Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), the Software Support and Agentic AI ERP Company™ and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced findings from the 2026 IT Virtualization Survey – What’s Next for VMware Users, a new global survey of nearly 300 VMware user organizations conducted by Unisphere Research on behalf of Rimini Street.

Cost Cited as the Number One Factor in Seeking Alternative VMware Solutions

Key Findings: 90% of respondents said they are considering alternatives to VMware due to higher licensing costs, while 54% cited the end of perpetual license support as another reason to evaluate other options.

The research shows that cost remains the leading driver of virtualization roadmap decisions, with nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) citing cost savings as a top priority. At the same time, organizations reported significant barriers to progress, including operational complexity (40%), multi-vendor management challenges (38%), securing the increased attack surface (37%) and team skills requirements (37%).

These findings suggest that while organizations are actively pursuing change, they are also looking for ways to reduce risk and avoid unnecessary disruption.

IT Leaders Choose Multiple and Hybrid Hypervisor Models for Greater Control and More Flexibility

Key Findings: 60% are considering a multiple-hypervisor strategy, reflecting growing interest in more flexible, mixed environments that support both operational and financial goals. In addition, 47% are favoring a hybrid IT virtualization environment consisting of hypervisors and containers for "best of both worlds" workload placement.

The findings also suggest that many organizations are considering a range of options beyond VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). Nearly half of respondents (48%) said they do not currently plan to move any of their assets to VCF, indicating that many enterprises are taking a more measured approach and prioritizing strategies that align with their business needs, existing investments and operating models.

The trend shows increasing diversification in enterprise virtualization strategies with a longer-term transition toward bespoke, multi-platform IT virtualization environments. As organizations reevaluate their paths to modernization, they are increasingly adopting approaches that combine on-premises infrastructure, private cloud, public cloud and alternative hypervisors to support workload flexibility, operational efficiency and better cost control.

Majority of VMware Customers Consider Third-party Support to Protect and Extend the Life of VMware Investments

Key Findings: 66% of respondents are currently using or considering third-party support. Leading reasons cited include security (60%), installation and implementation support (57%), and service and support concerns (54%).

IT security leaders report being overwhelmed by the “vulnerability treadmill.” In virtualized IT environments, a single compromised virtual machine can expose hundreds of guest machines, increasing the risk of service outages and potential data breaches. This makes the hypervisor a high-value target for ransomware and advanced persistent threats.

As VMware customers reassess their virtualization strategies, many are exploring third-party VMware support to strengthen service coverage, maintain operational continuity and extend the value of existing investments. The findings suggest organizations want greater control over how they secure, support and evolve environments.

Further, 77% of IT virtualization security leaders said they would see value in a security solution that provides real-time threat visibility and proactive protection against vulnerabilities, rather than relying solely on Broadcom’s patching program. Together, these findings point to growing demand for more resilient, security-by-design virtualization strategies.

“The shift for current VMware users is not simply about replacing one vendor with another. It reflects a broader effort by enterprises to reduce dependency on a single provider, maintain continuity for mission-critical systems and modernize at a pace that fits their own business requirements,” cited Joe McKendrick, lead analyst, Unisphere Research. “For many organizations, that means balancing support for existing environments with new investments designed to improve resilience, security and scalability over time.”

“Organizations want more choice, flexibility and control over their virtualization strategies,” said Keith Costello, EVP and chief operating officer, Rimini Street. “Our suite of services for VMware helps clients reduce costs, strengthen security, improve support outcomes and extend the value of their existing VMware investments — without being forced into disruptive timelines or one-size-fits-all vendor roadmaps. These survey findings reinforce the need for practical, vendor-independent strategies that put business priorities back on the client’s terms.”

Access the full report, 2026 IT Virtualization Survey – What’s Next for VMware Users, available for download.

Survey methodology

The survey was conducted by Unisphere Research in partnership with Rimini Street. Unisphere Research is the market research unit of Unisphere Media, a division of Information Today, Inc., publishers of Database Trends and Applications magazine and the 5 Minute Briefing newsletters. It surveyed 269 executives, managers and professionals across VMware user organizations between December 2025 and February 2026 to assess current usage, future plans and perceptions of VMware under Broadcom, as well as interest in alternative solutions. All respondents were current users of VMware solutions at the time the survey was conducted.