Virtualization changed. Download the Gartner® Market Guide.

Enterprise infrastructure has changed and you don’t want to be left behind. At the same time, containers have become ubiquitous with most now operating across data centers, cloud, and edge. 

This isn’t a small adjustment. It’s a broader reset of how infrastructure is designed, operated, and governed. The question is how to build an architecture that can adapt over time without creating more sprawl. Having separate systems for VMs and containers creates silos and slows progress. You don’t need to choose between VMs and containers. Instead manage both together.

This blog shares our views of Virtualization with excerpts from the Gartner® Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms .

Virtualization redefines infra decisions

The virtualization market had been relatively stable for years. That stability is shifting. Changes in vendor dynamics, pricing models, and ecosystem relationships are forcing organizations to reassess their approach and define what comes next. 

According to Gartner, “Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware has reignited the server virtualization market’s competitive landscape.” The report also states that heads of infrastructure and operations are being forced to reassess vendor and technology options for current and future virtual workloads.¹

At the same time, the underlying requirements have not changed. Most enterprise workloads still rely on hypervisor-based virtualization, and that will remain true for the foreseeable future. Containers are growing, but they are not replacing virtual machines. They are adding another layer that needs to be managed alongside them.

This creates a dual reality.

Organizations must continue to support existing virtualized workloads while also investing in cloud native architectures. The challenge is not choosing one or the other. It is managing both without increasing complexity.

Fragmentation is the real risk

As teams evaluate what comes next, the biggest risk isn’t only cost. It’s fragmentation.

Different tools for VMs, Kubernetes clusters, security, storage, and observability can quickly create duplicated work and inconsistent operations. When teams manage too many control planes, delivery slows down. When visibility is split across tools, troubleshooting takes longer. When policies aren’t consistent, risk increases.

That’s where infrastructure decisions become business decisions. The platform you choose affects how quickly teams can deliver, how efficiently they can operate, and how confidently they can scale.

Managing VMs and containers together

Storage flexibility matters

Storage is one of the most important decisions in any virtualization strategy. Gartner writes that “a fundamental decision point for many I&O teams” is whether a platform only supports hyperconverged storage or can also use external storage providers and protocols.¹

That flexibility matters because most enterprises already have storage investments they don’t want to abandon. They also need different storage choices for different workloads.

The move toward convergence with SUSE Virtualization

SUSE Virtualization supports both hyperconverged and external storage, with certified enterprise storage partners including Dell Technologies, Hitachi, HPE Alletra MP, Lenovo ONTAP, NetApp, Oracle, and Portworx by Pure Storage. That gives teams more choice and helps them avoid being forced into a single architecture.

Organizations want to manage virtual machines and containers through a more consistent operating model instead of maintaining separate systems. That doesn’t mean replacing every VM with a container. It means giving teams a common way to fully manage workloads, whether they run as VMs, containers, or both.

A unified platform helps teams reduce sprawl, simplify ops, and build a foundation for today’s workloads while preparing for what comes next.SUSE Virtualization is built for this shift. It runs virtual machines on KVM and brings VMs into the same operational model as Kubernetes.

That gives organizations a practical path forward. Existing VMs and cloud native apps run side by side, supported by a platform that reduces complexity. The goal isn’t just to move off one platform, it’s to build an infrastructure strategy that can adapt over time.

What to do next

The current shift in the virtualization market is creating an opportunity to rethink long term architecture. The goal is not just to replace one platform with another, but to design an environment that can support both existing workloads and future application models.

A unified platform approach offers a practical way to move forward. It reduces fragmentation, simplifies operations, and creates a consistent foundation for both virtual machines and containers.

Explore the market insights shaping this shift and how to plan your next move. 

• Download the Gartner Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms here

¹ Gartner, Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms, Tony Harvey, Elaine Zhang, and one more, 23 October 2025. Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.