Intro
As hybrid cloud adoption accelerates, organizations must balance innovation with operational consistency. Generative AI (GenAI) acts as a catalyst for change, while enterprises seek to maximize existing virtualization investments and evolve toward modern applications and AI-powered workloads.
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, integrated directly into the OpenShift platform, bridges the gap between traditional VM-based systems and cloud-native applications. It allows organizations to run and manage virtual machines alongside containers using unified tools, APIs, and orchestration models—creating a single platform for modern IT operations.
A 178% increase in OpenShift Virtualization deployments since early 2024 highlights growing trust in this unified approach.
What is OpenShift Virtualization
OpenShift Virtualization is a fully integrated feature of Red Hat OpenShift based on the open-source KubeVirt project. It allows users to manage virtual machines using the same Kubernetes control plane, CLI, APIs, and UI they use to manage containers—simplifying platform operations and reducing tool sprawl.
This model is especially effective for organizations that need to:
Gradually transition from VM-based applications to cloud-native architectures
Migrate from VMware vSphere, RHV, or OpenStack without rewriting workloads
Consolidate dev/test environments for both VMs and containers
Deploy mixed workloads at the edge, where flexibility and control are essential
Migration Made Simple
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization includes the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV), a comprehensive solution for moving virtual machines from legacy platforms into OpenShift. The toolkit provides:
Automated import and compatibility validation
Image conversion and storage mapping
Real-time visibility through the OpenShift web console
Pre-migration risk analysis
Additionally, the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform enables migration at scale, reducing manual effort and improving reliability in large environments. The combination of MTV and Ansible allows for gradual or large-scale migration strategies, depending on organizational needs.
Unified Platform Across Clouds and Environments
Red Hat delivers OpenShift Virtualization across all major public cloud providers, ensuring flexibility and consistent operations. The solution is available as a self-managed operator and is deployable across on-premise, public cloud, managed cloud, and edge environments.
Availability across cloud providers:
AWS: General availability via Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS and self-managed OpenShift
Google Cloud: Technology preview via OpenShift Dedicated and Bare Metal Solution
IBM Cloud: Generally available
Microsoft Azure: Public preview on Azure Red Hat OpenShift
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): Available as a technology preview
This deployment flexibility allows organizations to standardize their infrastructure while optimizing workload placement based on cost, performance, and compliance requirements.
VM Strategy for the Cloud-Native and AI Era
Virtual machines remain an essential component of enterprise IT—not as legacy holdovers, but as active platforms for innovation. Whether powering monolithic applications, edge deployments, or AI/ML pipelines, VMs complement containerized workloads and extend the capabilities of hybrid platforms.
With OpenShift Virtualization, teams can:
Run VM and container workloads side by side
Use Kubernetes-native tooling to manage virtual resources
Leverage GPU acceleration for AI workloads inside VMs
Standardize monitoring, security, and CI/CD pipelines across all workloads
This convergence simplifies operations, improves resource efficiency, and accelerates cloud-native transformation.
How Mature Is OpenShift Virtualization Compared to VMware?
For over two decades, virtualization has been a core pillar of enterprise IT infrastructure, with VMware leading the industry thanks to its robust feature set, enterprise-grade stability, and comprehensive tooling. However, as more organizations shift toward cloud-native architectures and Kubernetes orchestration, a critical question arises:
Is Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization mature enough to replace VMware in modern production environments?
Technology Foundation and Development Model
OpenShift Virtualization is based on the open-source KubeVirt project, which extends Kubernetes by enabling the orchestration of virtual machines as first-class citizens within the platform. Backed and commercially supported by Red Hat, KubeVirt evolves rapidly with active contributions from the open-source community.
Unlike VMware’s closed ecosystem, OpenShift Virtualization is fully open source, with transparent roadmaps, community participation, and integration with standard Kubernetes tools.
Maturity status:
OpenShift Virtualization is production-ready and fully supported as part of Red Hat OpenShift.
KubeVirt is in version 1.x, with over 1000 contributors and native integration with CI/CD, monitoring, storage, and security tools.
Functional Comparison with VMware
While OpenShift Virtualization does not yet match VMware in every legacy use case (e.g., advanced vMotion between data centers, NSX integrations, or full-featured DRS), for most enterprises transitioning to container-centric platforms, its capabilities are robust and sufficient.
Production Stability and Real-World Usage
OpenShift Virtualization is now stable and enterprise-ready for organizations already invested in Kubernetes, or planning a migration path away from VMware. Enterprises across finance, telecom, and government sectors are successfully running OpenShift Virtualization in production, often in hybrid cloud setups (AWS, Azure, GCP).
In Red Hat’s managed services (e.g., ARO, ROSA, OpenShift on IBM Cloud), OpenShift Virtualization is an officially supported capability, enabling customers to run both VMs and containers on a single Kubernetes platform.
TCO and Licensing
VMware’s recent licensing model changes following the Broadcom acquisition have led to higher costs and dissatisfaction among many enterprise customers.
In contrast, Red Hat offers a unified subscription model, where OpenShift Virtualization is bundled with the OpenShift platform. There are no per-core or per-VM licenses, making the pricing more predictable and better aligned with Kubernetes economics.
Final Verdict: Is OpenShift Virtualization Ready?
Yes — OpenShift Virtualization is mature enough for most modern enterprise needs, especially when the goal is to:
Adopt a cloud-native architecture
Consolidate infrastructure stacks (VMs and containers)
Reduce licensing complexity and cost
Exit legacy vendor lock-in
While VMware still leads in highly specialized areas (multi-site disaster recovery, NSX overlays, vSAN-native storage), OpenShift Virtualization is a compelling, future-ready alternative for organizations moving toward Kubernetes-first strategies.
Conclusion
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is more than just a compatibility layer for legacy workloads—it’s a strategic tool for modernizing IT environments. By unifying VM and container management under a single Kubernetes-based platform, organizations gain agility, security, and operational efficiency.
Whether migrating from VMware, deploying at the edge, or preparing infrastructure for AI adoption, OpenShift Virtualization offers the flexibility and scalability needed to move forward with confidence.
Organizations no longer have to choose between maintaining stability and embracing innovation. With OpenShift, they can do both—on their own terms, across any environment.
Human written. Always.
No spam. Ever.