Key facts
- Sheetz has migrated 838 stores off VMware.
- The company cited "too much uncertainty" created by Broadcom's acquisition and subsequent changes to VMware's licensing model.
- Sheetz used StorMagic's VM Import Utility and automation for the migration.
- The migration aimed to minimize disruption in Sheetz's 24/7 retail environment.
- Other large enterprises like Allstate, T-Mobile, and Tesco are also moving away from VMware.
Sheetz has completed the migration of 838 stores away from VMware, a move driven by the "too much uncertainty" surrounding Broadcom's acquisition and subsequent changes to VMware's licensing structure. The company emphasized the critical need for meticulous planning and heavy automation to ensure minimal disruption to its 24/7 retail operations during the transition.
StorMagic's VM Import Utility and its mature APIs were instrumental in facilitating the migration, though the primary challenge was the sheer scale of the environment and the concurrent demands of planning, development, and implementation. Many organizations find migrating off VMware daunting due to the significant investment in money, time, and staff required, as well as concerns about finding alternatives with comparable capabilities.
This move by Sheetz, a large enterprise with numerous distributed locations, aligns with StorMagic's strategy to target enterprise clients facing similar IT challenges at their edge environments as smaller businesses. StorMagic's SVP of global sales, Scott Mann, noted that large enterprises historically tolerated the "VMware tax" but are now facing substantial budget increases to maintain their remote sites following Broadcom's acquisition.
Other major companies, including Allstate, T-Mobile, and the UK grocery chain Tesco, have also recently revealed plans to migrate away from VMware. Broadcom, however, maintains that its licensing model changes are industry-standard and views its acquisition of VMware as financially successful.