Dell Technologies certifies SUSE Virtualization to modernize without compromise

Dell Technologies has officially certified its Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, Dell PowerStore, Dell PowerMax, and Dell PowerFlex storage platforms for SUSE Virtualization. It provides a clear exit strategy for enterprises that want to phase out proprietary vendors and traditional hypervisors. It signals that an open, Kubernetes‑native virtualization platform is a fully supported path today.

Escaping proprietary lock-in and accelerating modernization are critical priorities that propel the open and interoperable SUSE Virtualization platform. Rising infrastructure costs, accelerating AI initiatives, and growing cloud native expectations are colliding with years of virtualization investment. For orgs benefiting from Dell Technologies, have now shifted to modernize incrementally, avoiding disruptive platform changes and moving forward at a pace that aligns with business priorities.

An open path forward

Enterprises today face a ‘dual bottleneck’—the pressure to maintain critical legacy applications while simultaneously funding AI and cloud native initiatives. CIOs are telling us they are stuck. They want to move to containers but can’t abandon their VMs. This integration fixes that. We are delivering a “best of both worlds” solution that combines the reliability of Dell Technologies storage with the open source flexibility of SUSE Virtualization, ensuring customers can modernize at their own pace. 

“We engineered our platforms to handle exactly this kind of mixed workload,” said Drew Schulke, VP of Product Management, Primary Storage at Dell Technologies. “By certifying PowerStore, PowerFlex, and PowerMax for SUSE Virtualization, we are giving our customers a credible, high-performance path to modernize their infrastructure. They no longer have to choose between reliable storage and modern virtualization. They can have both.”

SUSE Virtualization gives Dell Technologies customers the freedom of an open platform without abandoning their existing investments. Customers who previously lacked an interoperable platform can now utilize  mixed solutions. Analysts recognize SUSE Virtualization for heterogeneous environment support, with organizations often running virtual machines and containers side‑by‑side on a single, cloud‑native platform while continuing to rely on the infrastructure they already trust.

Extreme cost increases tied to traditional virtualization licensing collide with the need to invest in Kubernetes, AI, and modern application platforms. By unifying virtualization and containers under one control plane, teams reduce operational friction to regain control.

One platform instead of parallel worlds

Central to the SUSE and Dell collaboration is a unified operating model. Virtual machines and containers managed together through a single, clean API‑driven control plane, removes the need for separate tools and silos. With native Kubernetes foundations and Harvester the open source project that shares a roadmap with SUSE Virtualization reduces lock‑in risk and technical debt.

This model helps enterprises lower total cost of ownership by reducing licensing overhead and tool sprawl, while simplifying day‑to‑day operations. By managing everything through a single control plane, teams can de‑risk modernization and move forward on their own terms taking back control.

Proven business value and customer outcomes

Independent, third‑party analysis and validated customer outcomes show that this approach delivers tangible business value, not just architectural flexibility.

Organizations adopting SUSE’s cloud‑native platform approach have reported:

• Up to 258% return on investment, driven by lower infrastructure and licensing costs and improved operational efficiency1
• Reduced virtualization and infrastructure spend, by consolidating virtualization and containers under a single control plane instead of maintaining parallel platforms
• Faster time to value, as teams standardize cluster operations, storage integration, and access controls rather than rebuilding environments manually
• Lower operational risk, thanks to certified integrations that preserve performance and reliability while modernizing incrementally

Our customers see these same measurable results. For instance, Aussie Broadband used SUSE Virtualization to reduce dependence on proprietary platforms, which allowed them to improve operational efficiency by 20–30% and accelerate deployments by up to 98%, all while supporting more than 650,000 broadband residential customers.

A safer way to move forward

Modernization only works when migration is practical. SUSE Virtualization offers a VM migration tool and supports practical lift‑and‑shift scenarios that allow organizations to move large numbers of virtual machines efficiently while preserving network and storage mappings. This gives teams a way to exit costly legacy contracts sooner, without trading stability or performance for speed.

A clearer path for Dell Technologies customers

For enterprises navigating rising virtualization costs and growing infrastructure complexity, the partnership between SUSE and Dell Technologies creates your path forward. It delivers the flexibility to modernize, the confidence that comes with certified integration, and the freedom to evolve without being locked into a single vendor’s roadmap.

Modernization does not have to be a disruptive leap. With SUSE and Dell Technologies, it becomes a controlled transition that puts choice, efficiency, and long‑term value back in the hands of IT leaders.

Ready to take the next step? Learn how SUSE Virtualization and Dell Technologies can help you modernize at your own pace, reduce risk, and make better use of the infrastructure you already own. 

Talk to a SUSE or Dell Technologies expert to see how this approach fits your environment.

1. * IDC Business Value White Paper, sponsored by SUSE, The Business Value of SUSE Rancher Prime with Virtualization for Hybrid IT, February 2025 | IDC #US52704924