IT Sourcing Consulting: Reduce costs, avoid vendor lock-in and strategically realign IT
The rules of the game in the virtualisation market have changed fundamentally – making IT sourcing a strategic necessity. New licensing models, skyrocketing costs and changing support structures are forcing many companies to make strategic decisions. Those who fail to take action now risk increasing dependence on US corporations and long-term additional costs. We can help you realign your virtualisation strategy – based on a European open-source platform. Structured, low-risk and economically sustainable.
Rising IT costs and vendor lock-in: Why businesses need to act now
A US technology group has acquired the leading proprietary hypervisor and fundamentally overhauled the ecosystem. Massive price hikes, new licensing models and growing dependencies are putting companies under pressure to act. Over 160 products have been reduced to just four editions, perpetual licences have been abolished and prices have risen sharply. This has serious consequences for small and medium-sized enterprises – and the trend is set to continue.
| Development of the virtualisation market | Impact on your IT strategy |
|---|---|
Cost spiral | Price increases of between 350% and over 1,200% for existing customers. Perpetual licences are being phased out – those who do not renew will have to pay retroactively. For SMEs, costs are rising dramatically. |
Vendor Lock-in | Perpetual licences have been abolished. Only subscription models with an annual renewal requirement are now available. Failure to meet the deadline will result in a 20% penalty charge applied retrospectively. Expired licences will completely block ongoing operations. |
Partner ecosystem | The number of authorised cloud service providers has been reduced from over 4,500 to fewer than 300. Many long-standing partners have not been offered a new contract – leaving smaller customers without their usual point of contact. |
Regulatory pressure | The European Cloud Association has officially called on the European Commission to take action. Digital sovereignty and open source as strategic infrastructure are now firmly on the political agenda. |
End of support | The previous generation of the leading enterprise virtualisation platform has been without regular support since October 2025. Security updates are no longer provided – the need for action is growing with every passing month. |
Change of market | More and more companies are actively making the switch. The leading European open-source platform has grown by over 650% over the past seven years and surpassed the 1.6 million mark for installed hosts worldwide in 2025. |
Case study: Our own migration – away from the proprietary hypervisor
syracom found itself facing a decision. Rather than accepting rising licence costs, we migrated our entire virtualisation environment to a European open-source platform – and now offer this expertise to our customers.
The challenge
In light of changing market conditions and revised licensing models, a fundamental review of the existing virtualisation strategy was required. In addition to a financial reassessment, the primary aim was to reduce technological dependence on a single US provider and to ensure long-term planning certainty for the IT infrastructure.
The solution
Following a structured market analysis, syracom opted for a European open-source virtualisation platform. The migration of the existing virtual machines was carried out in stages with minimal disruption to operations. Targeted testing ensured that all configurations could be fully migrated.
Rising IT costs & vendor lock-in: An overview of the key developments
The platform we use has evolved over the last few years from a community solution into a fully-fledged enterprise platform – developed and operated by an Austrian company at the heart of Europe.
| Criterion | Proprietary hypervisor | European open-source platform |
|---|---|---|
Licence fees | Subscription from approx. $4,000–$8,000 per host per year, depending on the edition; full bundle required | €0 – optional support from €115 per CPU per year |
Licence model | Individual purchases are not available – only the full bundle; perpetual licences are no longer available | Free to use; optional, modular support subscription |
Company location | USA – US law and the CLOUD Act apply | Vienna, Austria – EU law, GDPR-compliant |
Container support | Available separately, subject to a charge | Natively integrated, at no extra cost |
High availability | Enterprise licence required | Included from 3 nodes |
Multi-cluster management | Separate management tool, subject to a fee | Including (Datacenter Manager from December 2025) |
Source code | Proprietary – cannot be viewed | Fully open source (GNU AGPLv3) |
Risk of dependency | High – Prices and terms and conditions are subject to change without notice | Small – community-driven, transparent |
Our services – your competitive edge: from analysis to stable operation on the new platform.
1. Analysis of your existing infrastructure
To begin with, we work with you to analyse your existing virtualisation and infrastructure environment. In doing so, we look not only at the software in use, but also at the hardware, dependencies, workloads and operational requirements. The aim is to provide clarity on the current status and to assess which components can continue to be used and where adjustments are needed.
2. Cost-benefit analysis and our recommendation
Based on this analysis, we systematically evaluate the available options. Migration is not automatically the primary focus – in some cases, optimising the existing environment may be the more sensible approach. We assess alternatives in terms of cost-effectiveness, integration capabilities, scalability and long-term operational reliability. The result is a well-founded basis for decision-making.
3. Migration and Implementation
If you choose a new virtualisation solution, we will guide you through the entire transformation process. The migration is carried out in a structured manner with minimal disruption to ongoing operations. Virtual machines, configurations and interfaces are transferred and validated in a controlled manner. Performance, security requirements and backup strategies are optimally tailored to the new environment.
Are you interested?
Talk to us.
Kevin Schröder
Head of Infrastructure
Talk to us.
Kevin Schröder
Head of Infrastructure