Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

VMware ESXi is being used by our organization to host virtual machines, specifically Windows servers. It is just used in our department, however, IT does serve the entire organization. It does exactly what it was designed to do: spread underused physical IT resources across a virtual environment resulting in significant savings.

Pros and Cons

Allows a single set of hardware to service many virtual servers.
Great management interface.

I haven't used it in a while, but the web client is not that great.
I don't really have any complaints, the product just works.

Return on Investment

It had a positive impact. Saved us quite a bit in hardware purchases.
Less downtime.

Alternatives Considered

Hyper-V

For me, it makes no sense to run Hyper-V on top of a server install. VMware ESXi seems to run smoother and more efficiently.

Support Rating

I've never had to call support. I've given it a 9 though because I feel that if the product works so well I've never had to call support.

Key Insights

Do you think VMware ESXi delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with VMware ESXi's feature set?

Yes

Did VMware ESXi live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of VMware ESXi go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware ESXi again?

Yes

Other Software Used

ManageEngine Desktop Central, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, Code42 (formerly CrashPlan), Cisco Umbrella, Azure Active Directory, CiraSync, Citrix ShareFile, Zoom, RingCentral

Likelihood to Recommend

VMware ESXi is well suited for pretty much any IT environment that plans on having multiple servers. I suppose if you are small, have zero IT people, and have zero desire to learn the product, it would be best to skip it.

We recommend VMware ESXi

Overall Satisfaction with VMware ESXi