Item: VMware vCenter
Rating: 8
Author: Veli-Matti Mäkelä

Overall Satisfaction with VMware vCenter

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use vCenter to manage our VMware ESXi hypervisors in our onpremise datacenter. The product helps to centrally manage our whole virtualization environment. We also use automation to reduce workload for our IT-admins. Features like vMotion help reduce downtime. Additionally, we leverage VMware’s Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) to optimize resource allocation across our clusters. This ensures that our workloads are always running efficiently and helps prevent any potential performance bottlenecks.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Central management of VMware environment
Automated management

Cons

The builtin MFA is limited to two options
Integration with Third-Party Tools

Return on Investment

Has reduced number of IT-admins needed for server management by about half. This has freed up IT-admins to other tasks
IT-admins need less time as centralized tasks can be implemented to all servers VMware environment
Less downtime to services impacting end-user productivity

Usability

On the positive side, VMware vCenter offers powerful features for centralized management, automation, and resource optimization, which are highly beneficial for managing complex virtual environments. However, the interface can be quite complex and overwhelming, especially for new users. The steep learning curve and occasional difficulty in navigating the system can detract from the overall user experience.

Alternatives Considered

Proxmox VE, Hyper-V and Nutanix AHV

VMware as a product was most advanced hypervisor when we made the decision for our datacenter. Over the years VMware vCenter has kept it's edge and we have seen no reason to change to any other product as we have gained experience over the years. We do still continue to evaluate this matter, more so after Broadcom acquired VMware and there was increase in license prices.

Key Insights

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

Yes

Are you happy with VMware vCenter's feature set?

Yes

Did VMware vCenter live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of VMware vCenter go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware vCenter again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, Barracuda Cloud-to-Cloud Backup, JitBit Help Desk

Likelihood to Recommend

The product is well suited for larger environments where availability of IT-services is critical. After implementing the product it will help larger enviroments to maintain the whole VMware-enviroment. For cost reasons product is not so well suited for smaller environments. The complexity of implementation might also keep smaller organizations away from the product.

Comments

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vCenter is our choice for managing hypervisors