Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, a growing number of enterprises are evaluating alternative solutions to VMware vSphere. Notably, both the Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform (AECP) and Oracle VirtualBox are regarded as strong contenders, though they vary in terms of their replacement scope and core components. This blog will explore these two options in depth, examining their areas of focus, key functionalities, typical use cases, and the benefits they offer 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 cloud 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.

Oracle VirtualBox

Focus

VirtualBox is an open-source full virtualization software for personal and enterprise use. It functions as a hosted (Type 2) hypervisor, targeted at laptop, desktop, server, and embedded use. It can run multiple operating systems, inside multiple virtual machines (VMs), at the same time.

Key Features

• Cross-Platform Compatibility: VirtualBox supports a wide range of host operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Oracle Solaris. It also supports numerous guest operating systems, offering a flexible environment for testing and development.
• Open Source: VirtualBox is freely available for personal and commercial use under the GPL v2 license for the base package.
• User-Friendly Interface: VirtualBox provides an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) for managing virtual machines. It also offers a command-line interface for more advanced users.
• Guest Additions: These software packages can be installed inside guest OSes to improve performance and integration with the host, enabling features like shared folders, seamless windows, and accelerated 3D graphics.
• Advanced Features: Support some advanced virtualization features such as snapshot & cloning, virtual USB support, Remote Display (VRDP), VM encryption (AES 128/256-bit), etc.
• Integration with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): The latest versions offer features for seamless import and export of virtual machines to and from OCI.

Gartner Recognition

VirtualBox is primarily designed for personal development and testing scenarios, and its lightweight nature makes it difficult for large enterprise-grade deployment, such as multi-cloud management and automated operations. However, Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager, another product from the same company, was highlighted in Gartner®’s recent report, A Guide to Choosing a VMware Alternative in the Wake of Broadcom, as a notable alternative Hypervisor solution.

Use Cases

Oracle VirtualBox is a host-based, versatile, open-source desktop virtualization tool ideal for running multiple operating systems for development, testing, education, legacy application support, and creating isolated environments. While primarily for desktop use, it can also serve basic server consolidation needs in development or small-scale scenarios.

Comparison