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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. 

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VMware vSphere
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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
reviewer1672974 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems analyst at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy configuration, with easy installing that is scalable and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is good."
  • "I would like to see VDP and other features included to back up the VMs in a native manner."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for Datacenter consolidation and it is the infrastructure of our servers.

What is most valuable?

The interface is good.

It is easy to configure.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see VDP and other features included to back up the VMs in a native manner.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSphere for ten years.

We are working with VMware vSphere 6.5.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VMware vSphere is stable enough, but we have some issues with the storage vendor.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution. We don't have any issues with the scalability of VMware vSphere.

We have 5,000 users in our organization.

Before we consider increasing the usage, we have to consolidate Windows Datacenter by applying an HCI infrastructure.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good.

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

I am a customer of Dell Technologies as well as VMware.

Other products we work with are VDI, VMware Horizon Server, and vSphere with Operations Management.

I have been using Horizon for eight years. We are using version 7.

It has 100 user licenses, that are deployed on-premises.

I feel that Horizon is more flexible in increasing the number of desktop and network profiles.

I would rate Horizon a seven out of ten.

There are ways to implement VDI in the organization other than the VMware Horizon.

How was the initial setup?

In most cases, the initial setup is simple.

It took two months to deploy this solution.

We have a team of two or three to deploy this solution.

What about the implementation team?

We had help from resellers.

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

We don't have an active subscription. We have a prepaid or permanent license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have been researching vSAN and hyper-converged features.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate VMware vSphere an eight 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
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Chief Technology Officer at perfekt
MSP
Stable, scalable, easy to install and has good tech support
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is very simple."
  • "The integration with containers should be addressed."

What is our primary use case?

While we work with the latest version, we also support customers when it comes to backing up their older versions, meaning we work with a variety of different ones. 

Many of our customers have their core infrastructure on vSphere platforms. They make use of the solution for their virtual environments when it comes to their educational and healthcare institutions.

What is most valuable?

We consider the virtualization of CPU and storage resources to be a valuable feature.

What needs improvement?

The integration with containers should be addressed. While they have started to integrate with Tanzu, the integration is not that good at the moment. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSphere for 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

As the solution has been around for a while, it's quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is easy to scale. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We have take advantage of technical support. It is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple.

Its duration depends on how big the environment is. Huge ones may take several weeks for implementation, while smaller ones would take several days. 

What about the implementation team?

Once the solution is deployed, there is a need for specific maintenance, as there are security vulnerabilities which must be considered, or new features or versions that may be put out. 

We provide all the maintenance for the customers. As we also have services organizations, we manage some of these environments on the customers behalf.

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

As the vSphere platform allows for a variety of additions, it is quite good. There is enterprise plus, enterprise and standard, so the pricing is not too bad.

What other advice do I have?

The solution is mostly deployed on-premises, although we also have cloud deployments.

This product is suitable for a company of any size. 

The solution rates competitively against Nutanix and Microsoft. Overall, I feel it to be a pretty proven platform, although the underlying platform, or the management and features that surround it, are of secondary importance. BDI is the main focus. 

I rate VMware vSphere as an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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
Senior Infrastructure Solutions Specialist at Fiber Misr
Real User
Good virtualization and optimization in an easy to use solution
Pros and Cons
  • "Good virtualization and ability to optimize and deliver an automated and orchestrated cloud platform on-prem."
  • "Higher cost than other similar solutions."

What is our primary use case?

We deliver this solution to our customers and we partner with the vendor. I'm a senior infrastructure solution specialist. 

What is most valuable?

This is a straightforward solution, there's not much troubleshooting required and the work around it is quite simple. I particularly like the virtualization and the ability of the solution to optimize and deliver an automated and orchestrated cloud platform on-prem. They regularly surprise us with great features developed by a very, very sharp R&D team that delivers up-to-date technology with more features and more valuable ideas to enhance and automate the platform with data center.

What needs improvement?

If you're converting from any other virtualization system to VMware, you will note that the price is significantly higher. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for 10 years. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable to an unlimited number of hosts.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is very helpful. They don't deliver the troubleshooting directly, but they understand and collect the logs and provide the procedure to follow in order to reach a solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. VMware is a very, very easy system to implement and to administer, as long as you have at least some sort of experience. You don't need to be an expert but those who have a high-level knowledge of VMware can manage and deliver the crucial tasks. 

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

There are different licensing costs depending on whether you're using the standard or enterprise solution. A socket in the standard solution might cost $1,000 whereas it would cost $4,000 for the enterprise socket. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

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
reviewer1602309 - 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
reviewer1505493 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a educational organization with 11-50 employees
Real User
Easy to navigate, simple to scale, and works well right out of the box
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability of the solution is excellent."
  • "The licensing costs for the solution are quite high."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is a hypervisor. 

What is most valuable?

If you're looking at virtualization, it's probably the most stable virtualization platform that I have worked on. 

VMware offers one of the most stable if not the most stable virtualization hypervisor.

The solution makes navigation very easy. 

It makes migration very simple. 

There is a lot of very impressive innovation happening within the product right now.

The integration capabilities are excellent. 

We've found the product to be quite scalable.

The installation is quite straightforward.

You can do so much out of the box with their product, with their built-in technology. In vSphere, you can manage the hardware itself using the same platform.

What needs improvement?

The licensing costs for the solution are quite high.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about seven years now. It's been a good amount of time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is excellent. There aren't any bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very good. You can scale down or scale up provided you have the right licensing. 

There aren't users on the solution per se. Our IT team is mainly involved with it. That's it. We have three engineers that manage it.

I'm not sure if we will expand this product. It depends on what might happen next as one of the things that we will be embarking on is HCI technology. VMware came into HCI, however, there are multiple vendors such as Dell or HPE. It depends on how everything turns out in terms of the IT strategy. They're not that cheap.

How are customer service and technical support?

I personally have never had to ask for support from VMware's technical team. In the last six to seven years, I have never had to directly ask VMware for anything. Therefore, I can't speak to how knowledgeable or responsive they are.

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

Previously, we were using mainly the normal Windows hypervisor, Hyper-V. At my previous employer, we used to also have Xen hypervisor.

How was the initial setup?

The installation of the product is straightforward. It's really not too complex. All you do is install and click through. You put in your networking and you're done. Out of the box, it's great. However, if you do need to do some configurations, it can get a bit complex. 

I did not handle the installation process myself, and therefore can't speak to the actual amount of time it took to deploy.

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

One of the problems with the solution is the pricing. The licenses are not cheap.

We do pay a yearly licensing fee. Originally, it was a five-year package. Now we pay either every 12 or every 24 months.

If I have three hosts, just three hosts, a minimum of three hosts plus the vSphere and Center, I'm almost spending close to $250,000 a year. That's half a million in every two years inside just three hosts. In a serious medium enterprise where we would need at least 20 hosts, it means our annual fee or annual license cost could jump into the million-dollar range which means in three years you're spending three million alone on software.

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers and end-users. 

I would recommend the solution to other organizations, so long as they've got the money. If you don't have the money you probably want to look at things that are open source. It's not a one size fits all kind of product. I say this because of the licenses. The amount of money you spend on licenses annually might be less somewhere else. For a medium enterprise, if you want a cross-platform sort of initial hypervisor I would say yes, VMware is a good option. Of course, there's always something better than VMware as well. For example, Nutanix is way ahead if you are a big enterprise.

Overall, I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. If it was less expensive, it would basically be perfect.

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: June 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.