# Best Server Virtualization Software

  *By [Tian Lin](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/tian-lin)*

    **Server virtualization software** divides physical servers into multiple virtual segments that can be managed independently. Server virtualization software products, commonly referred to as hypervisors, are used by organizations to partition dedicated servers into scalable virtual instances called virtual private servers (VPS). Virtual private servers created with server virtualization software can each host a unique operating system and be managed independently through an integrated hosting control panel. Organizations use server virtualization software to allocate server resources among virtual machines for workload optimization. Virtual machines created with server virtualization software are often more flexible and reliable to manage than unpartitioned servers. Organizations that house and manage virtual servers internally implement server virtualization software to reduce resource strains. Additionally, server virtualization software is commonly used by hosting service providers to offer VPS hosting services to their customers.

To qualify for inclusion in the Server Virtualization category, a product must:

- Allow users to partition physical servers into multiple virtual instances
- Enable easy management of scalable virtual environments
- Offer access to a built-in or third-party control panel through which virtual servers can be managed





## Best Server Virtualization Software At A Glance

- **Leader:** [VMware vSphere](https://www.g2.com/products/vmware-vsphere/reviews)
- **Highest Performer:** [StorMagic](https://www.g2.com/products/stormagic/reviews)
- **Easiest to Use:** [Scale Computing Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/scale-computing-platform/reviews)
- **Top Trending:** [Ubuntu](https://www.g2.com/products/ubuntu/reviews)
- **Best Free Software:** [VMware vSphere](https://www.g2.com/products/vmware-vsphere/reviews)


---

**Sponsored**

### Sangfor Cloud Platform

Sangfor HCI (Hyper-Converged Infrastructure) is a full-stack, software-defined infrastructure platform that consolidates compute, storage, networking, and security into a single, easy-to-manage solution. Designed for modern enterprises seeking simplicity, scalability, and resilience, Sangfor HCI helps organizations build agile, secure, and cost-effective data centers. With native anti-ransomware protection, intelligent resource scheduling, and seamless disaster recovery, Sangfor HCI enables businesses to run mission-critical workloads with confidence. It supports hybrid cloud deployment, live migration, and centralized management — all within a unified interface. To strengthen data protection and business continuity, Sangfor HCI integrates with leading backup solutions from Veeam and Veritas, offering flexible and reliable backup and recovery across diverse environments. Sangfor HCI is trusted by thousands of organizations across the Asia-Pacific and beyond, and has earned global recognition for its innovation and performance: ▪ Representative Vendor in the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software ▪ Sample Vendor for VMware Alternative in Hyperconverged Infrastructure by Gartner ▪ Strong Performer in the Gartner® Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer for Full-Stack HCI Software ▪ Ranked among the Top 5 Largest HCIS Vendors by Revenue Worldwide for 2024, based on the Gartner® Market Share Report Whether you're modernizing legacy infrastructure, building a private cloud, or seeking a VMware alternative, Sangfor HCI delivers the performance, security, and simplicity needed to power your digital transformation.



[Visit company website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=604&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=604&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=page_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=604&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=1243328&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=604&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fserver-virtualization&secure%5Btoken%5D=afedd43acd8c5079fc5088b576f024a016c1c9713d1ad6e9b6589dcb81bdb20e&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sangfor.com%2Freports%2Fcloud-and-infrastructure%2Frequest-a-demo-sangfor-hci-for-vmware-alternative%3Futm_source%3Dg2%26utm_medium%3Dcpc%26utm_campaign%3Dg2_clicks%26utm_term%3Dbook_demo_cta_button&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url)

---

## Top-Rated Products (Ranked by G2 Score)
  ### 1. [VMware vSphere](https://www.g2.com/products/vmware-vsphere/reviews)
  VMware vSphere with VCF 9.0 is the enterprise workload engine that modernizes compute infrastructure with a future-ready, scalable infrastructure and simplified management that allows organizations to make the most of their current investments. vSphere provides a powerful foundation for modern workloads with easy self-service access to infrastructure services and a built-in Kubernetes runtime to run containers consistently alongside VMs, while enabling intrinsic security out-of-the-box.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 742

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Broadcom](https://www.g2.com/sellers/broadcom-ab3091cd-4724-46a8-ac89-219d6bc8e166)
- **Company Website:** https://www.broadcom.com/
- **Year Founded:** 1991
- **HQ Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Twitter:** @broadcom (62,960 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/broadcom/ (55,707 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** System Administrator, Systems Administrator
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Financial Services
  - **Company Size:** 44% Enterprise, 42% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (138 reviews)
- Virtualization Management (110 reviews)
- Features (60 reviews)
- Management (49 reviews)
- Reliability (44 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Expensive (106 reviews)
- Licensing Issues (70 reviews)
- High Licensing Cost (50 reviews)
- Pricing Issues (30 reviews)
- Cost Increase (22 reviews)

  ### 2. [Google Compute Engine](https://www.g2.com/products/google-compute-engine/reviews)
  Compute Engine is Google's infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform for organizations to create and run cloud-based virtual machines.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 877

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Google](https://www.g2.com/sellers/google)
- **Year Founded:** 1998
- **HQ Location:** Mountain View, CA
- **Twitter:** @google (31,840,340 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1441/ (336,169 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ:GOOG

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, Data Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 35% Small-Business, 34% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (76 reviews)
- Scalability (69 reviews)
- Virtual Machines (64 reviews)
- Features (58 reviews)
- Google Cloud Platform (54 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Pricing Issues (49 reviews)
- Expensive (45 reviews)
- Cost Management (33 reviews)
- Complexity (30 reviews)
- Learning Difficulty (27 reviews)

  ### 3. [Ubuntu](https://www.g2.com/products/ubuntu/reviews)
  Ubuntu is the Linux OS that’s made for everyone. Harness the freedom and creativity of open source, from laptops and workstations to servers and IoT devices Published by Canonical, Ubuntu brings you the best of open source, backed by enterprise-grade assurance. Ubuntu delivers a unified and stable experience. Ubuntu serves as an interoperable platform, from the desktop to the edge. Wherever you innovate, you can expect high-performance and the same rich tooling ecosystem. Through community and partnership, we ensure that Ubuntu is always at the cutting-edge. Open source contributors work to ensure that the latest applications, tools and libraries have a home in the Ubuntu ecosystem. Our hardware partners, such as Dell, Lenovo, HP, IBM and NVIDIA, work with us to certify Ubuntu out-of-the-box on the latest boards, devices and chipsets, through a series of over 500 OS compatibility tests per device. When the time comes to scale up, Ubuntu provides integrations to make device governance manageable. Enforce strict identity management protocols with support for Microsoft Active Directory, Entra ID and Google Cloud platform, through Ubuntu’s AuthD broker. Ubuntu’s regular release cadence empowers you to plan ahead with confidence. Across your stack, Ubuntu LTS (long-term support) releases receive 5 years of patching and maintenance as standard. Additional enterprise-grade support is delivered through Ubuntu Pro - Canonical’s comprehensive subscription for open source security. Ubuntu Pro expands security patching and maintenance for up to 12 years and includes tooling for hardening and compliance, enabling you to stay ahead of CVEs, minimize downtime and meet your regulatory requirements. This includes support for frameworks such as FIPS, DISA STIG, NIST and the Cyber Resilience Act.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 2,285

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Canonical Ltd.](https://www.g2.com/sellers/canonical-ltd)
- **Year Founded:** 2004
- **HQ Location:** London
- **Twitter:** @Canonical (109,157 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/234280/ (1,893 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 47% Small-Business, 33% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (337 reviews)
- Linux/Ubuntu OS (299 reviews)
- Open Source (213 reviews)
- User Interface (190 reviews)
- User-Friendly (185 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Compatibility Issues (141 reviews)
- Driver Issues (104 reviews)
- Limited Software (104 reviews)
- Usage Difficulty (91 reviews)
- Performance Issues (80 reviews)

  ### 4. [Red Hat Enterprise Linux](https://www.g2.com/products/red-hat-enterprise-linux/reviews)
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a enterprise operating system designed to provide a secure, stable, and high-performance environment for modern IT infrastructures. It supports a wide range of applications across physical, virtual, and cloud environments, making it a versatile choice for businesses of all sizes. Key Features and Functionality: - Security: RHEL offers live kernel patching, security profiles, and adheres to security standards certifications, ensuring a robust defense against vulnerabilities. - Consistent Lifecycle: The operating system follows a predictable lifecycle with three phases: full support, maintenance support, and an extended life phase, providing long-term stability and planning capabilities. - Cloud Integration: RHEL is optimized for cloud environments and collaborates with major cloud providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, facilitating seamless workload migration and management. - Developer Access: Red Hat provides developers with free access to RHEL through the "Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Business Developers" platform, allowing up to 25 instances for development purposes. Primary Value and Solutions: RHEL addresses the need for a reliable and secure operating system that can handle diverse workloads across various environments. Its comprehensive security features mitigate risks, while the consistent lifecycle ensures long-term support and stability. The integration with leading cloud providers simplifies cloud adoption and management, and the provision of free developer access fosters innovation and accelerates application development. Overall, RHEL empowers organizations to build, deploy, and manage applications efficiently, aligning with business demands for production-readiness and operational excellence.


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 917

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Red Hat](https://www.g2.com/sellers/red-hat)
- **Year Founded:** 1993
- **HQ Location:** Raleigh, NC
- **Twitter:** @RedHat (299,330 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3545/ (19,305 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, System Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 50% Enterprise, 29% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Stability (58 reviews)
- Security (57 reviews)
- Reliability (52 reviews)
- Customer Support (48 reviews)
- Ease of Use (43 reviews)

**Cons:**

- High Cost (33 reviews)
- Expensive (21 reviews)
- Subscription Issues (15 reviews)
- Usage Difficulty (15 reviews)
- Outdated Software (14 reviews)

  ### 5. [Scale Computing Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/scale-computing-platform/reviews)
  Scale Computing™ was founded to fulfill an IT infrastructure need often hindered by the complexity, time, and resources that traditional virtualized IT environments demand. Today, Scale Computing delivers a platform solution for data center, edge computing, virtualization technology, and hyperconverged infrastructure to customers worldwide. Award-winning Scale Computing Platform™ edge computing solution eliminates the need for traditional virtualization software, disaster recovery software, servers, and shared storage, replacing these with a fully integrated, highly available system for running applications. 1. Simplicity Engineered Eliminate mundane management tasks and save IT administrators valuable time. SC//Platform's simplicity directly impacts IT with higher productivity and lower costs. Using patented Scale Computing HyperCore™ virtualization suite technology, the self-healing platform automatically identifies, mitigates, and corrects problems in the infrastructure in real time, enabling applications to achieve maximum uptime even when local IT resources and staff are scarce. 2. Scalable Plan the perfect future by not predicting it. Simply mix and match old and new hardware and applications on the same infrastructure for a future-proof environment that can scale up or down as needed. The storage system avoids issues inherent in traditional network storage approaches (SAN and NAS). By embedding storage with the hypervisor, resources can be automatically pooled across an entire cluster, and new storage is automatically added when new nodes are introduced. 3. Secure SC//Platform is designed to be 'Secure by Default,' meaning security isn't an option—it's a fundamental component ingrained in every aspect of the system. This approach eliminates the need for extensive configuration or additional security layers post-deployment. Unlike alternative solutions that require a long and complex “security best practices” checklist, SC//Platform limits the potential for misconfiguration vulnerabilities. 4. Manageable Scale Computing Fleet Manager™ edge orchestration software combines centralized management with cloud and local automation, allowing infrastructure and applications to achieve and maintain the desired state throughout the entire life of the environment. Zero-touch provisioning decreases the time of installation by 90% or more Secure Link allows access to the HyperCore UI for in-depth cluster management with the click of a button without needing expensive or complex remote access solutions such as VPN or RDP Real-time monitoring of all workloads across a global fleet of SC//HyperCore clusters is made even easier with a searchable and customizable view 5. Cost-Effective Reduce IT infrastructure costs in almost every way. Hidden IT infrastructure costs associated with downtime, management, maintenance, training, and consulting are reduced to almost nothing. For more information: SC//Platform - https://www.scalecomputing.com/sc-platform SC//Fleet Manager - https://www.scalecomputing.com/sc-fleet-manager SC//HyperCore - https://www.scalecomputing.com/sc-hypercore


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 265

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Scale Computing](https://www.g2.com/sellers/scale-computing)
- **Company Website:** https://www.scalecomputing.com
- **Year Founded:** 2002
- **HQ Location:** Austin, TX
- **Twitter:** @ScaleComputing (4,130 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/scalecomputing/ (302 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** IT Manager, Systems Administrator
  - **Top Industries:** Primary/Secondary Education, Manufacturing
  - **Company Size:** 71% Mid-Market, 14% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (94 reviews)
- Customer Support (68 reviews)
- Setup Ease (52 reviews)
- Reliability (25 reviews)
- Scalability (22 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Limited Features (16 reviews)
- VM Management Issues (11 reviews)
- Migration Issues (8 reviews)
- Expensive (7 reviews)
- Limited Customization (7 reviews)

  ### 6. [Sangfor Cloud Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/sangfor-cloud-platform/reviews)
  Sangfor HCI (Hyper-Converged Infrastructure) is a full-stack, software-defined infrastructure platform that consolidates compute, storage, networking, and security into a single, easy-to-manage solution. Designed for modern enterprises seeking simplicity, scalability, and resilience, Sangfor HCI helps organizations build agile, secure, and cost-effective data centers. With native anti-ransomware protection, intelligent resource scheduling, and seamless disaster recovery, Sangfor HCI enables businesses to run mission-critical workloads with confidence. It supports hybrid cloud deployment, live migration, and centralized management — all within a unified interface. To strengthen data protection and business continuity, Sangfor HCI integrates with leading backup solutions from Veeam and Veritas, offering flexible and reliable backup and recovery across diverse environments. Sangfor HCI is trusted by thousands of organizations across the Asia-Pacific and beyond, and has earned global recognition for its innovation and performance: ▪ Representative Vendor in the 2025 Gartner® Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software ▪ Sample Vendor for VMware Alternative in Hyperconverged Infrastructure by Gartner ▪ Strong Performer in the Gartner® Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer for Full-Stack HCI Software ▪ Ranked among the Top 5 Largest HCIS Vendors by Revenue Worldwide for 2024, based on the Gartner® Market Share Report Whether you're modernizing legacy infrastructure, building a private cloud, or seeking a VMware alternative, Sangfor HCI delivers the performance, security, and simplicity needed to power your digital transformation.


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 63

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Sangfor Technologies](https://www.g2.com/sellers/sangfor-technologies)
- **Company Website:** https://www.sangfor.com/
- **Year Founded:** 2000
- **HQ Location:** Shenzhen, China
- **Twitter:** @SANGFOR (13,233 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/sangfor-technologies/ (2,285 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Manufacturing
  - **Company Size:** 41% Mid-Market, 33% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (15 reviews)
- Features (7 reviews)
- Performance (7 reviews)
- Easy Setup (6 reviews)
- Networking (6 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Integration Issues (6 reviews)
- Limited Features (4 reviews)
- Performance Issues (3 reviews)
- Poor Documentation (3 reviews)
- Complex Documentation (2 reviews)

  ### 7. [SUSE Linux Enterprise Server](https://www.g2.com/products/suse-linux-enterprise-server/reviews)
  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) is a secure, adaptable and easy-to-manage Linux server platform that allows developers and administrators to deploy business-critical workloads on-premises, in the cloud and at the edge. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is an operating system that is adaptable to any environment – optimized for performance, security and reliability. Security – Championing a secure supply chain Stay ahead of cyberattacks with advanced supply chain security and confidential computing. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is certified and compliant at the highest levels including CC EAL4+. Agility – Bridging to the cloud-native world Foster developer agility with capabilitites that are built to increase productivity. This includes a preconfigured Cloud Images, secure Base Container Images to build your own containers and a solid foundation for your Rancher Kubernetes (RKE2 / K3S) clusters. Resilience – Making innovating enterprise ready Innovate everywhere from cutting-edge hardware to the public cloud. This includes filesystem Snapshots with BTRFS, cloud innovations like support for Arm64 server instances in Azure or AWS, chipset innovations like NVIDIA open GPU kernel module, and hardware platforms from Dell, Fujitsu and HPE.


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 66

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [SUSE](https://www.g2.com/sellers/suse)
- **Company Website:** https://www.suse.com/
- **Year Founded:** 1992
- **HQ Location:** Nürnberg, DE
- **Twitter:** @SUSE (64,545 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1455/ (2,712 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Financial Services
  - **Company Size:** 44% Enterprise, 29% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Reliability (8 reviews)
- Customer Support (7 reviews)
- Ease of Use (7 reviews)
- Stability (7 reviews)
- Easy Setup (4 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Outdated Content (3 reviews)
- Dependency Issues (2 reviews)
- Expensive (2 reviews)
- High Licensing Cost (2 reviews)
- Limited OS Compatibility (2 reviews)

  ### 8. [Azure Virtual Machines](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-virtual-machines/reviews)
  Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) are scalable, on-demand computing resources provided by Microsoft Azure, enabling users to deploy and manage virtualized Windows and Linux servers in the cloud. These VMs support a wide range of workloads, from simple web applications to complex enterprise solutions, offering flexibility and control over computing resources without the need for physical hardware maintenance. Key Features and Functionality: - Diverse VM Series: Azure offers various VM series tailored to specific needs: - General Purpose (D-series, B-series): Balanced CPU-to-memory ratio, suitable for web servers and small to medium databases. - Compute Optimized (F-series): High CPU-to-memory ratio, ideal for CPU-intensive tasks like batch processing. - Memory Optimized (E-series): High memory-to-CPU ratio, designed for in-memory applications and large databases. - Storage Optimized (L-series): High disk throughput and IOPS, perfect for big data and data warehousing. - GPU-enabled (N-series): Equipped with GPUs for graphics-intensive and machine learning workloads. - Operating System Support: Azure VMs support a broad range of operating systems, including various distributions of Linux and all supported versions of Windows Server. - Scalability and Availability: Features like Virtual Machine Scale Sets allow for automatic scaling of applications, and Availability Sets ensure high availability by distributing VMs across multiple physical servers. - Integrated Security: Built-in security features include Azure Security Center for threat detection and response, and compliance with various industry standards. - Cost Management: Options like Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances and Azure Hybrid Benefit help optimize costs, while Azure Spot Virtual Machines offer significant discounts for interruptible workloads. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: Azure Virtual Machines offer businesses the ability to quickly deploy and manage scalable computing resources without the overhead of maintaining physical hardware. This flexibility allows organizations to respond rapidly to changing demands, optimize costs through various pricing options, and ensure high availability and security for their applications. By leveraging Azure VMs, users can focus on developing and running their applications while Azure handles the underlying infrastructure, leading to increased operational efficiency and agility.


  **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 374

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Microsoft](https://www.g2.com/sellers/microsoft)
- **Year Founded:** 1975
- **HQ Location:** Redmond, Washington
- **Twitter:** @microsoft (13,090,464 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/ (227,697 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** MSFT

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, Cloud Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 35% Enterprise, 35% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (48 reviews)
- Scalability (30 reviews)
- Cloud Storage (29 reviews)
- Cloud Computing (19 reviews)
- Flexibility (19 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Complexity (26 reviews)
- Cost Issues (23 reviews)
- Expensive (21 reviews)
- Learning Difficulty (13 reviews)
- Poor Customer Support (10 reviews)

  ### 9. [Oracle VM](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-vm/reviews)
  Server Virtualization.


  **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 71

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Oracle](https://www.g2.com/sellers/oracle)
- **Year Founded:** 1977
- **HQ Location:** Austin, TX
- **Twitter:** @Oracle (826,383 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1028/ (199,301 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NYSE:ORCL

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 49% Mid-Market, 37% Enterprise


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Cost Efficiency (1 reviews)
- Integrations (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Limited Features (1 reviews)

  ### 10. [Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)](https://www.g2.com/products/nutanix-cloud-infrastructure-nci/reviews)
  Nutanix Acropolis has 5 key components that make it a complete solution for delivering any infrastructure service: 1. Built-in AHV Virtualization Nutanix Acropolis includes AHV, our native virtualization solution, and additionally supports the virtualization solutions of VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V. Nutanix AHV is a comprehensive enterprise virtualization solution tightly integrated into Acropolis and is provided with no additional license cost. AHV delivers the features required to run enterprise applications. 2. Platform Services Nutanix Acropolis delivers a comprehensive set of software-defined platform services so that IT organizations can consolidate all their workloads on the Nutanix platform and manage them centrally. 3. Enterprise Storage Capabilities Nutanix provides a distributed storage fabric providing enterprise-class storage services to all types of applications, including de-duplication, compression, encryption, erasure coding and more. Additionally, data locality ensures the fastest possible performance. 4. Networking Services Nutanix Acropolis provides a comprehensive set of services to secure applications with native microsegmentation, visualize the network and network performance, and automate common network operations. 5. Enterprise Cloud is the Future of IT More than 40% of Global 2000 companies rely on Nutanix software to power their applications at any scale. It’s time for businesses to modernize the datacenter with web-scale technology. Eliminate standalone SAN or NAS-based storage and expensive virtualization for greater efficiency, and collapse IT silos for more agility. Nutanix runs any application, in nearly any cloud, at any scale.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 280

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Nutanix](https://www.g2.com/sellers/nutanix)
- **Company Website:** https://www.nutanix.com
- **Year Founded:** 2009
- **HQ Location:** San Jose, US
- **Twitter:** @nutanix (90,650 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/735085/ (9,740 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** System Engineer, IT Manager
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Financial Services
  - **Company Size:** 43% Enterprise, 38% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (29 reviews)
- Resource Management (18 reviews)
- Scalability (13 reviews)
- Efficiency (12 reviews)
- Setup Ease (12 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Complexity (13 reviews)
- Expensive (13 reviews)
- High Licensing Cost (8 reviews)
- Steep Learning Curve (7 reviews)
- Limited Features (6 reviews)

  ### 11. [Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-virtual-machine-scale-sets/reviews)
  Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) enable the creation and management of a group of load-balanced virtual machines (VMs) that can automatically scale in response to demand or a defined schedule. This service is designed to support large-scale applications, such as batch processing, big data, and container workloads, by allowing users to efficiently deploy and manage thousands of VMs with uniform configurations. Key Features and Functionality: - Automatic Scaling: VMSS can dynamically adjust the number of VM instances based on real-time demand or predefined schedules, ensuring optimal performance and cost efficiency. - Load Balancing: Integrated with Azure Load Balancer and Azure Application Gateway, VMSS distributes incoming traffic across multiple VM instances, enhancing application availability and responsiveness. - High Availability: By distributing VM instances across availability zones or fault domains, VMSS increases application resiliency and uptime, offering service-level agreements (SLAs) of up to 99.99%. - Consistent Configuration: All VMs within a scale set are created from the same base OS image and configuration, ensuring uniformity and simplifying management tasks. - Flexible Orchestration: VMSS supports both uniform and flexible orchestration modes, allowing for greater control over individual VMs, including the ability to mix VM types and integrate Azure Spot Virtual Machines for cost optimization. Primary Value and Problem Solving: Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets address the challenges of managing large-scale applications by automating VM deployment, scaling, and management processes. This automation reduces the operational overhead associated with manual scaling and configuration, allowing organizations to respond swiftly to changing workloads. By ensuring high availability and distributing workloads effectively, VMSS enhances application performance and reliability. Additionally, the service's integration with Azure's networking and security features provides a comprehensive solution for deploying and managing scalable applications in the cloud.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 27

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.5/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Microsoft](https://www.g2.com/sellers/microsoft)
- **Year Founded:** 1975
- **HQ Location:** Redmond, Washington
- **Twitter:** @microsoft (13,090,464 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/ (227,697 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** MSFT

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 40% Enterprise, 30% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Cloud Storage (2 reviews)
- Services (2 reviews)
- Application Development (1 reviews)
- Deployment Ease (1 reviews)
- Ease of Use (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Poor Interface Design (1 reviews)
- Slow Deployment (1 reviews)

  ### 12. [StorMagic](https://www.g2.com/products/stormagic/reviews)
  StorMagic delivers right-sized, purpose-built virtualization solutions. Our software cuts through complexity, scales easily, and is trusted by organizations worldwide to stay operational, always. What does this actually mean, though? Technology that works with you, not against you. Simple deployment means you have more time to focus on other aspects of your organization. No hidden complexity. StorMagic is easy to manage, so your teams stay confident and in control. Manage multiple sites from a single location. Built for real people in real-world situations. Reliable IT for the challenges your organization faces. We value your budget and time. StorMagic offers a lower total cost of ownership and deploys within minutes. Get the most out of your IT infrastructure and your budget. StorMagic offers organizations two paths to reliable, purpose-built virtualized infrastructure: StorMagic SvHCI is a hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution that incorporates hypervisor, software-defined storage, and virtualized networking into a single software stack. With SvHCI, your organization can virtualize your entire infrastructure without the significant financial commitment required by other solutions on the market. StorMagic SvSAN is a virtualized storage solution that’s a component of SvHCI. If your organization is already committed to a virtualization partner but still requires highly available virtualized storage, SvSAN offers greater flexibility with unmatched affordability. SvSAN can be deployed on VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisors. Both SvHCI and SvSAN provide high availability with a unique cluster architecture of just 2 nodes. Data is synchronously mirrored between the two nodes, meaning an exact copy is always available on either node. If one node goes offline, the StorMagic witness maintains the cluster's health, keeping stores open, production lines moving and services running until the failed node is restored. A single StorMagic witness located anywhere in the world can service 1000 StorMagic clusters simultaneously. Whatever your virtualization needs, StorMagic can solve your challenges. Having empowered IT teams since 2006, we will work closely with you, by being grounded in clarity and consistency to serve, and configure a solution for your needs.


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 96

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 7.8/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [StorMagic](https://www.g2.com/sellers/stormagic)
- **Company Website:** https://stormagic.com
- **Year Founded:** 2006
- **HQ Location:** Bristol, United Kingdom
- **Twitter:** @stormagic (2,982 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/stormagic/ (76 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Infrastructure Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  - **Company Size:** 55% Mid-Market, 31% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (13 reviews)
- Customer Support (10 reviews)
- Reliability (10 reviews)
- Setup Ease (8 reviews)
- Cost-Effective (5 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Limited Features (6 reviews)
- Difficult Navigation (3 reviews)
- Not User-Friendly (3 reviews)
- Scaling Issues (3 reviews)
- Difficult Learning Curve (2 reviews)

  ### 13. [IBM Power VM](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-power-vm/reviews)
  IBM PowerVM is a robust virtualization solution designed for IBM Power Systems, enabling the creation and management of multiple virtual machines (VMs) running AIX, IBM i, and Linux operating systems. By consolidating workloads onto fewer servers, PowerVM enhances resource utilization, reduces operational costs, and provides a secure, scalable environment for critical applications. Key Features and Functionality: - Micro-Partitioning: Supports up to 20 dynamic logical partitions per processor core, allowing for efficient resource allocation and high server utilization. - Live Partition Mobility: Enables the migration of active partitions between servers without downtime, facilitating maintenance and load balancing. - Active Memory Sharing: Dynamically reallocates memory among VMs, optimizing memory usage and improving performance. - Secure Virtualization: Provides a secure environment with industry-leading hypervisor technology, ensuring the integrity and isolation of applications and I/O. - Dynamic Resource Optimization: Automatically adjusts processor, memory, and I/O resources across VMs to meet changing workload demands. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: PowerVM addresses the challenges of underutilized servers and escalating operational costs by enabling businesses to consolidate multiple workloads onto fewer systems. This consolidation leads to increased server utilization, reduced hardware and energy expenses, and simplified management. The advanced features of PowerVM, such as Live Partition Mobility and Active Memory Sharing, ensure high availability and performance of applications, while its secure virtualization environment protects critical workloads. By leveraging PowerVM, organizations can achieve a more efficient, flexible, and cost-effective IT infrastructure.


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 17

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [IBM](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ibm)
- **Year Founded:** 1911
- **HQ Location:** Armonk, NY
- **Twitter:** @IBM (708,000 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1009/ (324,553 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** SWX:IBM

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 50% Enterprise, 27% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Efficiency (1 reviews)
- Reliability (1 reviews)
- Scalability (1 reviews)
- Security (1 reviews)
- Virtualization Management (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Difficult Learning Curve (1 reviews)
- Steep Learning Curve (1 reviews)

  ### 14. [VMware ESXi](https://www.g2.com/products/vmware-esxi/reviews)
  VMware ESXi is a robust, enterprise-class, type-1 hypervisor developed by VMware, designed to deploy and manage virtual machines directly on physical servers without the need for an underlying operating system. As a bare-metal hypervisor, ESXi provides a secure and efficient virtualization platform, enabling organizations to consolidate their IT infrastructure, optimize resource utilization, and reduce operational costs. Key Features and Functionality: - Virtual Machine Management: ESXi supports the creation and operation of multiple virtual machines running various operating systems, including Windows and Linux, each capable of independently running applications. - Resource Allocation and Optimization: It offers flexible allocation of CPU, memory, storage, and network resources, allowing dynamic adjustment of resource quotas for virtual machines. ESXi also supports resource pooling and load balancing to enhance performance. - High Availability and Fault Tolerance: The hypervisor includes features like High Availability (HA) and Fault Tolerance (FT) to ensure business continuity by automatically restarting virtual machines in case of hardware failure and providing real-time redundancy for critical applications. - vMotion: ESXi supports vMotion, enabling live migration of virtual machines between hosts without service interruption, facilitating load balancing and maintenance activities. - Storage and Network Virtualization: It integrates with VMware vSAN for pooled storage resources and supports Distributed Switches to enhance network flexibility and performance. - Snapshots and Backup: ESXi provides snapshot capabilities for creating restore points and offers APIs for third-party backup solutions to ensure data protection. - Security and Isolation: The platform includes built-in virtual machine encryption, fine-grained access control, and supports hardware-based Secure Boot to maintain a secure virtualization environment. - Centralized Management Support: ESXi can be centrally managed through VMware vCenter Server, supporting automated tasks, monitoring, and resource scheduling to simplify virtualization management. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: VMware ESXi delivers a high-performance, secure, and scalable virtualization platform that enables organizations to maximize hardware utilization, reduce physical infrastructure costs, and enhance operational efficiency. By supporting advanced features like live migration, high availability, and centralized management, ESXi addresses critical business needs for reliability, flexibility, and simplified IT operations.


  **Average Rating:** 4.7/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 18

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Broadcom](https://www.g2.com/sellers/broadcom-ab3091cd-4724-46a8-ac89-219d6bc8e166)
- **Year Founded:** 1991
- **HQ Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Twitter:** @broadcom (62,960 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/broadcom/ (55,707 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ: CA

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 53% Mid-Market, 32% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Virtualization Management (6 reviews)
- Ease of Use (4 reviews)
- Features (3 reviews)
- Management Ease (2 reviews)
- Snapshots (2 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Expensive (2 reviews)
- Limited Features (1 reviews)
- Migration Issues (1 reviews)
- Poor Customer Support (1 reviews)
- Pricing Issues (1 reviews)

  ### 15. [VirtualBox](https://www.g2.com/products/virtualbox/reviews)
  Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free, open-source, cross-platform virtualization software that enables users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single device. Designed for IT professionals and developers, VirtualBox supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and Oracle Solaris as host operating systems, making it ideal for testing, development, demonstration, and deployment across diverse platforms. Key Features and Functionality: - Cross-Platform Compatibility: VirtualBox runs on various host operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Oracle Solaris, and supports a wide range of guest operating systems. - High Performance: The software leverages the latest in chip-level support for virtualization, including support for AMD, Intel, and Apple silicon processors, to provide faster execution times for guest operating systems. - 3D Graphics Support: VirtualBox includes VBoxSVGA and VMSVGA interfaces to improve 3D graphics performance. - USB Device Support: It implements a virtual USB controller, allowing users to connect arbitrary USB devices to virtual machines without installing device-specific drivers on the host. - Disk Image Encryption: VirtualBox supports 128 or 256-bit data encryption keys, enabling transparent encryption of data stored in hard disk images using the AES algorithm. - Remote Machine Display: The VirtualBox Remote Desktop Extension (VRDE) enables high-performance remote access to running virtual machines, supporting the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) with additional features like full client USB support. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: VirtualBox addresses several key challenges for its users: - Cost Reduction: By allowing multiple operating systems to run on a single device, VirtualBox reduces the need for multiple physical machines, thereby lowering hardware and operational costs. - Development Efficiency: Developers can test applications across different operating systems and versions using the same desktop environment, accelerating the development and testing process. - Simplified Software Distribution: Solution providers can distribute applications within a VirtualBox virtual machine, ensuring compatibility across various operating systems and versions without additional configuration. - Legacy Application Support: IT teams can extend the lifespan of legacy applications by running them on modern hardware through VirtualBox, avoiding the need for costly application rewrites or hardware replacements. - Secure Remote Access: VirtualBox facilitates secure access to restricted applications for remote workers by providing encrypted and isolated environments, ensuring data security and compliance without extensive rearchitecting of applications. In summary, Oracle VM VirtualBox offers a versatile and efficient solution for running multiple operating systems on a single device, enhancing development workflows, reducing costs, and providing secure, cross-platform compatibility for various IT needs.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 287

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Oracle](https://www.g2.com/sellers/oracle)
- **Year Founded:** 1977
- **HQ Location:** Austin, TX
- **Twitter:** @Oracle (826,383 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1028/ (199,301 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NYSE:ORCL

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** Software Engineer, Software Developer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  - **Company Size:** 47% Small-Business, 37% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Virtualization Management (4 reviews)
- Ease of Use (3 reviews)
- Integrations (2 reviews)
- Security (2 reviews)
- Customer Support (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Performance Issues (3 reviews)
- Communication Clarity (1 reviews)
- Compatibility Issues (1 reviews)
- Limited Resources (1 reviews)
- Network Issues (1 reviews)

  ### 16. [Google SQL Server on Google Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/google-sql-server-on-google-cloud/reviews)
  Google Cloud SQL for SQL Server is a fully managed relational database service that enables users to run Microsoft SQL Server databases on Google Cloud's infrastructure. This service automates essential database management tasks such as backups, replication, patching, and maintenance, allowing businesses to focus on application development and data analysis without the operational overhead of database administration. Key Features and Functionality: - Managed Database Service: Automates routine tasks including backups, replication, and maintenance, ensuring high availability and reliability. - Scalability: Offers custom machine types with up to 624 GB of RAM and 96 CPUs, and storage capacity up to 64 TB, with automatic storage increases as needed. - Security: Provides data encryption at rest and in transit, integration with customer-managed Active Directory for Windows Authentication, and compliance with industry standards. - High Availability: Supports regional availability with automatic failover, ensuring minimal downtime and data redundancy. - Integration: Compatible with tools like SQL Server Management Studio and Visual Studio, facilitating seamless migration and management of existing SQL Server workloads. Primary Value and Solutions Provided: Cloud SQL for SQL Server addresses the challenges of database management by offering a fully managed service that reduces operational complexity and costs. It enables businesses to scale their databases efficiently, maintain high availability, and ensure data security without the need for in-depth database administration expertise. This allows organizations to allocate resources towards innovation and development, rather than routine maintenance tasks.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 23

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Google](https://www.g2.com/sellers/google)
- **Year Founded:** 1998
- **HQ Location:** Mountain View, CA
- **Twitter:** @google (31,840,340 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1441/ (336,169 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ:GOOG

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 48% Mid-Market, 30% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Google Cloud Platform (4 reviews)
- Integrations (4 reviews)
- Flexibility (3 reviews)
- Scalability (3 reviews)
- Scaling (3 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Expensive (4 reviews)
- Limited Features (4 reviews)
- Performance Issues (2 reviews)
- Billing Issues (1 reviews)
- Complexity (1 reviews)

  ### 17. [VMware Fusion](https://www.g2.com/products/vmware-fusion/reviews)
  VMware Fusion is a powerful desktop hypervisor developed by VMware, enabling Mac users to run multiple operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and other versions of macOS, concurrently with their native macOS environment. This capability allows for seamless integration and operation of diverse applications across different platforms without the need for dual-booting or additional hardware. Key Features and Functionality: - Broad OS Compatibility: Supports a wide range of guest operating systems, including various versions of Windows, Linux distributions, and older macOS versions, facilitating diverse development and testing environments. - High-Performance Virtualization: Utilizes hardware-assisted virtualization technologies to deliver efficient and responsive virtual machine performance, ensuring smooth operation of applications within VMs. - Seamless Integration with macOS: Features such as Unity mode allow Windows applications to run alongside Mac applications, providing a cohesive user experience without switching between operating systems. - Advanced Graphics Support: Offers support for DirectX and OpenGL, enabling users to run graphics-intensive applications and games within virtual machines. - Snapshot and Cloning Capabilities: Allows users to capture the current state of a virtual machine, facilitating easy rollback to previous configurations and efficient management of multiple VM instances. - Support for Apple Silicon: Recent versions have introduced compatibility with Apple’s M-series chips, expanding support to the latest Mac hardware. Primary Value and User Solutions: VMware Fusion addresses the need for Mac users to access and operate applications exclusive to other operating systems without compromising the macOS experience. It is particularly beneficial for developers, IT professionals, and power users who require cross-platform compatibility for testing, development, or running legacy applications. By providing a stable and high-performance virtualization environment, VMware Fusion eliminates the need for multiple devices or complex dual-boot setups, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.


  **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 119

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 7.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Broadcom](https://www.g2.com/sellers/broadcom-ab3091cd-4724-46a8-ac89-219d6bc8e166)
- **Year Founded:** 1991
- **HQ Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Twitter:** @broadcom (62,960 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/broadcom/ (55,707 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ: CA

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Computer Networking, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 48% Enterprise, 27% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Deployment (1 reviews)
- Ease of Use (1 reviews)
- Hardware Support (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Difficult Navigation (1 reviews)

  ### 18. [Microsoft Application Virtualization](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-application-virtualization/reviews)
  The appv file is a container that stores XML and non-XML files together in a single entity. This file is built from the AppX format, which is based on the Open Packaging Conventions (OPC) standard.


  **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 16

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Microsoft](https://www.g2.com/sellers/microsoft)
- **Year Founded:** 1975
- **HQ Location:** Redmond, Washington
- **Twitter:** @microsoft (13,090,464 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/ (227,697 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** MSFT

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 50% Mid-Market, 31% Small-Business


  ### 19. [Nvidia Virtual GPU](https://www.g2.com/products/nvidia-virtual-gpu/reviews)
  NVIDIA virtual GPU (vGPU) technology uses the power of NVIDIA GPUs and NVIDIA virtual GPU software products to accelerate every virtual workflow—from AI to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). By making GPU performance possible for every virtual machine (VM), vGPU technology enables users to work more efficiently and productively. In a VDI environment powered by NVIDIA virtual GPU, the NVIDIA virtual GPU software is installed at the virtualization layer along with the hypervisor. The NVIDIA virtual GPU software creates virtual GPUs that enable every virtual machine (VM) to share a physical GPU installed on the server or allocate multiple GPUs to a single VM to power the most demanding workloads. The NVIDIA virtualization software includes a driver for every VM. NVIDIA Quadro® Virtual Data Center Workstation (Quadro vDWS) includes, for example, the powerful Quadro driver. Because work that was typically done by the CPU is offloaded to the GPU, the user has a much better experience, and demanding engineering and creative applications can be supported in a virtualized and cloud environment.


  **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 34

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [NVIDIA](https://www.g2.com/sellers/nvidia)
- **Year Founded:** 1993
- **HQ Location:** Santa Clara, CA
- **Twitter:** @nvidia (2,471,663 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3608/ (46,612 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NVDA

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 37% Mid-Market, 37% Small-Business


  ### 20. [VMware Workstation Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/vmware-workstation-pro/reviews)
  VMware Workstation Pro is a desktop hypervisor that enables users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single Windows or Linux PC. Designed for IT professionals, developers, and educators, it provides a robust platform for developing, testing, and deploying applications across diverse environments without the need for additional hardware. Key Features and Functionality: - Multiple OS Support: Run a wide range of operating systems, including various versions of Windows, Linux, BSD, and MS-DOS, on virtual machines. - Snapshot Capability: Save the state of a virtual machine at any point in time, allowing for easy rollback to a previous state, which is invaluable for testing and development purposes. - Virtual Networking: Create complex network configurations with support for bridging existing host network adapters and sharing physical disk drives and USB devices with virtual machines. - High-Performance Graphics: Support for DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.3 enables running 3D applications and games within virtual machines. - Remote vSphere Integration: Connect to remote vSphere environments to manage virtual machines and data centers directly from the Workstation Pro interface. Primary Value and User Solutions: VMware Workstation Pro addresses the complexities of managing multi-OS operations by providing isolated, secure environments for development, testing, and learning. It allows users to streamline workflows by running multiple operating systems on a single machine without rebooting, facilitating efficient software development and testing across different platforms. Additionally, its integration with remote vSphere setups ensures seamless management of virtual infrastructures, making it an essential tool for professionals seeking flexibility and control in their virtualization needs.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 132

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Broadcom](https://www.g2.com/sellers/broadcom-ab3091cd-4724-46a8-ac89-219d6bc8e166)
- **Year Founded:** 1991
- **HQ Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Twitter:** @broadcom (62,960 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/broadcom/ (55,707 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ: CA

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 38% Mid-Market, 34% Small-Business


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Integrations (2 reviews)
- Snapshots (2 reviews)
- Virtualization Management (2 reviews)
- Ease of Use (1 reviews)
- Features (1 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Billing Issues (1 reviews)
- Difficult Configuration (1 reviews)
- Expensive (1 reviews)
- High Licensing Cost (1 reviews)
- Licensing Issues (1 reviews)

  ### 21. [Vultr](https://www.g2.com/products/vultr/reviews)
  Vultr is on a mission to make high-performance cloud computing easy to use, affordable, and locally accessible for businesses and developers around the world. A favorite with developers, Vultr has served over 1.5 million customers across 185 countries with flexible, scalable, global cloud computing, cloud GPU, bare metal, and cloud storage solutions. Founded by David Aninowsky, and completely bootstrapped, Vultr has become one of the largest cloud computing platforms in the world, without ever raising equity financing. Learn more at www.vultr.com.


  **Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 282

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Vultr Holdings LLC](https://www.g2.com/sellers/vultr-holdings-llc)
- **Company Website:** https://www.vultr.com/
- **Year Founded:** 2014
- **HQ Location:** West Palm Beach, FL
- **Twitter:** @Vultr (123,366 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/15209570/ (314 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** CEO, CTO
  - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 80% Small-Business, 10% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (11 reviews)
- Affordable (8 reviews)
- Cost-Effective (8 reviews)
- Deployment (6 reviews)
- Easy Setup (5 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Poor Customer Support (5 reviews)
- Payment Issues (3 reviews)
- Billing Issues (2 reviews)
- Latency Issues (2 reviews)
- Limited Features (2 reviews)

  ### 22. [HP-UX](https://www.g2.com/products/hp-ux/reviews)
  Streamline your operations with the right UNIX computing environment. HP-UX is a highly integrated UNIX operating system built on the always-on resiliency of mission-critical HPE Integrity servers to give you a dynamic, secure, and unified environment.


  **Average Rating:** 3.8/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 29

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 7.5/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [HP](https://www.g2.com/sellers/hp)
- **HQ Location:** Palo Alto, CA
- **Twitter:** @HP (1,093,651 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/5390798/ (138,959 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** HPQ
- **Total Revenue (USD mm):** $56,639

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 45% Enterprise, 31% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Stability (5 reviews)
- Easy Management (3 reviews)
- Reliability (3 reviews)
- Security (2 reviews)
- Security/Safety (2 reviews)

**Cons:**

- High Cost (3 reviews)
- Compatibility Issues (2 reviews)
- Outdated Software (2 reviews)
- Upgrade Issues (2 reviews)
- Difficult Learning Curve (1 reviews)

  ### 23. [Red Hat Virtualization](https://www.g2.com/products/red-hat-virtualization/reviews)
  Red Hat Virtualization (formerly Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization) provides server and desktop virtualization tools


  **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 15

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 7.9/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Red Hat](https://www.g2.com/sellers/red-hat)
- **Year Founded:** 1993
- **HQ Location:** Raleigh, NC
- **Twitter:** @RedHat (299,330 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3545/ (19,305 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Company Size:** 40% Enterprise, 33% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons


**Cons:**

- Steep Learning Curve (1 reviews)

  ### 24. [Deep Learning VM Image](https://www.g2.com/products/deep-learning-vm-image/reviews)
  Deep Learning VM Images are pre-configured virtual machine images optimized for data science and machine learning tasks. These images come with essential machine learning frameworks and tools pre-installed, enabling users to deploy and scale machine learning models efficiently on Google Cloud's infrastructure. Key Features and Functionality: - Pre-installed Frameworks: Support for TensorFlow Enterprise, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and generic high-performance computing, catering to various machine learning needs. - Operating System Options: Based on Debian 11 and Ubuntu 22.04, providing flexibility and compatibility with different environments. - Comprehensive Python Environment: Includes Python 3.10 with a suite of libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, Pandas, NLTK, Pillow, scikit-image, OpenCV, and scikit-learn, facilitating a robust development experience. - JupyterLab Integration: Offers JupyterLab notebook environments for rapid prototyping and interactive development. - GPU Acceleration: Equipped with the latest NVIDIA drivers and packages, including CUDA 11.x and 12.x, CuDNN, and NCCL, to leverage GPU capabilities for accelerated computation. Primary Value and User Solutions: Deep Learning VM Images streamline the setup process for machine learning projects by providing ready-to-use environments with pre-installed frameworks and tools. This reduces the time and effort required for configuration, allowing data scientists and machine learning practitioners to focus on model development and experimentation. The integration with Google Cloud's scalable infrastructure ensures that users can efficiently manage and scale their machine learning workloads, whether they require CPU or GPU resources. Regular updates and community support further enhance the reliability and performance of these VM images, making them a valuable resource for accelerating machine learning initiatives.


  **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 47

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 8.5/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Google](https://www.g2.com/sellers/google)
- **Year Founded:** 1998
- **HQ Location:** Mountain View, CA
- **Twitter:** @google (31,840,340 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/1441/ (336,169 employees on LinkedIn®)
- **Ownership:** NASDAQ:GOOG

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  - **Company Size:** 52% Small-Business, 30% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (28 reviews)
- Setup Ease (15 reviews)
- Features (14 reviews)
- Easy Integrations (11 reviews)
- Easy Setup (11 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Expensive (15 reviews)
- Cost (8 reviews)
- Learning Difficulty (7 reviews)
- Difficult Learning (6 reviews)
- Dependency Issues (5 reviews)

  ### 25. [Red Hat OpenShift](https://www.g2.com/products/red-hat-red-hat-openshift/reviews)
  Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is an open source, enterprise-grade Kubernetes platform for building, deploying, and managing containerized applications across on-premise, private cloud and public cloud infrastructure.


  **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0
  **Total Reviews:** 289

**User Satisfaction Scores:**

- **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?:** 8.6/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **OS Integration:** 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
- **Scalability:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
- **Resource Saving:** 6.7/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)


**Seller Details:**

- **Seller:** [Red Hat](https://www.g2.com/sellers/red-hat)
- **Year Founded:** 1993
- **HQ Location:** Raleigh, NC
- **Twitter:** @RedHat (299,330 Twitter followers)
- **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3545/ (19,305 employees on LinkedIn®)

**Reviewer Demographics:**
  - **Who Uses This:** DevOps Engineer, Senior Software Engineer
  - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Financial Services
  - **Company Size:** 48% Enterprise, 27% Mid-Market


#### Pros & Cons

**Pros:**

- Ease of Use (40 reviews)
- Features (36 reviews)
- Kubernetes Management (22 reviews)
- Integrations (21 reviews)
- Scalability (20 reviews)

**Cons:**

- Learning Curve (28 reviews)
- Complexity (18 reviews)
- Configuration Complexity (16 reviews)
- Complex Setup (15 reviews)
- Not User-Friendly (13 reviews)



## Parent Category

[IT Infrastructure Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/it-infrastructure)



## Related Categories

- [Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers](https://www.g2.com/categories/infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas)



---

## Buyer Guide

### What You Should Know About Server Virtualization Software

### What is Server Virtualization Software?

Server virtualization products, commonly referred to as hypervisors, are used by organizations to partition dedicated servers into scalable virtual instances called virtual private servers (VPS). Virtual private servers created with server virtualization technology can each host a unique operating system and be managed independently through an integrated hosting control panel. Organizations use server virtualization products to allocate server resources among virtual machines for workload optimization. Virtual machines created with virtualization platforms are often more flexible and reliable to manage than unpartitioned servers. Organizations that house and manage servers internally implement server virtualization solutions to reduce resource strains. Additionally, virtualization technology is commonly used by hosting service providers to offer VPS hosting services to their customers.

#### What Types of Server Virtualization Software Exist?

All virtualization technologies will serve the purpose of dividing a server into unique, virtual servers. Still, there are general differences depending on the virtualized server the user intends to implement. 

**Full virtualization**

Full virtualization typically requires a hypervisor that communicates with, monitors, and relays resources between applications and the physical server. This type of virtualization can limit performance since both the physical server and the hypervisor require processing power to operate. These virtualization platforms typically utilize a single operating system. For example, a Linux hypervisor would create a virtual Linux server to run applications.

**Para-virtualization**

Para-virtualization operates similarly to full virtualization, but it integrates the entire network and any other para-virtualized servers. This interoperability reduces the processing needs.

**OS-level virtualization**

OS-level virtualization is another type of server virtualization that preprograms an operating system, allowing different applications running different operating systems to utilize the same physical resources simultaneously. This adds additional flexibility and portability when developing in the cloud or migrating legacy systems. ** **

### What are the Common Features of Server Virtualization Software?

The following are some core features within server virtualization that can help users deploy, manage, and optimize virtualization server software:

**Scaling:** Scaling features help companies ramp up usage as growth occurs. This is done by allocating host resources to create additional instances quickly without requiring additional physical infrastructure.

**Portability:** Portability features provide an efficient server and storage migration functionality. This allows users to move applications from one server to another without having to reconfigure the entire server or application

**Data recovery:** Backup and recovery features provide backup functionality to store and protect redundant data sets and protect and restore a database. Recovery features will help revert systems in the case information is deleted or destroyed.

**OS integration:** Operating systems may determine how flexible or how portable a server is. Proper host integration will ensure an application runs smoothly with a variety of operating systems such as Windows, Linux, etc.

**Resource management:** Resource management features help people optimize physical and virtual resources across complex computing environments to ensure efficiency and availability at all times. 

**Performance management:** Performance management features monitor virtual environments and physical hardware performance. Typically this is presented through a single-pane-of-glass dashboard.

**Multi-server management:** Multi-server management features allow users to manage, monitor, and configure resources across numerous virtualized servers. This can allow users to track and control resource spend and loads across entire networks.

**Hosting:** Hosting services of VPS allow customers to host an account on virtualized servers. The overall server resources are shared across all accounts, while some portions of those resources are reserved for each account.

**Control panel:** In a VPS, a control panel integrates hosting plans with either open-source or proprietary web hosting control panels. This helps to provide customers with a graphical user interface (GUI) that facilitates access to additional web hosting management features.

**Supported operating systems:** Various operating systems have their strengths and weaknesses concerning performance, security, and integration. Some VPS offerings allow customers to choose from multiple supported operating systems while others only support one.

### What are the Benefits of Server Virtualization Software?

**Cost savings:** Physical servers are costly and present an expensive barrier to entry for some companies. Smaller businesses may not have the staff to manage on-premises servers at all times. Server virtualization technologies help to expand the functionality of servers without requiring more infrastructure. This saves money in a similar way to any “as a service” offering. Server virtualization can expand the reach and functionality of a single server to achieve numerous business goals. 

**Free time:** Physical servers require substantial time and effort not only to implement but also to maintain throughout their usage lifecycle. These servers must remain secure at all times, monitored for anomalous activities, and optimized for peak performance. Without the need to manage numerous servers on premises, IT staff can be more focused on expanding functionality, ensuring availability, and everything else they do to keep the modern world connected.

**Flexibility and portability:** Server virtualization platforms make it easier for companies to change the way they utilize servers without inhibiting availability or increased costs. Most of the flexibility comes from the consolidation of servers onto a single server, as well as the ability to add additional virtual servers 

### What are the Alternatives to Server Virtualization Software?

Alternatives to server virtualization products can replace this type of software, either partially or completely:

**Virtual private servers (VPS)**: Virtual private servers (VPS) offerings are very similar to server virtualization tools. Many even deliver the same product, just as a managed service. Unlike server virtualization tools or a hypervisor, virtual private servers are housed and managed by an IT infrastructure provider of some kind. One thing to note is that VPS users may unknowingly share resources with other customers. It is likely easier to ensure peak performance while the user manages the virtual servers, but only if they have the staff and resources to do so.

**Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)**: IaaS offerings are a simple and dynamic way to access the cloud services a user needs. These products are offered by large cloud computing service providers who house and manage enormous data centers capable of delivering virtually any amount of resources. While customers need to manage everything in the cloud, or deployed through IaaS cloud services, the provider will be responsible for ensuring consistent availability and scalability, while protecting the physical servers themselves. 

**Virtual private cloud (VPC)**: VPC solutions are offered by similar service providers as IaaS solutions and rely on third-party infrastructure to deliver computing resources. They also operate similar to VPS solutions in delivering resources through the cloud. But the main difference here is the scope of what’s delivered. While virtualization solutions or virtual private servers help allocate the resources of a single server, VPC provides customers with the ability to manage multiple virtual machines and virtual servers within an isolated, private cloud computing environment. Still, it’s good to remember that this increased functionality will come at an increased cost.

### Challenges with Server Virtualization Software

Software solutions can come with their own set of challenges. 

**Performance issues:** Without substantial experience managing virtual servers themselves, companies may struggle to optimize the performance of their servers and the individual virtual servers running atop them. Overworking a single server is also a possibility. Servers themselves, hypervisors, and additional virtualization will bog down a server and can slow performance. 

**Security:** Companies running virtual servers on their infrastructure must be sure the resources are properly configured and protected at all times. Companies like this, as well as ones relying on managed virtual servers, must secure every piece of data, the networks, integrations, and anything else housed on the server. 

**Backup and disaster recovery:** Virtual servers have no physical hard drive to rely on for storing or recovering data. The virtual machines running in a virtual environment must be backed up with a plan in place to prevent data loss and other negative side effects that may result from not implementing a backup and recovery plan. 

### Which Companies Should Buy Server Virtualization Software?

Generally, server virtualization solutions and hypervisors will be used by companies that require more computing resources than they can house on site, but aren’t interested in more all-encompassing cloud-infrastructure solutions. 

**Startups and software companies:** Server virtualization products are good for companies that require numerous servers operating simultaneously, but don’t want to invest in additional physical infrastructure and want to manage and configure servers themselves. 

**Web hosting providers:** Web and other hosting providers often use server virtualization technologies to host numerous websites or applications on a single server. This helps simplify the management of these servers and isolates each virtual environment from one another. 

**Modernizing businesses:** Companies hoping to migrate workloads and legacy systems to more modern computing environments should consider virtualization platforms as they make it easier to transfer virtual machines across servers and improve reliability in the case of a disaster. 

### How to Buy Server Virtualization Software

#### Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Server Virtualization Software

The first step to purchasing a server virtualization solution is to outline the options. Companies should be sure whether they need a managed, shared, or dedicated solution. Additional and possibly obvious requirements should also include budgetary considerations, staffing limitations, and required integrations_. _

#### Compare Server Virtualization Software Products

**Create a long list**

Once the requirements are outlined, buyers should rank the tools by priority and identify the ones with as many of the features that fit the budget window. It is recommended to restrict the list to products with desired features, pricing, data center locations, and deployment methods to identify a dozen or so options. For example, if the business needs managed virtual servers for less than $10,000 a year, half of the options may be eliminated. 

**Create a short list**

Once the long list is limited to affordable products with the desired features, it’s time to search for third-party validation. At this point, for each tool, the buyer must analyze end-user reviews and analyst reports. Combining these specified factors should help rank options and eliminate poorly performing products. 

**Conduct demos**

With the list narrowed down to three to five possible products, businesses can reach out to vendors and schedule demos. This will help the buyer get first-hand experience with the product, ask targeted questions, and gauge the vendors’ quality of service. 

#### Selection of server virtualization software

**Choose a selection team**

To choose a selection team, decision makers need to involve subject matter experts from all teams in the company that will use the system. When purchasing server virtualization platforms, this selection team primarily involves IT managers, developers, and security staff. Any manager or department-level leader should also include individuals managing any solution the product will be integrating with. 

**Negotiation**

Depending on the maturity of the business, the seniority of the negotiation team when buying server virtualization solutions may vary. It is advisable to include relevant directors or managers in the security and IT departments as well as from any other cross-functional departments that may be impacted.

**Final decision**

If the company has a chief technology officer (CTO), that individual will likely make the decision. If not, companies must trust their security professionals’ ability to use and understand the product. 

### What Does Server Virtualization Software Cost?

The variance in cost is very high with virtualization software for servers. Many of them are open source and simply require individuals to configure and maintain them. Others may factor in the price of a physical server, managed services, and other variables that will increase costs substantially more than the server virtualization product itself.