HPE is launching a migration program that allows organizations switching from VMware to HPE Morpheus VM Essentials to avoid paying license fees for the first year. On top of that, they receive Zerto Advanced Resilience Edition for the miniscule sum of $1 for a full 12 months. The program was announced during HPE Discover in Las Vegas.
HPE’s generosity prevents a double cost burden that arises when organizations run two platforms simultaneously. This is often the reason organizations end up staying with VMware. EVP and CTO Fidelma Russo refers to a “double-bubble cost problem” that HPE is resolving.
HPE did not mention VMware by name during the announcement at the Partner Growth Summit, reports The Register. Nevertheless, the message is clear. The cost issue for VMware customers is also evident: VMware licensing costs in Europe have in some cases risen 8 to 15 times since the acquisition by Broadcom.
Zerto as a Migration Engine
HPE isn’t stopping there. Anyone willing to pay a single dollar to HPE will also receive Zerto security on top of VME. Data security and rapid disaster recovery are designed to restore VMs quickly and thereby prevent downtime. A gradual recovery of workloads makes it possible to first restart critical tasks as quickly as possible, after which organizations can bring the entire IT infrastructure back online in phases.
HPE positions VM Essentials as a lightweight yet enterprise-ready alternative to VMware based on KVM. It offers support for High Availability, live migrations, and workload balancing. Both VMware and HPE workloads can be managed from a single console. Organizations looking to go further will also find support for public clouds and Kubernetes in HPE Morpheus Enterprise.
Read also: HPE updates GreenLake to offer private cloud without the hassle
Channel Strategy Expanded
HPE is expanding the program to partners. Resellers who achieve the Private Cloud with Virtualization competency by the end of 2026 will receive VM Essentials licenses free of charge for three years. Only support costs apply. HPE estimates that approximately 600 partners are eligible for this.
Starting July 1, HPE Private Cloud PC3000, HPE SimpliVity PC1000, and HPE Zerto will be sold exclusively through the channel. HPE also announced the merger of the HPE and Juniper Networks partner programs under the Partner Ready Vantage umbrella, effective November 1. The goal is a single global program for networking, cloud, and AI.