a lot of people trust it.
Many other platforms now provide similar features but VMware was the first to provide enhanced recorders, DRS, fault tolerance, vMotion, and others. They pioneered these features and they are very stable.
VMware also provides software-defined storage, vSAN, which is built into the kernel. This is a plus point.
Other good features include DRS, HA, fault tolerance, vSAN, and vCenter is a very good management interface.
This platform is easy to maintain.
What needs improvement?
To manage it properly, you have to know this product really well. For the most part, it is very easy to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I began working with VMware vSphere in 2007 or 2008 when it was version 3.x.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is the most stable virtualization platform available.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In the three years that I have been running my consultancy, I've found that VMware is always part of a large project. Most of the time, I have had a good experience with it.
We have done multiple enterprise services projects using this solution. For example, we were working on a Horizon View PoC for a client.
vSphere is scalable; you just have to add to your cluster and it will increase. You can scale up or scale-out, like any other software. Basically, you can add to it as much as you want to.
I trust VMware products and I definitely want our installed base to increase. I want to enhance my own knowledge and skillset, as well. As we move forward and expand, I am equipping myself with more cloud knowledge and focusing on new technologies. One new product that I am looking at is Carbon Black. Throughout this, I will continue to promote VMware because they are a vendor that I trust.
How are customer service and support?
The VMware support is very professional. Most of the time we've used them, they were very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
As a technology consultant working for customers with varying requirements, I work with other virtualization platforms. Two of these are Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy and there is nothing difficult about it. Initially, some people get stuck when they are setting up the supporting services, like DNS, but other than that, the setup is plain and simple.
The length of time required for deployment depends on whether your disk is an SSD. If so, then the copying will be fast. Also, if you have more memory then it will install quicker.
Regardless of how it is set up, you have to build the basic infrastructure to put in most of your workloads. Sometimes, you manage an existing one but most of the time, we have to deploy a VMware infrastructure.
A single person can basically manage it, although this depends upon the deployment size. If it's a huge deployment, then it requires a good design and it requires proper planning. You need to know your capacity requirements, for example.
If you understand the environment and the design then maybe you can segregate the work into two or three people. Sometimes if it's a small project, a single person can do it. It all depends on the files and complexity of the solution you are providing to the customer.
What about the implementation team?
We deploy this product ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing model is not complex.
It is a perpetual licensing but there is also an annual maintenance cost. The price of the solution depends on the features that you want. You can have a very basic setup or you can choose a more advanced set of features. The more features that you want and the more extensive your requirement is, the more you have to pay.
What other advice do I have?
In Pakistan, for the most part, organizations are still catching up in terms of the cloud. There are no large data centers because cloud providers do not exist locally. Neither AWS nor Azure has a presence.
The closest data centers to us are Singapore and Dubai. As such, the cloud is not very popular yet and most of our customers have on-premises deployments. We do expect this to change.
My advice for anybody who is implementing this product, or any piece of software, is to have a reasonable level of knowledge in advance of the deployment. That is key in IT.
If you are a consultant, as opposed to an end-user, then you need to have a deep knowledge of the product because there are circumstances where you have to go beyond the normal configuration. Sometimes you have issues that can only be resolved if you are well-equipped with the knowledge.
I also recommend that people plan their deployment. VMware is a wonderful product and it will definitely provide you with the functionality to meet your technical requirements. You will be a very satisfied customer while using it, but the key is to know the product and plan things properly.
Overall, this is a good product and I do not feel that there is much missing. It is the best virtualization platform available.
I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
VMware Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Has valuable features for daily use and a straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
- "We have the possibility to move workloads to different locations."
- "Our organization has seen plenty of benefits from this solution."
- "There are some limitations with the solution regarding migrating."
- "There are some limitations with the solution regarding migrating."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for the solution right now is for a project regarding Telecom Italia. We are working with the telecom. It is mostly regarding the private cloud. The main reason for having all of these products and solutions altogether is to reach the cloud director and to have the private cloud for Telecom Italia.
How has it helped my organization?
Our organization has seen plenty of benefits from this solution. We have the possibility to move workloads to different locations. For the end-users and customers, it's beneficial because they can run whatever they want in a matter of minutes or hours instead of providing a data center for themselves and running whatever they need. Thanks to all the solutions altogether, it is possible to move the workload and it has high availability in different time zones and different regions.
What is most valuable?
There are plenty of features we have found valuable. It has multiple features that we are using every day during our jobs.
What needs improvement?
vSphere itself can handle lots of things, but I can say when it comes to other products, we have lots of other availability, lots of other visibilities with the data center that we have. The areas that could be improved are dependent on the project that we are working on and the use cases.
There are some limitations with the solution regarding migrating. For example, some features like EVC we have in vSphere, but still, it is not possible to migrate VM from Intel to AMD, or we still have some limitations even if we have EVC for VMs.
These are the features that maybe would be really useful for lots of customers that don't want to have downtime, and at the same time they want to be modernized, go through the new technologies now, cloud and everything.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware for seven years or so.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. With respect to the very traditional workload that we had, one server for one application, one physical server, I can say there are lots of improvements when we are using VMware itself. In the traditional way of doing the work, it was not possible to utilize the CPU, utilize the memory that you are using. But here, we have lots of options like over-commitment of CPU and memory. We can manage our workloads anytime.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is easily possible to scale the solution and upgrade depending on which products we are using on-premise. We can have a path to scale, to upgrade, to do everything.
How are customer service and support?
Usually when I had to utilize customer support for the solution, it was satisfying based on the priority of raising the ticket.
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment was straightforward, but again it depends on the use cases. For example, in one project we were working on the deployment and using automation from the customer themselves. They wrote their automation, and it was a little complex to match what they need based on their automation and how we could deploy the products for them.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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