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reviewer1681332 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Operations Support at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Stable, simple to scale, simple to operate, and has helpful support
Pros and Cons
  • "The virtualization this solution offer is very complete for the infrastructure."
  • "The support for the latest version could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use VMware vSphere on our main computer systems and we are using the Center Configuration Manager from VMware for the solution as well as vCenter for replication.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the tech manager from the utilization.

The virtualization this solution offers is very complete for the infrastructure. It meets our requirements and our needs.

It is very easy to operate.

What needs improvement?

The support for the latest version could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with VMware vSphere for ten years.

We began with version 4.0 and are now working with the most recent version.

Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VMware vSphere is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware vSphere is a scalable product.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support from VMware is very comprehensive and helpful.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We use several solutions such as Microsoft Azure, Oracle, and we use VMware for our infrastructure.

We also have another solution for disaster recovery.

We used Microsoft Azure for testing with the model phone credit. It was for testing only.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In my opinion, the price is not cheap, nor it is expensive. It's average.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Currently, we are starting on study for implementing the software design network, and I am evaluating options because I want to know the latest information about the products.

We are also evaluating NSX to implement it in the future.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
Senior Information Technology Consultant at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Stable, scalable, with good customer support and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
  • "I definitely like the stability, performance and ease-of-use."
  • "NSX is a product of VMware vSphere and it would be nice to see the solution have full integration capabilities with it."

What is our primary use case?

The solution acts as the basis for doing virtualization. 

What is most valuable?

I definitely like the stability, performance and ease-of-use. 

I have no issues with the solution's scalability or user-friendliness. I consider these to be perfect. We have had a fantastic, problem-free solution for the past 14 years when it comes to fault tolerance and disaster recovery. It has everything one needs. 

What needs improvement?

VMware vSphere has a limited scope and necessitates the adding of additional products. This involves further complexity and expense. NSX is a product of VMware vSphere and it would be nice to see the solution have full integration capabilities with it. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSphere since 2007. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is certainly scalable. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer support is nice. We are talking about a great organization, which offers much staff, support and white paper. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward, perfect. 

This process for the initial server lasts ten minutes. There is also the console, which involves two parts, one being the server itself. This is where the CD-ROM goes, something which is now on a USB key and does not involve the undertaking of any activity. 

Deployment lasts half a day, at which point everything is up and running. 

The real question is whether the person wishes to have one server or a hundred. The use of 200 machines will take longer. What I am talking about is small, basic installations. 

What about the implementation team?

If a person is trained, then he will be able handle the deployment and maintenance on his own. This is not complex. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Our customers incur a yearly licensing fee, one of three or five years, in fact. 

What other advice do I have?

We consider the solution to be obligatory. 

The solution's use can range from ten users to thousands. 

I would definitely recommend the solution to others. I am a big fan of it. 

I rate VMware vSphere as a twenty out of ten. I give it a perfect ten rating. 

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
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Head Tim Infrastructure, and IT Security at Lembaga Penjamin SImpanan
Real User
Helpful load balancing, reliable, and responsive technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most important feature is the ability to balance the servers with Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS). It is a very useful feature and should be mandatory for vSphere to have but it is only available in the enterprise edition. It should be available in all versions."
  • "We are provided with a mini dashboard that has been improved in the latest version but it still could be better. The monitoring is now available on the vCenter dashboard and the vROps has been added to the basic version that had to be purchased separately before. A complete dashboard has always been provided with some competitors, such as Nutanix."

What is our primary use case?

Previously, we were using the conventional physical server but we now use the enterprise version of VMware vSphere to virtualize all of our servers. All of the servers in our company are now virtualized servers. In 2016, we do not know that virtualized servers can be monitored, we have implemented monitoring for the virtualized systems and management allowing us to create DR for the solution.

What is most valuable?

The most important feature is the ability to balance the servers with Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS). It is a very useful feature and should be mandatory for vSphere to have but it is only available in the enterprise edition. It should be available in all versions.

What needs improvement?

We are provided with a mini dashboard that has been improved in the latest version but it still could be better. The monitoring is now available on the vCenter dashboard and the vROps has been added to the basic version that had to be purchased separately before. A complete dashboard has always been provided with some competitors, such as Nutanix.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for approximately seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is reliable.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have purchased the platinum technical support and they are responsive. They answer emails and telephone calls quickly.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used Hyper-V previously.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy but the security configuration is complex.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are on a perpetual license for VMware vSphere and the price can be expensive compared to other solutions, such as Hyper-V. They should lower their price.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Nutanix.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others. I advise those wanting to use the solution to test it out and compare it to competitors.

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.
PeerSpot user
Benjamin Hlophe - PeerSpot reviewer
Director Of Technology Operations at Kutleng Engineering Technologies
Real User
Top 20
Responsive support, reliable, and has a good remote management interface
Pros and Cons
  • "The virtualization, the remote management user interface, and the web console are most valuable."
  • "The biggest room for improvement would be just simplicity. It is very intuitive, but it needs somebody with a lot of IT background."

What is our primary use case?

It is largely for workload virtualization. 

How has it helped my organization?

Instead of having so many servers, we have got just two server nodes that are configured in high availability. We are running all our application servers, databases, and Linux and Windows systems on two servers. We've got about 12 virtual machines. If we didn't use VMware, we would have needed to buy 12 physical servers.

What is most valuable?

The virtualization, the remote management user interface, and the web console are most valuable.

What needs improvement?

The biggest room for improvement would be just simplicity. It is very intuitive, but it needs somebody with a lot of IT background. 

The way VMware manages storage is not the best. Nutanix manages storage a little bit differently, but we are not using Nutanix. VMware needs to find a way to manage storage properly. There should be storage aggregation and better management of storage.

We tried to install drivers for 100 Gigabit Ethernet Mellanox, and it was very difficult to put third-party hardware and upgrade the servers. We had to roll back because it just wouldn't boot.

Its price definitely should be improved. Its pricing is on the expensive side.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution since 2017.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We tried to plug in more hardware, but the drivers were not seamless. We are using the OEM version for HPE because we are using HPE. It could be because it is yet to work with HPE hardware. HPE hardware works with Mellanox, but it just couldn't take Mellanox. We downloaded the Mellanox drivers from their website, but it just couldn't boot, so we had to roll back.

We have three administrators. The number of users varies over time. We started with 24, and because of COVID, we've reduced the number of people who can work in the office to about five.

How are customer service and technical support?

They are very responsive.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is very straightforward. It is very easy to install.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

They can do better by giving better pricing. Their pricing is on the expensive side. As a matter of fact, we are considering switching to OpenStack.

We only work with perpetual licenses. As a company, we don't do subscriptions.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution any day. I would rate VMware vSphere a nine out of 10. It is excellent.

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.
PeerSpot user
Technical Account Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Simple to manage, user-friendly, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is user-friendly and easy to manage."
  • "The installation can take a long time, they need to improve on the simplicity and length of the installation."

What is our primary use case?

This solution is used as a virtual and a clustered environment. We provide a minimum of two central storage server clusters and the maximum we have is for approximately four server clusters. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is user-friendly and easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

The solution could improve by providing better information on what other products it is compatible with. For example, we have customers that do not like AMD Chipsets used with VMware but it is not a technical issue, they need to bring more awareness. 

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?

I have found the stability to be good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

we have approximately 50 customers using the solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

The customer service is good.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward because it comes with the appliance, you only have to deploy the appliance. The installation can take a long time, they need to improve on the simplicity and length of the installation.

All the customers who have the VMware have the vSphere because there is no single installation.

What about the implementation team?

We have five technicians for the installation and maintenance of the solutuion.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is a perpetual license for this solution and the support is a yearly subscription.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others. If you use VMware, then you need to use vSphere to manage the clusters.

I rate VMware vSphere 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
PeerSpot user
it_user1602309 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Scalable with a straightforward setup and good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "Technical support is quite good and very responsive."
  • "The cost could always be lower."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the product as a server. Most of the work we do for our clients. 

What is most valuable?

The product works very well for us. Over the last decade, it's been extremely dependable. 

The initial setup is very straightforward. 

The stability has been very good.

Technical support is quite good and very responsive. 

The solution can scale well.

What needs improvement?

The product meets our needs pretty well. I can't recall noticing any missing features. It's pretty complete. 

Our hopes are that it continuously keeps improving.

The cost could always be lower. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about ten years or so. It's been about a decade. We've had it a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's extremely reliable and the performance has been good. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is very, very scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so without any issues. 

Our clients have users that vary anywhere from hundreds to thousands. Quite a few people are on it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've dealt with technical support in the past and I would rate them very highly. They are helpful and responsive. They get us answers. We're quite satisfied with the level of support we receive. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't previously use a different solution. We've basically used this product since day one. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You can save quite a bit using this solution. 

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers and end-users. We don't have any business relationship with VMware.

We use the latest version of the solution. I can't speak to the exact version number.

We're very happy with the solution overall. I'd rate it at a nine out of ten.

Using this product is a no-brainer. It's a really easy product to use. If you're looking at simply a VM or anything similar or anything cloud-based, it's pretty much exactly what you need. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Useful Auto Deploy, scalable, and always updating for improvements
Pros and Cons
  • "The most useful features are ESXi, DRS, Auto Deploy, and the Lifecycle Manager."
  • "We would like to see the container-based operating system launched soon for this solution."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for network virtualization.

What is most valuable?

The most useful features are ESXi, DRS, Auto Deploy, and the Lifecycle Manager.

What needs improvement?

We would like to see the container-based operating system launched soon for this solution.

In a future release, multi-cloud capability should be simplified and easy to handle for administrators. For example, if I have a private cloud and public cloud and we have a feature to run VMware between these two, currently there is some complexity. We are hoping this can improve to allow us to run the workload anywhere.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had some minor issues with stability in the past that has now have been resolved. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The architecture has been redefined and the scalability is good. In the previous editions, we had boot failing issues but they have resolved them and introduced a new model of high availability in vSphere for vCenter. Scalable is just a single click and is very easy.

How are customer service and technical support?

We were having some network glitches and some other issues known by VMware, they were all resolved through provided patches. Now everything is working fine.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have also been working with AWS and Azure. We normally recommend VMware solutions for private cloud, and for public cloud, AWS or Azure. However, VMware is also having capabilities on AWS and Azure which we recommend.

How was the initial setup?

The setup of this solution is very easy now, it was a bit difficult before and now has been simplified.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

When comparing the price of VMware solutions to other vendors, such as Nutanix, they are costly.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have compared this solution to Nutanix.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to small to large-scale enterprises companies wanting to move to virtualization, vSphere is highly recommended for effective cost savings. The future is in virtualization, the industries are moving in that direction. Everything is in virtualization, such as networks, storage, and desktop applications. We can reduce the data center space, power cooling, and hardware lifecycle. However, the licensing costs are expensive.

I rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior Oracle Database Administrator at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Is user-friendly, easy to install, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "It's much more stable than other products. It is scalable and easy to implement as well."
  • "VMware vSphere does not permit hard partitioning."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for vSphere is that it can be used to deploy space applications to consolidate environments. You can be in production or in a data center, and you want each application to perform or to run only on a particular server. To create that consolidation and that separation of services, you could deploy vSphere.

Nowadays, servers are very robust. You can have a server of 18 cores and a server of 75 terabytes or 100 terabytes. That's a huge investment for a company, and you cannot just deploy a single application. So, with vSphere it will permit you to deploy the hypervessel on that server and later on add servers little by little that can meet your needs.

What is most valuable?

In terms of the usability, it's user-friendly; VMware vSphere is much simpler as compared to Oracle. Even a French-speaking citizen or foreigner can easily implement it.

It's much more stable than other products. It is scalable and easy to implement as well.

What needs improvement?

It would be good if VMware vSphere could permit hard partitioning. If a company wants to purchase very expensive applications such as Oracle E-Business Suite or Oracle Fusion and they have vSphere technology implemented in their data center, it will cost them a lot because it has a very heavy, strong, or robust server that has strong processing capacity. The license will not cost the license of vSphere, the virtual server created by vSphere. The license will be the license for the whole server, so it creates a lot of challenges.

If it's possible for virtual hard partitioning to be implemented so that those who are using very sophisticated applications like E-Business Suite and other applications that require licensing on a processor, a virtual processor, could benefit from it, then it would be great. That is, integration with more expensive platforms is needed.

It would be nice to pay once for an unlimited license. If you decide to quit later on, you could pay the support charges.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using VMware vSphere for about two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's much more stable than other products.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's very scalable because you can create a cluster. You can add a cluster and add another server in the nodes or in the cluster which you have created.

How was the initial setup?

It's user-friendly, and it's really easy for a beginner to install. Now, there are appliances that you can deploy directly. So, I think it's very easy compared to that of others in the market. I have deployed it in large environments and even a test environment.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think the licensing cost depends on the number of users.

What other advice do I have?

VMware vSphere is user-friendly and easy to implement, so I will recommend it. I would rate it at eight on a scale from one to 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.