It’s time to optimise your virtual machines

Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has reshaped the virtualisation landscape, marking a major shift- the discontinuation of their perpetual licences in favour of a subscription-based model. This shift potentially means higher costs and new operational hurdles for businesses, prompting many to rethink their virtualisation strategies. 

With rising costs and shifting licensing models, now is the time to optimise your virtual machines, for cost-efficiency and organisational stability. 

Virtual machines (VMs) are indispensable for scalable and efficient infrastructure. However, without proper management, VMs can lead to resource inefficiencies and inflated costs. Here’s how to ensure your virtual machines are optimised: 

1. Right-sizing resources to prevent over-provisioning 

Over-provisioning VMs by allocating more CPU, memory, or storage than necessary leads to wasted resources and increased costs. To mitigate this: 

Monitor your performance metrics- Regularly assess VM performance to align allocated resources with actual usage (rather than assumed or estimated need) and identify under-utilised VMs.  

Implement tiered storage solutions- Assign high-performance storage to critical workloads and cost-effective alternatives to less-crucial workloads to efficiently use resources.  

By auditing your VMs and tailoring resources to your precise needs, you can enhance operational efficiency and reduce unnecessary expenditures. 

2. Reducing unused VMs to free up resources 

Under-utilised or forgotten VMs consume valuable resources and rack up licensing costs without delivering value. To eliminate this cost, you should: 

Establish robust governance policies: Define clear guidelines for VM deployment, usage, auditing, and decommissioning. 

Conduct regular audits: Create a schedule for auditing your VMs, so you can routinely decommission VMs that are no longer in use.  

Regular audits and robust governance policies provide total visibility of your VM usage, helping you streamline your costs and operating procedures. This way, you know you’re only paying for the VMs you actually use.  

However, reducing under-utilised VMs is not just a cost-saving measure, it’s a crucial way to enhance your cyber security posture. Regularly decommissioning VMs reduces your cyber-attack surface, decreases the risk of breaches, and minimises the chance of outdated software being exploited. 

3. Optimising licensing costs for efficiency 

Licensing costs can quickly escalate in virtualised environments, making efficient management essential for cost control and maximising ROI. To optimise these expenses, you should: 

Consolidate workloads- Run multiple applications on fewer hosts, where possible, to maximise your licensing investments.  

Utilise asset management tools- By using software asset management tools, you can track software and licence usage and seamlessly remove redundant licences. 

Efficient licence management aligns software expenses with actual organisational needs. 

4. Leveraging automation and AI for dynamic VM management 

Automation and AI streamlines VM management by predicting resource needs, balancing resources, and reducing human intervention- all while maintaining peak performance. Here’s how: 

AI-driven analysis- Analyse historical data, such as workload patterns, to predict resource needs proactively, so you can adjust your VM sizing accordingly. 

Automated workload migration: Seamlessly move workloads between hosts, as well as between on-premises and cloud environments, to balance performance and cost. 

Dynamic adjustments of VM power states- Drive energy efficiency and dynamically adjust VM power states, reducing energy consumption without limiting performance. 

Embracing these technologies fosters a responsive and efficient virtual infrastructure, without the need for consistent manual intervention.  

Looking to optimise your virtual infrastructure but not sure where to start? Contact us and speak to one of our virtualisation experts; we'll help you optimise your virtual machines and enhance overall performance.