Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 10
Author: Michael Sen

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Currently, we use VMware ESXi to host our virtual environment of servers and workstations in our organization. The business problem that we address by using VMware ESXi is that it gives us a product that we can use to easily set up a virtual environment which saves us time and money. We don't have to use physical servers and workstations to set up servers and other appliances. When other functional departments in our company require servers to be stood up we can deploy it in our VMware ESXi environment seamlessly.

Pros and Cons

VMware ESXi provides a wizard for the hypervisor to be installed making it very easy to configure on almost any bare metal box.
It provides an easy interface to see information about the Virtual Machines you have set on the VMware ESXi hypervisor.
VMware ESXi is also very easily upgradable. The hypervisor takes care of all the necessary tasks prior to a hypervisor upgrade, allowing for peace of mind when upgrading and no effect on the virtual machines you have running.

VMware ESXi can improve on the UI that is installed on the bare metal machine. The menus can be hard to navigate when looking for simple configuration items.
VMware ESXi can improve on the stability of their overall hypervisor. There have been a few times we had to reinstall due to corruption of VMware ESXi.
I would like to see VMware ESXi do better at adding more standard free features in their consumer version of VMware ESXi. For example, having the ability to back up virtual machines is good practice and something that would be very nice if offered in their free version.

Return on Investment

Positively, it has saved us time in spinning up new servers for the different departments in our company. It is easy for us to spin up virtual machines with VMware ESXi and deploy applications at the drop of a hat.
Positively we are able to save space in our data closets as we no longer need to keep room for physical servers and workstations, allowing us to expand in other areas like networking equipment and physical backup solutions.
It has moved our business forward as we are able to migrate old servers and static workstations in the virtual environment allowing us to easily keep an eye on older applications and update/backup easily through VMware ESXi management console.

Alternatives Considered

Oracle VM VirtualBox

Compared to VirtualBox, VMware ESXi feels a lot more enterprise-grade when comparing the two. As ESXi is a VMware product we knew the level of quality and support we would receive from the vendor. VirtualBox is an open-source platform for virtualization and we liked the fact that VMware ESXi was housed in the VMware ecosystem. Also, we ended up going with VMware ESXi as they offer more versatility in which hardware they can be installed on. As we want to try new equipment we would like if we have the option to expand our virtual footprint to it.

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?

Yes

Did implementation of VMware ESXi go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware ESXi again?

Yes

Other Software Used

OpenAir PSA, NetSuite ERP, Cisco Meraki MX, Celigo integrator.io

Likelihood to Recommend

VMware ESXi is best suited for organizations looking to create or expand their virtual environment. If an organization is continuing to deploy physical workstations or servers, they can save lots of time, money, and space investing in VMware ESXi to build a virtual environment. This will also prevent further headaches in having the recover corrupt servers or workstations as ESXi makes it very easy to take snapshots and integrate 3rd party backup solutions. Where VMware ESXi is less appropriate would be for small "mom/pop" outfits that aren't requiring too many servers or virtual workstations. There is a standard equipment set and technical environment required for VMware ESXi which small business may not need to invest in if they aren't looking for virtual environment solutions.

One of the best VMware Products, ESXi!

Overall Satisfaction with VMware ESXi