We use vSphere to create virtual machines, connect them with centralized storage, and manage the vSphere servers. Many of our customers use vSphere. It's famous in Egypt.
Senior System & Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Good application and services
Pros and Cons
- "VMware vSphere has very good applications and services."
- "Here in Egypt, we would like everything free. So if you give us the license for free, we would be thrilled."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
VMware vSphere has very good applications and services.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been working with vSphere for about three years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is scalable.
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How are customer service and support?
VMware support is very helpful. Their team is very knowledgeable and useful.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up vSphere is very easy. It takes about three or four technicians to implement, including one manager and three admins.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay for an annual subscription. We recommend users pay for VMware support because you might need it. We cannot use it without the support license. Here in Egypt, we would like everything free. So if you give us the license for free, we would be thrilled.
What other advice do I have?
I rate vSphere 10 out of 10. I would recommend it to others.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

IT Operations Support at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Stable, simple to scale, simple to operate, and has helpful support
Pros and Cons
- "The virtualization this solution offer is very complete for the infrastructure."
- "The support for the latest version could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use VMware vSphere on our main computer systems and we are using the Center Configuration Manager from VMware for the solution as well as vCenter for replication.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the tech manager from the utilization.
The virtualization this solution offers is very complete for the infrastructure. It meets our requirements and our needs.
It is very easy to operate.
What needs improvement?
The support for the latest version could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with VMware vSphere for ten years.
We began with version 4.0 and are now working with the most recent version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is a scalable product.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support from VMware is very comprehensive and helpful.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use several solutions such as Microsoft Azure, Oracle, and we use VMware for our infrastructure.
We also have another solution for disaster recovery.
We used Microsoft Azure for testing with the model phone credit. It was for testing only.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In my opinion, the price is not cheap, nor it is expensive. It's average.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Currently, we are starting on study for implementing the software design network, and I am evaluating options because I want to know the latest information about the products.
We are also evaluating NSX to implement it in the future.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
July 2025

Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Information Technology Consultant at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Stable, scalable, with good customer support and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
- "I definitely like the stability, performance and ease-of-use."
- "NSX is a product of VMware vSphere and it would be nice to see the solution have full integration capabilities with it."
What is our primary use case?
The solution acts as the basis for doing virtualization.
What is most valuable?
I definitely like the stability, performance and ease-of-use.
I have no issues with the solution's scalability or user-friendliness. I consider these to be perfect. We have had a fantastic, problem-free solution for the past 14 years when it comes to fault tolerance and disaster recovery. It has everything one needs.
What needs improvement?
VMware vSphere has a limited scope and necessitates the adding of additional products. This involves further complexity and expense. NSX is a product of VMware vSphere and it would be nice to see the solution have full integration capabilities with it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere since 2007.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is certainly scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is nice. We are talking about a great organization, which offers much staff, support and white paper.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward, perfect.
This process for the initial server lasts ten minutes. There is also the console, which involves two parts, one being the server itself. This is where the CD-ROM goes, something which is now on a USB key and does not involve the undertaking of any activity.
Deployment lasts half a day, at which point everything is up and running.
The real question is whether the person wishes to have one server or a hundred. The use of 200 machines will take longer. What I am talking about is small, basic installations.
What about the implementation team?
If a person is trained, then he will be able handle the deployment and maintenance on his own. This is not complex.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our customers incur a yearly licensing fee, one of three or five years, in fact.
What other advice do I have?
We consider the solution to be obligatory.
The solution's use can range from ten users to thousands.
I would definitely recommend the solution to others. I am a big fan of it.
I rate VMware vSphere as a twenty out of ten. I give it a perfect ten rating.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Systems analyst at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy configuration, with easy installing that is scalable and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The interface is good."
- "I would like to see VDP and other features included to back up the VMs in a native manner."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for Datacenter consolidation and it is the infrastructure of our servers.
What is most valuable?
The interface is good.
It is easy to configure.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see VDP and other features included to back up the VMs in a native manner.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for ten years.
We are working with VMware vSphere 6.5.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is stable enough, but we have some issues with the storage vendor.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable solution. We don't have any issues with the scalability of VMware vSphere.
We have 5,000 users in our organization.
Before we consider increasing the usage, we have to consolidate Windows Datacenter by applying an HCI infrastructure.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am a customer of Dell Technologies as well as VMware.
Other products we work with are VDI, VMware Horizon Server, and vSphere with Operations Management.
I have been using Horizon for eight years. We are using version 7.
It has 100 user licenses, that are deployed on-premises.
I feel that Horizon is more flexible in increasing the number of desktop and network profiles.
I would rate Horizon a seven out of ten.
There are ways to implement VDI in the organization other than the VMware Horizon.
How was the initial setup?
In most cases, the initial setup is simple.
It took two months to deploy this solution.
We have a team of two or three to deploy this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We had help from resellers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't have an active subscription. We have a prepaid or permanent license.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have been researching vSAN and hyper-converged features.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate VMware vSphere an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Chief Technology Officer at perfekt
Stable, scalable, easy to install and has good tech support
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is very simple."
- "The integration with containers should be addressed."
What is our primary use case?
While we work with the latest version, we also support customers when it comes to backing up their older versions, meaning we work with a variety of different ones.
Many of our customers have their core infrastructure on vSphere platforms. They make use of the solution for their virtual environments when it comes to their educational and healthcare institutions.
What is most valuable?
We consider the virtualization of CPU and storage resources to be a valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The integration with containers should be addressed. While they have started to integrate with Tanzu, the integration is not that good at the moment.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
As the solution has been around for a while, it's quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is easy to scale.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have take advantage of technical support. It is very good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
Its duration depends on how big the environment is. Huge ones may take several weeks for implementation, while smaller ones would take several days.
What about the implementation team?
Once the solution is deployed, there is a need for specific maintenance, as there are security vulnerabilities which must be considered, or new features or versions that may be put out.
We provide all the maintenance for the customers. As we also have services organizations, we manage some of these environments on the customers behalf.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
As the vSphere platform allows for a variety of additions, it is quite good. There is enterprise plus, enterprise and standard, so the pricing is not too bad.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is mostly deployed on-premises, although we also have cloud deployments.
This product is suitable for a company of any size.
The solution rates competitively against Nutanix and Microsoft. Overall, I feel it to be a pretty proven platform, although the underlying platform, or the management and features that surround it, are of secondary importance. BDI is the main focus.
I rate VMware vSphere as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Director Of Technology Operations at Kutleng Engineering Technologies
Responsive support, reliable, and has a good remote management interface
Pros and Cons
- "The virtualization, the remote management user interface, and the web console are most valuable."
- "The biggest room for improvement would be just simplicity. It is very intuitive, but it needs somebody with a lot of IT background."
What is our primary use case?
It is largely for workload virtualization.
How has it helped my organization?
Instead of having so many servers, we have got just two server nodes that are configured in high availability. We are running all our application servers, databases, and Linux and Windows systems on two servers. We've got about 12 virtual machines. If we didn't use VMware, we would have needed to buy 12 physical servers.
What is most valuable?
The virtualization, the remote management user interface, and the web console are most valuable.
What needs improvement?
The biggest room for improvement would be just simplicity. It is very intuitive, but it needs somebody with a lot of IT background.
The way VMware manages storage is not the best. Nutanix manages storage a little bit differently, but we are not using Nutanix. VMware needs to find a way to manage storage properly. There should be storage aggregation and better management of storage.
We tried to install drivers for 100 Gigabit Ethernet Mellanox, and it was very difficult to put third-party hardware and upgrade the servers. We had to roll back because it just wouldn't boot.
Its price definitely should be improved. Its pricing is on the expensive side.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution since 2017.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We tried to plug in more hardware, but the drivers were not seamless. We are using the OEM version for HPE because we are using HPE. It could be because it is yet to work with HPE hardware. HPE hardware works with Mellanox, but it just couldn't take Mellanox. We downloaded the Mellanox drivers from their website, but it just couldn't boot, so we had to roll back.
We have three administrators. The number of users varies over time. We started with 24, and because of COVID, we've reduced the number of people who can work in the office to about five.
How are customer service and technical support?
They are very responsive.
How was the initial setup?
Its initial setup is very straightforward. It is very easy to install.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They can do better by giving better pricing. Their pricing is on the expensive side. As a matter of fact, we are considering switching to OpenStack.
We only work with perpetual licenses. As a company, we don't do subscriptions.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution any day. I would rate VMware vSphere a nine out of 10. It is excellent.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Account Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Simple to manage, user-friendly, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is user-friendly and easy to manage."
- "The installation can take a long time, they need to improve on the simplicity and length of the installation."
What is our primary use case?
This solution is used as a virtual and a clustered environment. We provide a minimum of two central storage server clusters and the maximum we have is for approximately four server clusters.
What is most valuable?
The solution is user-friendly and easy to manage.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by providing better information on what other products it is compatible with. For example, we have customers that do not like AMD Chipsets used with VMware but it is not a technical issue, they need to bring more awareness.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the stability to be good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
we have approximately 50 customers using the solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
The customer service is good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward because it comes with the appliance, you only have to deploy the appliance. The installation can take a long time, they need to improve on the simplicity and length of the installation.
All the customers who have the VMware have the vSphere because there is no single installation.
What about the implementation team?
We have five technicians for the installation and maintenance of the solutuion.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a perpetual license for this solution and the support is a yearly subscription.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. If you use VMware, then you need to use vSphere to manage the clusters.
I rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Good virtualization and optimization in an easy to use solution
Pros and Cons
- "Good virtualization and ability to optimize and deliver an automated and orchestrated cloud platform on-prem."
- "Higher cost than other similar solutions."
What is our primary use case?
We deliver this solution to our customers and we partner with the vendor. I'm a senior infrastructure solution specialist.
What is most valuable?
This is a straightforward solution, there's not much troubleshooting required and the work around it is quite simple. I particularly like the virtualization and the ability of the solution to optimize and deliver an automated and orchestrated cloud platform on-prem. They regularly surprise us with great features developed by a very, very sharp R&D team that delivers up-to-date technology with more features and more valuable ideas to enhance and automate the platform with data center.
What needs improvement?
If you're converting from any other virtualization system to VMware, you will note that the price is significantly higher.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for 10 years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable to an unlimited number of hosts.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very helpful. They don't deliver the troubleshooting directly, but they understand and collect the logs and provide the procedure to follow in order to reach a solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. VMware is a very, very easy system to implement and to administer, as long as you have at least some sort of experience. You don't need to be an expert but those who have a high-level knowledge of VMware can manage and deliver the crucial tasks.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are different licensing costs depending on whether you're using the standard or enterprise solution. A socket in the standard solution might cost $1,000 whereas it would cost $4,000 for the enterprise socket.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner

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