The Sovereign, Partner-Delivered Alternative to VMware vSphere
Facing a VMware renewal after the Broadcom licensing changes? Keep the virtualization concepts your team already knows, run on the servers you already own, and migrate in stages with CBT-based live migration, delivered and supported by certified local partners.
trending_down Key Transformation Metrics
TCO figure based on Awanio internal customer TCO analyses. Actual savings depend on your environment; the migration audit calculates your own numbers.
The Broadcom Impact: Why Enterprises Are Leaving
Broadcom's acquisition of VMware changed how vSphere is licensed, bundled, and supported. These are the changes customers raise most often, and how Awanio addresses each one.
Per-Core Licensing Minimums
VMware licensing now carries a 16-core minimum per CPU, so servers with fewer cores are billed as if they had more. Awanio uses transparent cluster or node licensing with no per-core minimum.
Mandatory VCF & VVF Bundles
Compute is now sold inside larger bundles (VCF / VVF) that include components such as NSX and Aria, whether or not you use them. Awanio is modular: you license only the virtualization layers you run.
End of Perpetual Licenses
Perpetual licenses were replaced by subscriptions, and many customers report significantly higher renewal quotes. Awanio pricing is predictable and agreed up front for the long term.
Fewer Partners, Less Local Support
Broadcom ended thousands of partner agreements and shifted support focus toward its largest accounts. Awanio works the other way: every deployment is delivered by a certified local partner and backed by 24/7 Awanio engineering support in your region.
Complete 1:1 VMware Stack Replacement
How each layer of your VMware datacenter maps to its Awanio equivalent.
| Capability / Dimension | VMware Stack | Awanio Sovereign Cloud Stack | What You Gain with Awanio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hypervisor Core | VMware ESXi (proprietary) | AwaniOS & Vapor | Lightweight bare-metal KVM-based hypervisor with a minimal OS footprint, installed directly on your existing servers. |
| Centralized Management | vCenter Server | Awanio Cockpit | Unified multi-cluster virtualization management with a lightweight footprint and a modern web UI. |
| Distributed Storage | VMware vSAN | Awanio Distributed Ceph Storage | NVMe/SSD block (RWO) and shared (RWX) storage with automated replication, or keep using your existing SAN/NAS. |
| Software-Defined Networking | VMware NSX / vSphere Distributed Switch | Awanio OVN SDN | Open Virtual Network software-defined networking with microsegmentation, distributed routing, and L7 network security. |
| Live Migration & Disaster Recovery | VMware SRM & vSphere Replication (separately licensed) | Awanio Condensa | Agentless, CBT-based live migration broker and continuous cross-datacenter disaster recovery replication. |
| Enterprise Cloud Management | VMware Aria (formerly vRealize) Suite | Awanio Cloud Enabler Platform (CEP) | Self-service VM/storage catalogs, multi-tenant RBAC, departmental quota governance, and chargeback metering. |
| Containers & AI Platform | VMware Tanzu | Awanio Cockpit Kubernetes Auto Provisioner Cluster and Awanio KudashAI | Automated Kubernetes cluster lifecycle provisioning, AI-assisted operations, and GPU/vGPU acceleration. |
| Data Sovereignty & Telemetry | Vendor license entitlement and usage reporting | 100% Sovereign & Air-Gapped | Runs fully isolated on-premise with no phone-home license or telemetry checks, keeping all data in your jurisdiction. |
Keep Your Hardware: Protect Your Capital Investments
Awanio runs on the datacenter infrastructure you already own, so changing platforms does not force a hardware refresh.
Runs on Your Existing Servers
Install AwaniOS directly on your current Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, Lenovo ThinkSystem, Cisco UCS, or Supermicro x86-64 servers without rip-and-replace.
Native SAN, NAS & NVMe Support
Connect existing Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and NFS SAN/NAS arrays, or turn direct-attached NVMe drives into hyperconverged distributed Ceph storage pools.
Preserve Capital (CAPEX)
Avoid hardware refreshes driven only by licensing changes, and get full value from the servers and storage you have already paid for.
5-Phase Low-Downtime Migration Framework
How Condensa moves hundreds of running VMs in stages, keeping production online until a short, scheduled cutover.
1. Agentless Discovery
Condensa connects to the vCenter/ESXi API to discover inventory, profiling vCPUs, memory, disk layouts, and network mappings with no guest agents.
2. CBT Background Seeding
Bulk disk replication runs in the background with configurable QoS throttling while production VMs keep serving users.
3. Isolated Sandbox Test Boot
Boot cloned VMs in an isolated virtual network to verify OS boot, database consistency, and driver performance before production cutover.
4. Low-Downtime Atomic Cutover
Schedule a short cutover window (under 5 minutes) to synchronize the final delta blocks and swap IP/MAC network bindings.
5. Instant Rollback Safety Net
The original VMware source VM stays powered off and intact until your operations team signs off, so you can fall back in one click.
Already Done by Teams Like Yours
An Indonesian state-owned enterprise moved its workloads from VMware to Awanio to lower its total cost of ownership.
A state-owned enterprise moves its workloads from VMware to Awanio to bring TCO under control
Challenge
This state-owned enterprise runs IT systems that support nationwide operations, so infrastructure decisions are about reliability and accountable spending, not experimentation. After the Broadcom acquisition changed VMware licensing, staying on the existing platform meant accepting a cost structure that no longer matched the value it delivered. The organization needed to lower its total cost of ownership without putting production workloads at risk.
Solution
The organization migrated its workloads from VMware to Awanio, with Vapor as the hypervisor and Cockpit for centralized management. Cockpit follows the same concepts as vCenter, such as clusters, hosts, VMs, and datastores, so the operations team keeps a familiar way of working while the organization leaves VMware subscription licensing behind.
VMware Migration: Common Questions
How long does a migration from VMware to Awanio take? add
It depends on the number of VMs and how the migration is staged. Condensa replicates disks in the background while VMs keep running, so most of the work happens without downtime. Each VM's final cutover window is typically under 5 minutes.
Do we need to buy new hardware? add
No. AwaniOS installs on existing x86-64 servers from Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Cisco UCS, and Supermicro, and connects to your existing Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and NFS storage.
Will our VMware team need retraining? add
Very little. Cockpit uses the same concepts your team already works with in vCenter, such as clusters, hosts, VMs, templates, datastores, and networks.
What happens if a migrated VM has a problem? add
Every VM is test-booted in an isolated sandbox before cutover, and the original VMware VM stays intact until your team signs off, so you can roll back in one click.
Who delivers and supports the deployment? add
Awanio is delivered through certified local partners and distributors, backed by 24/7 Awanio engineering support in your region.
Can Awanio run fully air-gapped? add
Yes. Awanio runs entirely on-premise with no phone-home license or telemetry checks, which suits regulated and sovereign environments.
Know Your Numbers Before Your Next VMware Renewal
Request a complimentary VMware Cluster Audit & Migration ROI Blueprint. A certified Awanio partner, supported by our infrastructure architects, will review your current VMware core counts, estimate your 3-year TCO savings, and outline a staged migration plan.