--- title: "Hybrid and private cloud" description: "Virtualization choices after VMware, private cloud on Nutanix, Proxmox, OpenStack or Azure Local, and hybrid estates managed as one." url: https://www.expandware.com/services/cloud/hybrid-and-private-cloud/ section: "Services" topics: ["Cloud", "VMware vSphere", "Nutanix AHV", "Proxmox VE", "OpenStack"] publisher: "Expandware Private Limited" --- # Hybrid and private cloud Virtualization choices after VMware, private cloud on Nutanix, Proxmox, OpenStack or Azure Local, and hybrid estates managed as one. Private and hybrid cloud, for the workloads that should not move. Not every workload belongs in a public cloud. Latency, data residency, steady utilization or a recent hardware investment can all make on-premises the better answer, and the VMware licensing changes have forced many organizations to revisit the platform underneath. We assess the options honestly, migrate to the platform you choose and manage on-premises and public cloud as one estate with one set of tools. Where it usually starts: - A VMware renewal quote has made the current platform hard to justify. - Steady, predictable workloads cost more in the public cloud than they would on owned hardware. - Some data must stay on premises, while other workloads already run in the cloud. - The virtualization platform and its hardware are approaching end of support. What is included: - Platform assessment: Renewal, consolidation or migration compared on cost, risk and effort. - Private cloud build: Nutanix, Proxmox, OpenStack, Hyper-V or Azure Local designed and deployed. - Hypervisor migration: Virtual machines moved with tested tooling and scheduled cutovers. - Hybrid management: One identity, monitoring and policy layer across on-premises and cloud. - Storage and backup: Software defined storage and backup designed with the platform. - Capacity planning: Hardware sized from measured utilization and growth. Where it sits: Hybrid and private cloud extend the cloud architecture back into your own facilities: the private cloud and the network hub that join it to public cloud workloads, managed as one estate. Decisions to settle early: - Renew, replace or move. Renewing the current platform may still be cheapest; replacing it or moving to public cloud may not be. The comparison runs on the same assumptions. - Which hypervisor. Nutanix, Proxmox, Hyper-V and OpenStack each suit different estates and teams. Skills and support count as much as licence cost. - Reuse hardware or buy new. Existing hardware can often host the new platform; new hardware may cost less to run. Age and support status decide. How the work runs: Assess, Workloads, licensing and hardware. Choose, Platforms compared on the same terms. Migrate, Virtual machines moved in waves. Operate, One estate across on-premises and cloud. How it is bought: - A fixed-fee assessment: We measure what your virtual machines actually use and review licensing, hardware and residency constraints. You receive the platform options compared and a fixed price for the chosen path. - A fixed-price build: Platform build, migration of virtual machines in waves and hybrid management setup, each priced before it starts. - Running it afterwards: The combined estate can then be operated by your team with our documentation, or managed by us monthly across on premises and cloud. Worked example, a renewal quote that changed the sums. Say a manufacturer runs its plant systems and office servers on VMware, and the renewal quote makes the platform hard to justify. Some workloads must stay on site; others could move to the cloud. - Assess: We measure what the virtual machines actually use and review licensing, hardware age and which workloads must stay close to the plant. - Choose: Renewing, moving to Nutanix or Proxmox, and moving office workloads to Azure are compared on cost, risk and effort over the same period. - Migrate: The chosen platform is built, and virtual machines move in waves with tested tooling, plant systems last and in agreed maintenance windows. - Unify: On-premises and cloud workloads come under one identity, monitoring and policy layer, so the estate is run as one. At the end, the manufacturer runs each workload on a platform chosen on evidence, the plant systems stay on site, and operations manage one estate rather than two. (An illustration, not a client account.) What you have at the end: - Platform options analysis: Renewal, consolidation and migration compared on cost, risk and effort, with a recommendation and its reasons. - Target architecture and capacity plan: The chosen platform's design, sized from measured utilization and expected growth. - Migration runbooks for each workload group: The steps, tests and rollback for moving each group of virtual machines to the new platform. - Operations and backup documentation: How the platform is run, patched, monitored and backed up, written for the team that operates it. - Licence and cost comparison: The licensing and running costs of each option over the planning period, on the same assumptions. Standards and platforms worked with: VMware vSphere, Nutanix AHV, Proxmox VE, OpenStack, Microsoft Hyper-V, Azure Local, Azure Arc, Ceph. Where it goes wrong, and what we design out: - Choosing a platform on the licence quote. A cheaper licence can carry higher running costs. Options are compared on cost, risk and effort over the same period. - Sizing from allocation. Virtual machines are usually allocated far more than they use. Hardware is sized from measured use plus headroom. - Two estates, two sets of tools. Running on premises and cloud separately doubles the work. One identity, monitoring and policy layer covers both. What it changes: - A platform chosen on evidence. Options are compared on licensing, effort and risk, not on the incumbent's quote alone. - Workloads where they belong. Each workload runs where its latency, residency and cost profile fit best. - One estate to operate. On-premises and cloud share identity, monitoring and policy. How you will know it is working: - The platform was chosen on a comparison you can read. - Virtual machines run on hardware sized to their real use. - On premises and cloud are monitored from one place. - Licence costs match the comparison that justified the move. Who you work with: - Platform architect. Compares the options and designs the target platform and capacity. - Virtualization engineers. Build the platform and migrate virtual machines in waves. - Hybrid operations engineer. Sets up the shared identity, monitoring and policy across on premises and cloud. What we need from you: - Access to the current virtualization platform and its reporting. - Licence quotes and renewal dates. - Hardware inventory and support status. - Maintenance windows for the workloads to be moved. Common questions: Q: Should we stay on VMware? A: Sometimes, yes. For some estates renewal remains the lowest-risk option; for others a move to Nutanix, Proxmox, Hyper-V or public cloud pays back quickly. We model both against your workloads, your team's skills and your contract dates before recommending either. Q: Can virtual machines move without being rebuilt? A: In most cases, yes, using conversion tools, with drivers and guest tools updated in the process. Cutovers are scheduled by group, with rollback to the original platform until each group is accepted. Q: Is private cloud cheaper than public cloud? A: For steady, predictable workloads it often is over the life of the hardware; for variable or short-lived workloads it rarely is. The answer comes from your utilization data, not from a general rule. Q: Can you manage a hybrid estate as one? A: Yes, with a shared identity provider, monitoring, policy and backup across both, using tools such as Azure Arc where they fit. Q: Which platforms do you consider as VMware alternatives? A: Nutanix AHV, Proxmox VE, Microsoft Hyper-V and Azure Local, OpenStack for larger estates, and the public cloud for workloads that suit it. Each has different licensing, skills and support implications, so the comparison is made on your workloads rather than in general. Q: Can on-premises and cloud workloads be run with one set of tools? A: Yes. Azure Arc and similar tools extend cloud management to on-premises servers, and one identity provider, monitoring platform and policy set can cover both. The estate is then operated as one, even though it runs in more than one place. Q: How do you size new hardware for a private cloud? A: From the measured use of the current workloads rather than the resources allocated to them, plus planned growth and the headroom needed to survive a host failure. Allocation usually runs well above use, so measuring often reduces the hardware needed. Q: What happens to storage when we change hypervisors? A: Storage is designed with the platform, because it often decides performance and resilience. Software defined storage such as Ceph, or the platform's own, suits many estates, and existing arrays can sometimes be reused. Data moves with the virtual machines and is validated before the old platform is retired. Often paired with: Servers, storage and hardware engineering, Cloud strategy and migration, Backup and disaster recovery. --- Canonical page: https://www.expandware.com/services/cloud/hybrid-and-private-cloud/ Site index for machines: https://www.expandware.com/llms.txt Full site text: https://www.expandware.com/llms-full.txt Expandware Private Limited. Inquiries: solutions@expandware.com, +92 (333) 32 11011.