VMware to OpenShift Virtualization: What the Migration Actually Involves
Red Hat OpenShift, Red Hat’s enterprise Kubernetes platform, comes up more and more in VMware exit conversations, and increasingly it is large organisations asking, not just cloud native ones. The instinct to dismiss OpenShift unless you are running containers is wrong. Here is an honest walk through of what moving VMware workloads to OpenShift Virtualization really involves, the genuine pros and cons, and when it is the right call even if all you want to do is run your virtual machines.
OpenShift Virtualization runs your VMware virtual machines on Kubernetes, without you having to go cloud native. Red Hat’s Migration Toolkit for Virtualization converts the VMs, and a VM only edition lowers the cost. The hard parts are storage and network redesign, rebuilding backup and DR, and above all building platform skills. It suits large organisations making a long term platform bet, especially Red Hat estates. For a lean team that just wants a like for like hypervisor, a simpler alternative, or a renegotiated VMware renewal, may serve better.
C4C is an independent UK technology consultancy. We do not resell VMware licences. As a Red Hat and IBM partner we can also deliver OpenShift, and we say so plainly, which is why this guide is clear about where it fits less well. Often the right answer is to stay on VMware and renegotiate, which our guide to reducing your VMware renewal covers. When OpenShift genuinely wins, we plan and deliver the migration on the best commercials, so you are not left over a barrel at the next renewal. Ask us whether OpenShift fits.
Since Broadcom moved VMware to per core subscription and withdrew perpetual licences, a lot of organisations are looking at alternatives for the first time in a decade. Nutanix and Hyper V are the names that come up first, but OpenShift is climbing the list fast, especially in large enterprises that already run Red Hat and want a single strategic platform for the next ten years. This guide assumes you have already decided to evaluate leaving VMware. If you are still weighing that bigger question, start with should you leave VMware, and for the platform neutral mechanics of any migration read migrating off VMware alongside this. Here we focus on one destination and on the question people get wrong about it.
What is OpenShift Virtualization?
OpenShift is Red Hat's enterprise Kubernetes platform. The part that matters for a VMware exit is OpenShift Virtualization, which runs full virtual machines directly on that platform, managed next to containers through the same console and the same tooling. Under the bonnet it is built on KubeVirt, a mature open source project, and in practice it runs your VMs as first class workloads on Kubernetes, usually on bare metal servers. The pieces worth understanding before you plan anything are these.
Your VMs run on Kubernetes, but you do not have to think in Kubernetes to run them. This is the point most people miss. OpenShift Virtualization gives you a familiar VM experience, create, start, snapshot, migrate a machine, through a console and an interface designed for that, while Kubernetes does the orchestration underneath. You can genuinely run a fleet of ordinary Windows and Linux VMs on it without containerising a single application.
There is now a VM only edition. Red Hat launched OpenShift Virtualization Engine specifically for organisations that want the virtualisation capability without paying for the full application platform. It entitles only the components needed to run VMs, which lowers the cost and simplifies the story for a buyer whose immediate goal is to replace VMware, not to go cloud native. This SKU exists precisely because so many large organisations want exactly that.
Licensing is a per core subscription. OpenShift is licensed per core on a subscription, where each core subscription typically covers two physical cores. So, as with every VMware alternative, you are not escaping the subscription model itself, you are changing who you pay and what the platform gives you for it. The honest comparison is total cost over the term against a right sized VMware renewal, including the migration and any new bare metal, not a headline sticker price.
VMware sells you a hypervisor and a management stack. OpenShift sells you an enterprise platform that happens to run virtual machines extremely well, with the option to run containers on the very same footprint whenever you are ready. You are not just swapping a hypervisor. You are adopting a strategic platform, and the migration and the value both need to be judged on that wider basis.
Do you have to be cloud native to move to OpenShift?
The lazy take is that OpenShift is only for organisations doing containers and microservices, and that using it just to run VMs is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. In practice, a large and growing number of serious organisations are choosing OpenShift precisely to lift and shift their existing virtual machines, with no immediate intention of containerising anything, and for the right organisation that is a rational decision rather than a mistake.
The logic is strategic, not tactical. A big enterprise replacing VMware is making a platform choice it will live with for a decade. Choosing OpenShift means the platform that runs your VMs today is the same one that can run containers, AI workloads and modern applications tomorrow, on one operating model, one support relationship and one set of skills, rather than buying a pure virtualisation product now and a separate modernisation platform later. If your organisation already runs Red Hat Enterprise Linux widely, or is heading toward Kubernetes anyway, consolidating onto a single platform has real and defensible value. The VM only edition exists to make that first step affordable.
Running VMs on OpenShift without being cloud native is a legitimate strategy, not a misuse of the platform, and for a large organisation making a ten year bet it can be the smartest option on the table. The catch is that you are taking on a Kubernetes platform and the skills that come with it, so the value only lands if you actually intend to use the wider platform in time, or if the consolidation and the commercials stack up on their own. Buy it as a stepping stone or a strategic standard, not as the lightest possible way to keep running VMs.
What are the pros and cons of OpenShift versus VMware?
Set against VMware and against the other alternatives, this is where OpenShift genuinely stands out and where it asks something back.
- Pro, one platform for VMs and the future. The same platform runs your virtual machines now and your containerised and AI workloads later, which is a genuine consolidation most alternatives cannot match.
- Pro, a strong migration tool and a familiar VM experience. Red Hat's tooling automates the bulk conversion, and the day to day VM operations are designed to feel familiar rather than forcing everyone to learn Kubernetes.
- Pro, open source foundations and no hypervisor lock in of the VMware kind. Built on KubeVirt and Kubernetes, it avoids a single proprietary hypervisor and fits an open, portable direction of travel.
- Pro, natural fit for a Red Hat estate. If you already run Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Ansible, OpenShift extends a support relationship and a skill set you already have.
- Con, it is a Kubernetes platform. Even in VM only form, you are adopting OpenShift, and operating it well needs platform engineering skills your VMware team may not have yet. This is the single biggest thing to plan for.
- Con, storage and networking are redesigned, not repointed. Persistent storage moves to the Kubernetes CSI model and networking to OpenShift's model, so these are rebuilds rather than a copy of your existing vSphere setup.
- Con, best on bare metal. OpenShift Virtualization is happiest running directly on physical servers, so the move often pairs with a hardware decision rather than reusing a nested setup.
- Con, the ecosystem is younger for VMs. Backup, DR and third party integrations for OpenShift Virtualization are maturing quickly and are good, but the VMware ecosystem is still deeper and longer established.
How do you migrate VMware virtual machines to OpenShift?
The virtual machine cutover is the part everyone pictures, and it is rarely the hard part. The effort lives in the surrounding dependencies. Here is the honest sequence.
The tooling exists, and it is good
Red Hat provides the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization, installed from the OpenShift OperatorHub, which handles the bulk of the conversion from vSphere to OpenShift Virtualization. You connect the source and destination, map the networks and storage, and run a plan against a batch of VMs. It supports cold migration, where the VM is shut down while data copies, and warm migration, where most of the data copies while the machine keeps running and only a short cutover needs downtime. For standard server workloads this part is genuinely well trodden. The tool is rarely the constraint, with one qualification since August 2026: the toolkit strongly recommends a VDDK image, requires one for VMs on vSAN, and that kit is no longer a public download from Broadcom, so confirm with Red Hat how you will obtain it before the schedule depends on it. Our guide to the VDDK withdrawal and your migration routes sets out the detail, and its migration route finder compares the options for your estate. The bigger constraint is still everything that touches those virtual machines.
What moves easily
Stateless and loosely coupled workloads move with little drama. Web tiers, application servers, test and development estates, and most general purpose Windows and Linux virtual machines convert cleanly. If your estate is mostly this, the core migration is very manageable.
What does not move easily
The hard parts are the same ones that make any hypervisor exit hard, plus a few specific to a Kubernetes platform, and they deserve naming explicitly.
- Backup and disaster recovery interlock. Your backup tooling, replication and DR runbooks are written against VMware constructs. The major backup vendors now support OpenShift Virtualization, but support is not the same as a working, tested recovery, so you are rebuilding and revalidating your recovery position, not just repointing it.
- Storage redesign. Persistent storage on OpenShift uses the Kubernetes CSI model and needs shared, live migration capable storage underneath, often OpenShift Data Foundation or a supported array. This is a design exercise, not a lift of your existing datastores.
- Networking and security dependencies. Firewall rules, microsegmentation, load balancer integrations and any third party network virtualisation need to be reproduced on OpenShift's networking model. This is a redesign in places, not a copy.
- Application support statements. Some software vendors certify their product only on named hypervisors. It usually runs fine on OpenShift Virtualization, but if you need a formal support statement for a regulated or business critical application, confirm it before you migrate that workload, not after.
- Platform skills and operating model. Your monitoring, automation and day to day runbooks assume vCenter. The OpenShift console is capable and consistent, but there is a genuine reskill onto Kubernetes concepts and a rebuild of automation to account for. This is the cost people most often underestimate.
The virtual machines are the easy part. Storage redesign, DR coupling, network dependencies, application certification and above all the platform skills are where the real effort and the real risk sit. A VMware to OpenShift migration succeeds or fails on how well you plan those, and on being clear eyed that you are adopting a platform, not just a new place to run VMs.
Is OpenShift cheaper than VMware?
It can be at scale, and it is not automatic. OpenShift is a per core subscription, the VM only edition lowers the cost for organisations that only need virtualisation, and there is no separate proprietary hypervisor to pay for. Against that, the move often brings bare metal servers, a storage redesign and an investment in platform skills, as well as the migration project itself. Compare total cost over the term with a right sized VMware renewal, and be honest about whether you will use the wider platform. Send us your estate for a like for like comparison.
C4C assesses both sides before you commit: the full cost of staying against the full cost of moving to Nutanix, Microsoft Azure or Azure Local, Hyper-V, Proxmox or OpenShift, including migration services, running both platforms during the move, hardware, tooling and retraining, and the technical limits that could stop a workload moving, from application vendor support to the networking, storage and disaster recovery features you rely on. You get a clear recommendation: renegotiate and stay, move part of the estate, or move. We do not resell VMware licences. We do supply Nutanix and Veeam, and say so where they are in the running. Talk to us about a stay or migrate assessment.
When is OpenShift the right choice, and when is it not?
OpenShift is a strong platform, and it is the right answer for some estates and the wrong one for others. Being straight about both is the point.
Where it fits well
Strong candidates
Large organisations that already run Red Hat widely and want one strategic platform for VMs today and modern workloads tomorrow. Estates with a genuine, funded intent to modernise onto Kubernetes over time, where running the VMs there first is a sensible on ramp. Teams that value open source foundations and want to avoid a single proprietary hypervisor. Organisations facing a sharp VMware uplift that can pair the move with a bare metal refresh and are willing to invest in platform skills.
Where it fits less well
Think harder before committing
Small or lean teams that simply want the closest, lowest effort like for like VM replacement, where Nutanix or Hyper V is usually a gentler landing. Organisations with no appetite or budget to build Kubernetes platform skills. Estates where the only goal is the cheapest possible way to keep the current VMs running with no wider modernisation intent. Workloads with hard third party certification tied to a specific hypervisor.
That second column is not a dismissal. Plenty of organisations that are not cloud native today choose OpenShift on purpose, as covered above. The distinction is intent. OpenShift rewards those who mean to use the platform, and asks more than it gives back from those who only ever want a hypervisor.
What decides whether a move to OpenShift goes smoothly?
Beyond fit, a handful of practical things decide whether a move to OpenShift goes smoothly.
- Total cost over the term. OpenShift removes the VMware subscription but adds its own, plus likely bare metal and the migration project. The VM only edition helps, and the saving is real for many estates at scale, but it is not automatic. Model the full term cost against a properly right sized VMware renewal before treating it as a saving.
- Platform skills are the critical path. The technology works. The most common cause of a hard OpenShift adoption is underinvesting in the team that runs it. Budget for training or partner support from the start, not as an afterthought.
- Bare metal and storage decisions. Because OpenShift Virtualization is best on bare metal with shared CSI storage, the move often coincides with hardware and storage choices. If a refresh is due anyway, the economics improve. If your kit is mid life, factor that in.
- The parallel run. Do not collapse the old environment until the new one has proven itself through a real recovery test and a representative workload at scale. Rushing this is where migrations go wrong.
None of this is a reason not to choose OpenShift. For a large organisation making a long term platform bet, it is a genuinely compelling destination, and the ability to run VMs today and everything else tomorrow on one platform is something the pure virtualisation alternatives cannot offer. The point is to choose it on evidence, with the skills and the blockers mapped, and with clear eyes about what you are really adopting.
Weighing OpenShift against renewing VMware?
Send us your estate and your renewal position. We will give you an honest read on whether OpenShift fits, what the migration would really involve, how the total cost compares with a right sized VMware renewal, and whether a simpler alternative would serve you better. Independent advice first, delivery second.
How we are paid. For the work itself: a fixed fee, a share of the saving, or professional services such as an assessment or the migration. Never a margin on VMware licences. Where we supply a destination platform, we say so up front.
Prefer email? Reach us directly at hello@c4cgroup.co.uk.
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to be cloud native to move to OpenShift?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. OpenShift Virtualization runs full virtual machines with a familiar VM experience, and many large organisations adopt it purely to replace VMware with no immediate plan to containerise anything. Red Hat even offers a VM only edition for exactly that buyer. The reason it still makes sense is strategic: the platform that runs your VMs today can run containers and AI workloads tomorrow, on one operating model, when you are ready.
Is OpenShift Virtualization a like for like replacement for VMware?
It replaces the function, running virtual machines with live migration, snapshots and high availability, but it is a different platform underneath. Your VMs run on Kubernetes through OpenShift, with its own storage, networking and management models. Most mainstream workloads move cleanly, but it is a platform change rather than a drop in swap, so plan for storage and network redesign and a genuine team reskill onto the platform.
How do you actually migrate the virtual machines to OpenShift?
Red Hat provides the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization, installed from the OpenShift OperatorHub. You connect vSphere as the source, map the networks and storage, and run a migration plan against a batch of VMs. It supports cold migration, with the VM shut down while data copies, and warm migration, where most data copies live and only a short cutover needs downtime. For standard workloads this is well trodden. The harder work is rebuilding backup, DR, networking and storage around the machines.
What is OpenShift Virtualization Engine?
It is a VM focused edition of OpenShift that Red Hat created for organisations wanting the virtualisation capability without paying for the full application platform. It entitles only the components needed to run virtual machines, which lowers the cost and simplifies the offer for a buyer whose immediate goal is to replace VMware. It includes the migration tooling, and it exists precisely because so many enterprises want to run VMs on OpenShift as a first step rather than going cloud native on day one.
What is the hardest part of a VMware to OpenShift migration?
Not the virtual machine cutover. The effort and the risk sit in redesigning persistent storage onto the Kubernetes CSI model, rebuilding backup and DR, reproducing networking and firewall policy, confirming application support statements, and above all building the platform skills to run OpenShift well. The VMs convert easily with the migration tool. The platform adoption around them is what decides whether the project succeeds.
When is OpenShift the wrong choice?
When you are a small or lean team that just wants the closest, lowest effort VM replacement, where Nutanix or Hyper V usually lands more gently. When you have no appetite or budget to build Kubernetes platform skills. When the only goal is the cheapest way to keep the current VMs running with no wider modernisation intent, or when a critical application is certified only on a specific hypervisor. OpenShift is excellent for organisations that mean to use the platform, and more than they need for those who only ever want a hypervisor.
Is OpenShift cheaper than VMware?
It can be, particularly at scale and with the VM only edition, but it is not automatic. The move often brings bare metal servers, a storage redesign and an investment in platform skills alongside the migration itself. Compare total cost over the term against a right sized VMware renewal, and be honest about whether you will use the wider platform over time.
Can C4C deliver a VMware to OpenShift migration?
Yes. As a Red Hat and IBM partner we can plan and deliver an OpenShift Virtualization migration. We do not resell VMware licences, and we will still tell you when a simpler alternative, or a renegotiated VMware renewal, would serve you better.