With Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, many enterprises are exploring potential alternatives to VMware vSphere. In particular, both Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform (AECP) and Microsoft Hyper-V are considered viable alternatives to VMware, while they may differ in replacement scope and key components. This blog will dive deeper into these two solutions and compare their focuses, features, use cases and advantages as VMware alternatives.

Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform (AECP)

Focus

Arcfra aims to offer a full-stack modern enterprise cloud infrastructure software that streamlines enterprises’ cloud experience. Its main product, Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform (AECP), provides complete IT infrastructure capabilities encompassing compute, storage, networking, security, backup, disaster recovery, and Kubernetes services within a single platform.

Key Features

• KVM-Based Virtualization: Arcfra offers Arcfra Virtualization Engine (AVE), KVM-based virtualization for production environments, equipped with complete compute virtualization and VM life cycle management functionalities.
• Full-stack Capabilities: Besides virtualization, AECP provides full-stack infrastructure resources including distributed storage, software-defined networking, container management, distributed firewall, etc.
• Elevated Performance and Efficiency: High-performance storage, virtualization, Kubernetes, and security — all optimized for performance and efficiency.
• Inspired by Cloud, Built for Enterprise IT Needs: Elastic, flexible, and simple. Scalable architecture with easy-to-manage cloud service modules.
• Seamless Migration: Arcfra Migration Tool is an agentless migration tool that allows seamless migration from VMware ESXi to Arcfra Virtualization Engine with minimal downtime.
• Reduced Cost: Save over 50% Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) with lower upfront costs and an easy-to-use interface that streamlines operations and enhances efficiency, compared with VMware.

Gartner Recognitions

Gartner®’s recent report, A Guide to Choosing a VMware Alternative in the Wake of Broadcom Acquisition, has identified Arcfra as one of the sample vendors for hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) in replacing VMware. Arcfra is also recognized as a representative vendor of full-stack HCI software in Gartner® 2025 Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software.

Use Cases

Ideal for organizations looking for a straightforward, integrated HCI solution to replace their on-premises VMware infrastructure, emphasizing simplicity, cost efficiency, and a unified management experience. It caters to both traditional virtualized applications and modern containerized workloads.

Microsoft Hyper-V

Focus

Microsoft Hyper-V is a hypervisor-based virtualization technology integrated into Windows Server and some client versions of Windows. It allows creating and managing virtual machines (VMs) on a physical host.

Key Features

• Native Integration with Windows: Seamlessly integrates with Windows Server, Active Directory, System Center, and other Microsoft technologies.
• Hyper-V Replica: Provides asynchronous replication for disaster recovery.
• Azure Integration: Facilitates hybrid cloud deployments and easier migration to Azure.
• Simple Migration: Convert VMware VMs in the System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) fabric to Hyper-V.
• Cost-Effective: Included with Windows Server licenses, potentially offering significant cost savings for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Gartner Recognition

In Gartner®’s recent report, A Guide to Choosing a VMware Alternative in the Wake of Broadcom Acquisition, Microsoft Hyper-V is identified as one of the sample vendors for Hypervisor in replacing VMware.

Use Cases

A strong contender for organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem looking for a robust and cost-effective virtualization solution. It’s suitable for consolidating workloads, creating development and test environments, and building hybrid cloud infrastructures.

Comparison

Explore Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform, save over 50% Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared with VMware.