it_user334515 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Engineer at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
We’ve already deployed three-tiered applications with just a push of a button to deploy from dev to staging to production.

What is most valuable?

Ability to give our developers a self-service environment, where they can go on particular portal and deploy their own systems.

How has it helped my organization?

Automation piece. If we can continue to develop automation for developers, that should seamlessly carry over into product environment as well without admin heavy lifting. In automation, there's still a lot of manual processes, but with vCloud, less so.

What needs improvement?

I don’t see any improvements that could be made based on the way we use it. Maybe some built-in third-party tools that we’re using now in terms of automation (i.e. Bamboo) would be an improvement.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We’ve already deployed three-tiered applications with just a push of a button to deploy from dev to staging to production.

In regards to stability, this gives you more control yet takes out the human element. There’s consistency that’s set in the script and then we can make small changes as we grow.

Buyer's Guide
vCloud Director
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about vCloud Director. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
769,662 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

They’re now moving more into vRealize and more integrated systems. It used to need more scripting, but VMware are now working more hand in hand with other solutions.

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service:

Technical Support:

Great tech support. I love those guys. Every time I had a ticket, I could escalate, and they’d work in tandem with other vendors (i.e. NetApp) to find solution.

How was the initial setup?

I wasn't part of initial set-up, but I believe it’s complex based on the senior engineer’s experience.

For example, right now the metrics to upgrade is complex, requiring certain elements. It’s very simple to use and train end-users. In our shop, we try to make them more self-sufficient, so a lot of knowledge transfer.

What other advice do I have?

Access the enormous amount of virtual apps they have to get practical performance instead of just the KB to deploy. They also need to get an understanding of audience as well. Understand pain points to understand how to approach solution.

It loses points because things are moving so quickly that it has yet to catch up.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Java Developer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
Easy to manage and configure
Pros and Cons
  • "vCloud Director has improved our organization in so far as it is an easy solution to sell. I believe this is the case due to the fact that it is an easy tool to manage and to configure."
  • "Improvements could be made in the building feature since there isn't a real building feature associated with the product. We require a building feature to integrate with other solutions."

What is our primary use case?

We are a service provider. We offer business integration, application and infrastructure outsourcing, innovative solutions and strategic consultancy to private businesses. We offer the cloud service-delivery platform vCloud Director as an example of one of our products. 

How has it helped my organization?

vCloud Director has improved our organization in so far as it is an easy solution to sell. I believe this is the case due to the fact that it is an easy tool to manage and to configure.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the fact that it's a VMware product. The majority of our customers already have this product on-prem; they are happy to use the same solution also in our cloud environment.

What needs improvement?

Improvements could be made in the building feature since there isn't a real building feature associated with the product. We require a building feature to integrate with other solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My impressions of the scalability of vCloud Director are all positive.

How are customer service and technical support?

Up until today, everything has been running smoothly. We haven't needed to contact the technical support team.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was completed four years ago; the deployment was not straightforward or easy from what I can recall. We've installed the environment this year and it was quite straightforward. Much easier than five years ago.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I can't remember what our setup costs were. I know we paid in VSPP points. Our contract covers other environments so it's not something I monitor.

What other advice do I have?

My only additional commentary has to do with the making improvements to the user interface.

If I was to give vCloud Director a rating from one to ten, 10 being the best, I'd give it an 8 based on the fact that it's stable, our customers seem to like it, and we can manage it quite easily.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
vCloud Director
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about vCloud Director. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
769,662 professionals have used our research since 2012.
VMware Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Not cheap but has enabled us to provision our clients faster by around 60%
Pros and Cons
  • "If a customer is looking for disaster recovery at a cheaper price, this is the best solution."
  • "vCloud Director isn't cheap."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for the public cloud. We offer public cloud to various customers. The idea is to offer a cheap public cloud service. 

How has it helped my organization?

vCloud has improved our organization because it acts as a DR between the customer's premise to the public cloud. If a customer is looking for disaster recovery at a cheaper price, this is the best solution. 

The self-service capability has been beneficial for my organization. Although we have a problem because it cannot support automation from A to Z. There is a lot of missing. 

This solution has enabled us to provision our clients faster by around 60%.

What is most valuable?

ESG is one of the most valuable features. It deals with networking, traffic, and the security of some features like load balancer.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see automation for creating data centers and IP management. That would make it easier for customers.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's generally stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's very scalable. 

How is customer service and technical support?

The problem with vCloud Director is that there are not enough GSS engineers who can support us. Every time that I try to open a ticket with GSS support, they ask me to wait until the next day. If I try to open a ticket with another product like vSphere or vSAN I will get a quick answer.

How was the initial setup?

vCloud Availability is hard to install but vCloud Director is easy to install.

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator who was great. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

vCloud Director isn't cheap.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a six because, from the end-user experience, it's hard to deal with the portal compared to other solutions like OpenStack.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
it_user6696 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of IT at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
Great product, if you are already heavily invested with VMware

Valuable Features:

Simple, scalable, and comprehensive solution for large enterprises

Room for Improvement:

It is not targeted to smaller and midsize companies. Pricing can be beyond their budgets.

Other Advice:

There is a great amount of work to be done before considering deployment of this or any other cloud platform
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user2652 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user2652Project Manager at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
PopularVendor

Which version of VMware have you used? Which storage do you prefer with VMware? HP, EMC, Dell or other? Did you face any issues with deployment?

MSS Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Scalable, responsive support, but missing features
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the solution scales well."
  • "This solution could improve by adding root cause analysis."

What is our primary use case?

We use vCloud Director as a multiple cloud management solution.

What needs improvement?

This solution could improve by adding root cause analysis.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCloud Director within 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable but could improve.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have found the solution scales well.

How are customer service and technical support?

The support responsiveness has been satisfactory.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The license could be less expensive and we are on a perpetual license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are evaluating Dynamics from Cisco to perhaps replace this solution.

What other advice do I have?

We are looking for another solution that meets our needs.

I rate vCloud Director a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
it_user320277 - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtual Systems Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
Its flexibility allows me to adapt it to students' needs, although a better GUI for both students and administrators would be an improvement.

What is most valuable?

Flexibility – it allows me to adapt the product to all student needs.

How has it helped my organization?

Students using the environment vs. not using the environment. Students can find products that they want to use and if they’re using it, they’re happy with it.

What needs improvement?

Better GUI as they don’t hold with the programs that well. Better user interfaces in general. Both the administrative and user interfaces need to be better.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It’s fairly stable, no bugs no crashes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It scales fine, it went from 1,000 to 2,000 machines without any issues at all.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support’s wonderful. Whenever we find an issue, we submit a ticket and they resolve it within an hour usually. Sometimes the complexity of the environment is high, and that’s fine, but usually it’s very quick.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using Lab Manager, and when VMware discontinued it, we needed to switch.

How was the initial setup?

Complicated – there was no upgrade path from Lab Manager to vCloud Director, so we basically had to design a new solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No, because of the time VMware has been in the market. I don’t like using people that are new, and VMware has been around for a long time. Also, we just thought it would be simpler to stay with the same vendor.

What other advice do I have?

I really don’t know of any products right now other than this. They’re pretty high – if someone has a peer review that’s low, I won’t consider the product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user297132 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Cloud Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
​It helps us provide private cloud solutions to our clients, but it is too platform dependent.

Valuable Features

The orchestrator is the most valuable feature.

Improvements to My Organization

It helps us provide private cloud solutions to our clients.

Room for Improvement

Though the product is quite good, I feel it needs a more public view, where the server access studies to migrate organizations into cloud be clearer. Also, orchestrator should be API based, and have templates to use instead of having to create the Java scripting from scratch. It also needs to be more independent of the platform on which it is used on.

Use of Solution

I've used it for two years.

Customer Service and Technical Support

It's very good.

Initial Setup

It was complex as it does not include a good, extensive feasibility and compatibility guide.

Implementation Team

We used a vendor team who were very good.

ROI

It is quite good on ROI and year on year it is about 50%.

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

vCloud Director is a good solution, but it is costly when compared to other solutions like Nutanix.

Other Solutions Considered

We didn't evaluate other solutions.

Other Advice

Choosing VMware in general, is best in terms of functionality, but it is not necessarily cost effective, as their licensing and setuo cost are too hight. Maybe we will see more products for cloud and automation.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: VMware Partners
PeerSpot user
it_user320640 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
We can import acquisition products into our environment without reconfiguring them and it's infinitely scalable.

Valuable Features

The physical segmentation of networking and security.

Improvements to My Organization

Lately we have been using it to import acquisition products into our environment without reconfiguring them at all, due to how the segmentation works.

Room for Improvement

I feel like vCloud is two years behind the feature set – in terms of the UI, and vCenter. I can't do the same tasks that I can do in terms of UI as with vCenter.

Stability Issues

It's stable, usually admin error if something goes wrong.

Scalability Issues

It's infinitely scalable.

Customer Service and Technical Support

It's good overall. We have had times when it has been slower than we would have liked, but I would say that about every vendor we use.

Initial Setup

Setup is easy.

Other Solutions Considered

It's all about the product, what limitations the product doesn’t have. We speak to vendors all the time, but once you see a product and how it will fit in then that’s the real test.

Other Advice

You can't go wrong with VMware. The stability and the flexibility it allows, they do it best compared to competitors. Peer reviews are fairly important but I try to form my opinion from a POC over anything else.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free vCloud Director Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Product Categories
Cloud Management
Buyer's Guide
Download our free vCloud Director Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.