Many businesses rely on VMware environments for their on-premise infrastructure. Broadcom’s recent acquisition of VMware has led many organisations to redefine their VMware strategy with Google Cloud. Google Cloud offers a compelling solution: Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE). GCVE enhances your existing VMware investments and guarantees a more cost-effective solution, with, for example, pay-as-you-go guaranteed pricing options (until 2028).
It also allows you to seamlessly migrate your existing VMware workloads to the cloud, leveraging the scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness of Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In this article, you’ll discover how to redefine your VMware strategy with Google Cloud and partner Devoteam.
Challenges of traditional on-premise VMware environments
While VMware has long been a dominant player in the virtualisation landscape, many businesses find their on-premise VMware environments increasingly burdensome and challenging to maintain, especially given how fast the IT landscape is evolving. These challenges can act as roadblocks to innovation and business agility.
The pain point of the recent acquisition by Broadcom
Let’s delve deeper into the specific hurdles your business can encounter when managing traditional on-premise VMware deployments:
- Complexity: On-premise VMware environments can sprawl over time, becoming intricate and difficult to manage. This complexity requires a deep pool of skilled IT professionals to maintain and troubleshoot issues. Finding and retaining these skilled resources can be expensive and time-consuming.
- Costs: The true cost of ownership for on-premise VMware environments extends far beyond initial software licensing fees. Businesses must factor in the cost of physical hardware, power consumption, cooling systems, and ongoing maintenance. As hardware ages, the need for upgrades adds another layer of expense.
- Security: The security landscape is evolving rapidly, and on-premise environments require vigilant attention to prevent potential threats. Patching vulnerabilities, implementing robust access controls, and maintaining a secure network perimeter all add to the workload for IT security teams.
- Vendor lock-in: With on-premise VMware, businesses can become locked into specific vendor licensing models. Unpredictable licensing changes or limited flexibility to move to alternative solutions can create challenges for IT budgets and long-term strategic planning.
- Limited scalability: Scaling on-premise VMware environments to meet changing business demands can be slow and cumbersome. Provisioning additional hardware or software licences can take time and resources, hindering your ability to respond quickly to business growth or fluctuations.
5 Benefits of redefining your VMware strategy with Google Cloud
Migrating your on-premise VMware workloads to Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) offers a compelling path to overcome the limitations of traditional deployments. GCVE delivers a robust cloud-based solution that unlocks significant advantages in terms of cost, security, agility, and future-proofing your IT infrastructure. Let’s explore the key benefits of redefining your VMware strategy with Google Cloud:
1. Simplified management and cost reduction
GCVE eliminates the need for your IT team to manage the underlying hardware infrastructure. Google handles physical security, power, cooling, and ongoing maintenance, freeing your IT staff to focus on higher-level tasks and strategic initiatives. Additionally, Google’s pay-as-you-go pricing model eliminates the upfront capital expenditure required for on-premise hardware and software licences, translating to immediate cost savings.
2. Enhanced security and compliance
Google Cloud boasts a world-class security infrastructure constantly monitored and updated to combat evolving threats. By leveraging GCVE, you benefit from Google’s security expertise and can reduce your workload associated with patching vulnerabilities and maintaining a secure on-premise environment. Additionally, Google Cloud adheres to rigorous compliance certifications, giving you peace of mind that your data is protected and meets regulatory requirements.
3. Predictable pricing and scalability on demand
GCVE offers predictable, pay-as-you-go pricing with guaranteed pricing options (until 2028), allowing for better budgeting and cost control. Elasticity is a core principle of cloud computing, and GCVE allows you to easily scale your resources up or down to meet fluctuating business demands. This eliminates the need for over-provisioning resources on-premise, leading to more efficient use of your IT budget.
4. A springboard for modernisation
GCVE provides a seamless platform for integrating your existing VMware workloads with a vast array of innovative Google Cloud services. These services include BigQuery for data analytics, AI and Machine Learning tools for automation and data insights, and Apigee for API management. This opens doors for new possibilities to modernise your applications and unlock the full potential of your data.
5. Future-proofing your IT infrastructure
Migrating to GCVE ensures you leverage a cutting-edge, future-proof technology platform. Google Cloud constantly innovates and invests in its infrastructure, ensuring your IT environment stays ahead of the curve. This lets you focus on core business initiatives while Google handles the underlying technology.
74% Increase of flexibility and scalability using GCVE
A streamlined migration journey
Transitioning your on-premise VMware environment to Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) doesn’t have to be complex or daunting. Google Cloud and its trusted partners, like multiple awarded Google Cloud partner Devoteam, offer a structured and collaborative approach to ensure a smooth and efficient migration journey.
Here’s a breakdown of the key steps involved in Devoteam’s approach:
- Assessment: The first critical step is to assess your current VMware environment. Devoteam’s certified Google Cloud experts will work with you to analyse your workloads, identify dependencies, and assess compatibility with GCVE. This initial evaluation lays the groundwork for a successful migration strategy.
- Planning and strategy development: Once you have a clear understanding of your environment, the next step is crafting a detailed migration plan. This plan outlines the specific migration approach, timelines, and resource allocation required for a seamless transition. Google Cloud will collaborate with you to define success metrics and ensure the plan aligns with your business objectives.
- Migration execution: Once your goals are set, Devoteam leverages its expertise and migration tools to move your workloads to GCVE. The process minimises disruption to your ongoing operations, ensuring business continuity throughout the migration. HCX migration is secured and easily reversible in just a few clicks!
- Optimisation and support: Following a successful migration, Google Cloud partner Devoteam doesn’t just leave you there. The focus then shifts to optimising your environment within GCVE to take full advantage of the platform’s capabilities. This may involve workload optimisation for performance and cost efficiency. And even integrating your migrated workloads with other GCP services to unlock new functionalities. Devoteam offers ongoing support to ensure you maximise the benefits of your cloud investment. And the best news? Once you’re in the Cloud, you can unlock other innovations to prove value to your business, like AI.
Customer story: WESSLING optimises operations with Google Cloud VMware Engine
Migrating to Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) isn’t just about theoretical benefits. It also delivers tangible results for businesses across various industries. Let’s take a closer look at the success story of WESSLING, a leading environmental laboratory company based in Germany.
Mathieu Noirault, IT Service Manager at WESSLING, shared their experience and the key factors that drove their decision to move to GCVE:
- Modernisation imperative: WESSLING faced the challenge of ageing on-premise infrastructure that required significant upgrades to maintain performance and security. GCVE offered a path to modernise its IT environment and leverage the scalability and cost-effectiveness of the cloud.
- Cloud-native advantages: The company recognised the potential benefits of cloud computing. Particularly the ability to scale resources dynamically based on their needs. GCVE provided a familiar VMware environment within the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In this way allowing them to integrate their existing workloads with the broader cloud ecosystem seamlessly.
- Building on existing expertise: WESSLING already had experience using Google Workspace products. Thus fostering a sense of trust and familiarity with Google Cloud’s services. They saw GCVE as a natural extension of their existing Google Cloud relationship.
By migrating to GCVE with the support of Devoteam’s experts, WESSLING achieved several key benefits:
- Enhanced performance: Their workloads running on GCVE demonstrated improved performance compared to their on-premise environment. Thus ensuring efficient data processing and analysis within their labs.
- Robust disaster recovery: GCVE’s inherent disaster recovery capabilities using Infrastructure as Code (IAC) provided WESSLING with peace of mind, knowing GCVE protects critical data and applications and is readily available during an outage.
- Cost predictability: Google’s guaranteed pricing model eliminated concerns about surprise licensing fees. Thus allowing WESSLING to plan and manage its IT budget more effectively.
- Unlocking new opportunities: Migrating to GCP opened doors for WESSLING to explore new functionalities and possibilities. For example, they now leverage Google Cloud’s AI and Machine Learning tools for image analysis within their labs, further streamlining their workflows.
The success story of WESSLING exemplifies the practical advantages of redifining your VMware strategy with Google Cloud with a trusted Google Cloud partner like Devoteam. By leveraging GCVE, businesses can significantly improve performance, security, and cost-efficiency while laying the groundwork for future innovation with Google Cloud’s suite of advanced services.
Getting started with Google Cloud VMware engine
Are you looking to modernise your on-premise VMware environment and unlock the potential of the cloud? Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) is a compelling solution. Here’s how to take the first steps on your cloud migration journey:
- Engage with an award-winning Google Cloud partner like Devoteam: Consider collaborating with a Google Cloud Partner like Devoteam. Our experts possess extensive expertise in VMware migrations and can provide invaluable guidance, support, and best practices throughout the process. We can help you navigate the migration process smoothly and successfully transition to GCVE.
By taking this initial step, you’ll be well on your way to reaping the numerous benefits of Google Cloud VMware Engine. GCVE can empower your organisation to achieve greater agility, enhanced security, and improved cost efficiency while laying the foundation for future innovation within the broader Google Cloud ecosystem.
Ready to embark on a new journey?
Contact us to discuss your specific requirements and initiate a conversation about your cloud migration journey.
Don’t hesitate to embrace Google Cloud VMware Engine’s potential. Optimise your VMware costs and unlock a new era of efficiency and agility for your IT infrastructure now!