Many organizations are considering leaving VMware for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI. Most VMware customers should be confident that Azure Stack HCI can adequately replace their VMware deployment. While VMware and Azure Stack HCI are both hybrid cloud solutions with similar components and features, they diverge in their support for cloud integration, services, and pricing.
| Microsoft Azure Stack HCI | VMware Cloud Foundation | |
| Hyper-converged infrastructure | ||
| Virtualization | Hyper-V | ESXi |
| Software-defined storage | Storage Spaces Direct | vSAN |
| HCI management | Azure Arc and Windows Admin Center | vCenter |
| Hybrid cloud management | Azure Arc and Azure portal | Aria |
| Server nodes per cluster | 1 to 16 nodes | 3 to 64 nodes |
| Public cloud integrated and hybrid cloud experience | Native integration with Microsoft Azure. Azure Stack HCI, Azure cloud, Azure services and Azure Arc are part of the same Microsoft stack and managed through Azure Arc and the Azure portal. | VMware doesn’t have a native cloud offering. Support for multiple stacks is required. Requires an API to integrate with Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform. |
| HCI pricing | $10 per core, with no contracts. Azure Stack HCI is included at no charge for Enterprise Agreement customers with Software Assurance. | $30-40 per core, with 1–3-year contract. VMware customers have reported price increases up to 600%. |
| Support | Joint support from DataON & Microsoft’s dedicated Azure support team (not Enterprise support) is included, with warm handoffs. | VMware support has been transferred to Broadcom and they are struggling to add customers to the new system. |
| Hybrid services | Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Stack HCI, Azure Kubernetes Service enabled by Azure Arc, Azure Arc-enabled SQL Managed Instance, Azure Arc-enabled Data Services, AI at the Edge, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Backup, Azure File Sync. | No native hybrid services. Reliant on hybrid services from host cloud providers. |
| Hypervisor | Hyper-V is used in over 65,000 enterprise data centers. You can use standard Microsoft tools such as SCVMM, PowerShell, and the Azure Portal to manage Hyper-V. Integrates well with other Microsoft solutions. | vSphere has a comprehensive feature set and utilizes vCenter for centralized management. |
| Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) | Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) for Azure Stack HCI provides on-premises and hybrid support for VDI. Integrates natively and seamlessly with cloud-based Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure. | VMware Horizon is now standalone software. It was sold by Broadcom to a private equity company in November 2023. |
| Kubernetes orchestration | Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) enabled by Azure Arc provides on-premises and hybrid support for Kubernetes. Integrates natively and seamlessly with cloud-based Azure Kubernetes Service and Azure. | VMware Tanzu provides on-premises and hybrid support for Kubernetes. No native cloud integration. |