Innoligo vmware to azure assessment · Final report
Selby Vale Insurance Services
Fictional UK insurance broker, 220 staff, 70 virtual machines on 6 VMware hosts, renewal quote received under per-core licensing.
The question: Our VMware renewal has more than doubled. Should we move to Azure?
1Executive summary
Right-size and renew for three years. Moving now would cost more and add risk.
The renewal quote counts 192 cores and costs 2.3 times what Selby Vale pays today. But the hosts are lightly used. Consolidating onto 4 hosts cuts the licence cost by a third. Azure VMware Solution would cost several times more at this size, and re-platforming 70 machines to Azure is a two-year programme. Renew smaller, then move selected workloads to Azure over the term.
2.3 ×
renewal quote against today's VMware cost
6 → 4
hosts needed after consolidation
£28,000
lower three-year cost than the quote, licences, support and power
2Scope and method
What we looked at
- VMware estate: hosts, CPUs, cores, virtual machines and utilisation
- The renewal quote, line by line
- Three-year cost of four options, including hardware, power and support
- Azure VMware Solution and Azure IaaS sizing
- Which workloads suit Azure first
Access and evidence
- Read-only vCenter access for 30 days of performance data
- The renewal quote and current contract
- Interviews with the Head of IT and the Finance Director
Not included
- Negotiating with Broadcom or a reseller
- Running the consolidation or migration
- Disaster recovery redesign
3Estate profile by area (out of 5)
- Host utilisationAverage CPU 31%, memory 54%1.5 / 5
- Licence efficiencyPaying for 192 cores; 128 would do2 / 5
- Workload fit for Azure20 of 70 machines easy to move3 / 5
- Hardware ageHosts 3 years old, under warranty3.5 / 5
- Team skillsStrong VMware, limited Azure3 / 5
4Findings, ranked
Every finding has the evidence behind it, what it means for the business, the fix, the effort and the cost. A real report adds an evidence appendix with the underlying exports.
1.HighQuote is for more capacity than you use
- Evidence
- 6 hosts × 2 CPUs × 16 cores = 192 cores at £118 per core per year. Average CPU use is 31%.
- Business impact
- £22,660 a year against £9,800 paid today.
- Fix
- Consolidate to 4 hosts before renewal and requote for 128 cores.
- Effort
- 3 weeks
- Cost
- Saves about £7,550 a year
2.HighRenewal date is close
- Evidence
- Renewal due in 11 weeks; consolidation needs about 6.
- Business impact
- Signing under time pressure locks in the larger quote for the full term.
- Fix
- Ask for a short extension now; consolidate, then requote.
- Effort
- 1 week to agree
- Cost
- None
3.MediumAzure VMware Solution is poor value at this size
- Evidence
- Minimum 3 dedicated nodes; estimated at several times the on-premises cost, plus VCF licences bought from Broadcom.
- Business impact
- Moving there would raise cost, not reduce it.
- Fix
- Do not pursue now; revisit if the estate grows or a data centre exit is needed.
- Effort
- None
- Cost
- Avoided
4.Medium20 machines suit Azure now
- Evidence
- Web, file and test servers with no special dependencies.
- Business impact
- Moving them over the term reduces the next renewal further.
- Fix
- Move the 20 to Azure IaaS in years 1 and 2.
- Effort
- 4 to 6 months, phased
- Cost
- Included in the option D estimate
5.LowTwo hosts become spare
- Evidence
- After consolidation, 2 hosts are surplus.
- Business impact
- Hardware support and power on 2 hosts can stop.
- Fix
- Keep one as a cold spare for disaster recovery; retire the other.
- Effort
- 1 day
- Cost
- Saves about £1,800 a year
5Three-year licence cost of each option
| Option | Three years |
|---|---|
| Renew as quoted: 192 cores × £118 × 3 | £67,970 |
| Right-size, then renew: 128 cores × £118 × 3 | £45,310 |
| Azure VMware Solution: 3 nodes plus VCF licences | Several times higher |
| Re-platform all 70 machines to Azure | Higher in years 1 to 3, plus a 2-year programme |
| Right-size against the quote | £22,660 lower |
Licence cost only; the full report compares hardware, power and support too. Per-core price from the quote received. Excludes VAT.
6Savings and costs to test
| Item | Range | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Right-size from 192 to 128 licensed cores Quote price, fewer cores | £22,660 over three years | High |
| Support and power on 2 retired hosts One host kept as a spare | £5,400 over three years | Medium |
| Smaller renewal in year 4 after moving 20 machines Depends on the next quote | £3,000 to £8,000 a year from year 4 | Low |
Together, about £28,000 lower over three years than signing the quote as is, with the option to shrink VMware further at the next renewal. Ranges are to be tested, not promises.
7Your action plan
The fixes, sorted into three time buckets so nothing is overwhelming: quick wins first, then planned work, then longer-term improvements. Hand it to your IT provider, or to us, and say "do this, in this order".
First 30 days: quick wins
- Request a renewal extension
- Plan the consolidation to 4 hosts
- Agree which 20 machines move to Azure first
30 to 90 days: planned work
- Consolidate to 4 hosts
- Requote for 128 cores and renew for three years
- Retire one host; keep one as a spare
3 to 12 months: longer term
- Move the first 10 machines to Azure
- Train two staff on Azure
- Review the estate before the year-4 renewal
8Decisions for you to make
The few questions IT cannot answer alone, because they need budget or authority. Your owner or directors can settle them in one meeting.
- Ask for a renewal extension this week.
- Approve consolidation to 4 hosts and a three-year renewal at 128 cores.
- Approve a phased move of 20 machines to Azure over the term.
The report ends with a senior readout: a one-hour session to walk through the findings and these decisions with you and anyone else who needs to be there. The report, findings and plan are yours to keep and use with any supplier.