As the top three server OEMs – Dell, Lenovo, and HPE – announced extended contracts with VMware to continue selling hyperconverged systems and servers with the VMware stack pre-installed, plucky edge object storage vendor StorMagic launched its alternative and “cheaper” HCI solution for smaller data footprints.
On the OEMs’ VMware deal, StorMagic chief product officer Bruce Kornfeld said: “Their new agreement is another data point proving that HCI (hyperconverged infrastructure) is a highly desired way for end users to deploy IT solutions. The OEMs were desperate to be able to sell VMware because they don’t have hypervisors of their own.”
Even with these new agreements in place, said Kornfeld, VMware remains “too expensive” for edge and SMB use cases. “Our purpose-built and cost-effective solution for edge deployments and branch offices at large organizations isn’t dependent on VMware.”
Broadcom’s VMware license strategy suggests that only the biggest customers are welcome: it made the operation of 3,500 cores running VMware Foundation Cloud the base requisite for enrolment in the partner programe, effectively shutting out small enterprise customers, resellers and CSPs.
Kornfeld said his company, like other VMware rivals, was looking to take advantage of customer and channel uncertainty around big changes to VMware pricing and contracts following Broadcom’s acquisition of the virtualization market leader, which he described as a “fiasco.”
StorMagic this week unveiled SvHCI, combining a hypervisor and virtual networking with the provider’s SvSAN virtual storage software, which is already used by thousands of customers around the world. The full-stack HCI also includes StorMagic’s in-house 24x7x365 customer support.
According to the recently published “Gartner Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software” report, 30 percent of the non-market leading full-stack HCI installed base in 2024 is projected to increase to 60 percent by 2029.
SvHCI is a software solution that installs directly on new or existing servers. It is designed to simplify operations and deliver high availability for edge and SMB environments with only two servers, while claiming to lower software costs by “up to 62 percent over VMware.”
Generally available later this summer, SvHCI is priced starting at $2,049 for a one-year subscription for a single server and up to 2 TB of storage. StorMagic has launched an SvHCI Global Beta Program to allow customers and partners to get early access to the software and test it on their own servers.
The range of savings StorMagic talks about is 21 percent to 62 percent. Comparisons include SvHCI one, three, and five-year subscription lengths, plus maximum storage capacities of 2 TB, 6 TB, 12 TB, 24 TB, and 48 TB. VMware comparisons are for the same subscription length and storage capacity of VMware vSphere Foundation with VMware vSAN and VMware Cloud Foundation with VMware vSAN.
