VMware Releases vSphere Express for Cost-Effective Virtualization on Up to 128 Cores

New Offering for SMBs

VMware, under Broadcom, has introduced vSphere Express, a virtualization product designed for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). This offering targets organizations needing cost-effective, essential virtualization without the extensive features of larger bundles.

The release follows feedback from SMB customers who found VMware's flagship VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) and VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) bundles to be too expensive and feature-rich for their needs. Some SMB users previously reported difficulty accessing vSphere Standard, VMware's prior entry-level offering.

Pricing and Features

vSphere Express is available via a per-core subscription license, with IT distributor TD Synnex listing an annual cost of $9,600 for use on up to 128 cores. This price does not decrease for fewer cores. VMware stated the price would be significantly lower than VVF and VCF.

The product includes basic virtualization capabilities such as vMotion for live migration of virtual machines and high availability for automated restarts of failed virtual machines. It supports discrete instances, meaning central management across multiple instances is not available.

Addressing Customer Needs

Prashanth Shenoy, VP of product marketing for VCF, indicated that vSphere Express was developed in response to feedback from lower-end customers who desired core virtualization without the full VVF suite. This new product aims to cater specifically to that market segment.

Unlike the older vSphere Standard, which has not received significant updates in recent years, vSphere Express will be updated with the same frequency as VCF and VVF, ensuring it remains current.