Elevate your hosting: The 8 best VMware hosting providers of 2024

With machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data analytics calling the shots in business growth, organizations are readily investing in newer cloud products. A 2023 Pluralsight report found that 44% of organizations acquire the latest cloud services as they’re released. 

Other trends support this. According to a HashiCorp survey of 1,000 global technology experts, 56% of respondents increased their cloud spending in 2022. 

That said, what form of cloud your organization should adopt still depends on your needs. After all, the move to the cloud isn’t without its challenges since critical cloud security incidents impact  80% of organizations. 

This might sound like a major roadblock towards cloud adoption for a public sector organization or a compliance-focused business since you must safeguard sensitive data to comply with data security standards. 

But there is a solution. VMware cloud hosting providers can enable you to set up secure and robust cloud hosting configurations and comply with your industry's regulatory requirements. 

Read on to learn more about VMware hosting, how to choose a VMware hosting provider, and get details on the best VMware hosting providers. 

• VMware hosting 101
• How to choose a VMware hosting provider
• Best VMware hosting providers
• Final thoughts: 8 best VMware hosting services for your business in 2024

VMware hosting 101

VMware cloud server hosting means using VMware’s virtualization technology to create and manage virtual machines (VMs). Since VMware offers superior isolation over many traditional VPS (virtual private server) and public cloud setups, you can use it to help prevent data breaches and avoid data leakage between virtual machines. 

While that’s the TL;DR version, you may also consider VMware hosting to benefit from:

• Customization: VMware cloud server hosting lets you fine-tune the cloud environment according to your specific needs. You decide the specifics of networking, security, and resource allocation.
• Diverse Application: VMware supports multiple operating systems (e.g., Windows and Linux) and software stacks, which allows it to support a wide variety of custom software. 
• Private Cloud: If you serve an industry with strict compliance requirements, you can opt for VMware private cloud setups, in which your VMware cloud hosting provider gives you complete control over your hosting environment.  
• High Availability: VMware’s High Availability (HA) virtual machines are better protected from server failures since they automatically restart the virtual machines on other servers with spare capacity in case of failure. 
• Scalable Resources: VMware allows dynamic scaling up and down according to real-time needs. This way, you get a more optimized setup than VPS and shared hosting that caters to beginners.

How to choose a VMware hosting provider

Your success with the VMware cloud depends on your hosting provider’s infrastructure. Besides that, your hosting provider will also be your go-to for customer support. 

Let’s dig into how to decide on your optimal VMware hosting provider.

Security measures

Since cloud security remains a serious concern for 95% of organizations, check how the hosting provider ensures your content stays protected.

For instance, ask the hosting provider how they manage the access controls. Does every employee have equal access to the hosted environment, or does the provider restrict access based on need?

Similarly, see if the data is encrypted both in storage and transfer. 

In short, if you’re shopping for a hosting solution to address compliance, ensure the provider addresses all compliance needs via its security protocols. 

Hosting infrastructure

The hosting infrastructure of your VMware provider will make or break your relationship with your customers. For example, you don’t want the server to slow down when a customer tries to make a purchase. 

A great way to assess the hosting infrastructure is to go through the technical specifications of the VMware hosting provider:

• Data Server Facilities: Consider the location of the physical server and redundancy measures in place to ensure uptime. 
• Network Connectivity: See if the available bandwidth, network latency, and performance are acceptable for your needs. 
• Hardware Specs: Check for the latest hardware required to meet your VMware workloads. Ensure the hardware supports specific VMware features you’re looking for.

VMware expertise

According to an IBM study, 70% of organizations need more skills to handle cloud-related tasks independently. 

Your VMware host should be capable of providing that support and should be a well-vetted expert in the VMware ecosystem. 

You can typically verify a provider’s understanding of VMware via VMware-specific certifications. For example, Liquid Web is a VMware Cloud Verified Partner.

Service-level agreement

Service-level agreements (SLA) outline the service a vendor promises you. Go through it with a fine-tooth comb to see how much value you’re getting for your money with a provider. 

Ensure the SLA assures near 100% uptime and offers credits in the event of downtime. 

Similarly, see if the SLA includes commitments toward data protection, compliance with relevant standards, and penalties for non-compliance. 

Customer support

Even if a VMware host offers 100% uptime like Liquid Web, your IT team might need help with some cloud-specific tasks. And when that happens, you’ll need a VMware hosting provider that offers 24/7/365 support via multiple channels. 

At Liquid Web, you get support from our team of experts via phone, chat, and a help desk. We even offer a guarantee that we will respond to help queries via phone and chat within 59 seconds. 

Best VMware hosting providers

While you could independently research each VMware hosting provider and its features, it can be rather time-consuming. Instead, we’ve researched for you and prepared our list of the best VMware hosting providers to make the decision-making process easier for you. 

1. Liquid Web

If you’re looking to benefit from VMware hosting without additional IT heavy lifting, Liquid Web’s VMware Private Cloud is for you. As a managed service, it provides your business with the benefits of VMware without the added staff costs of managing VMware in-house. 

Besides that, Liquid Web’s VMware Private Cloud uses a simple resource-based pricing model with no per-VM fee. You can increase or decrease the number of virtual machines as required without worrying about incurring additional expenses. 

Liquid Web’s VMware hosting comes with two infrastructure options: multi-tenant private cloud and dedicated private cloud. With multi-tenant VMware Private Cloud, you get access to multiple virtual data centers to scale your computing resources up or down. 

In contrast, dedicated VMware Private Cloud offers an isolated virtual data center with single-tenant dedicated servers. You can lean on it for compliance-intensive applications since it provides the necessary air gap for strict data security regulations. 

Key features: 

• High-performance networking and storage with 10GB networking and NetApp SAN storage.
• Robust security with a secure firewall and Acronis backups.
• Easier horizontal scalability with load balancers.
• Migration assistance.
• Redundant enterprise-grade hardware for high system availability.
• Resource-based pricing.

Best VMware hosting for: Small to medium businesses looking for a cost-effective, managed VMware solution.

Pricing: Plans for multi-tenant VMware Private Cloud start at $375 per month. Custom pricing for dedicated VMware Private Cloud. 

2. Rackspace

Rackspace has a slightly different take on VMware hosting than Liquid Web. Instead of a done-for-you VMware hosting service, you get a flexible VMware hosting solution that requires a more hands-on approach from you. 

Rackspace offers a diverse VMware-based cloud portfolio, letting you run VMware on-premises or off-premises as required. You can even use its cloud services to host your VMware cloud-based IT infrastructure on public clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). 

Similar to Liquid Web, Rackspace also offers two distinct infrastructure options for its software-defined data centers (SDDCs). For a flexible solution at lower costs, you can opt for Rackspace SDDC Flex, which is a multi-tenant VMware solution. 

If you need a private data center, you can opt for Rackspace SDDC Business or Rackspace SDDC Enterprise, which are dedicated private cloud solutions. 

Key features: 

• Cross-platform support with VMware, AWS, GCP, and Microsoft Azure.
• Simplified migration for VMware users to its managed infrastructure.
• Infrastructure redundancy to reduce downtime and ensure continuity.
• Support for both dedicated and multi-tenant configurations.
• Flexible cloud arrangement to place VMs both on-premises and off-premises to develop a hybrid cloud.

Best VMware hosting for: Large businesses with robust IT departments looking for a hybrid cloud solution. 

Pricing: Available via quote. 

3. IBM Cloud

IBM Cloud offers VMware hosting solutions for large enterprises with its robust enterprise-grade infrastructure and global data centers. You can choose from self-managed and fully-managed VMware clouds on dedicated or multi-tenant IBM cloud servers.

With IBM, you can get configurations according to your application. For example, depending on your security and regulatory requirements, you can opt for VMware ESXi dedicated (enterprise-class, bare-metal hypervisor), VMware SDDC dedicated, or vCenter single-tenant infrastructure. 

Key features:

• Enterprise-grade infrastructure.
• Support for hybrid cloud via integration for on-premises VMware environments.
• High-availability setups to ensure business continuity.
• Global load balancers to distribute the traffic worldwide.
• Robust disaster recovery solutions to ensure data protection.
• Compliance-focused configurations with isolated I/O (input/output) and hosted data.

Best VMware hosting for: Large enterprises looking for a cloud environment that integrates with their on-premises infrastructure. 

Pricing: The vSphere plan starts at $1,050 per month.

4. Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers VMware hosting solutions for all kinds of businesses, from small startups to large enterprises. You can opt for a self-managed or fully managed service, including maintenance and support. 

VMware Cloud on AWS can be a great solution if you manage an innovation-driven technology business since it gives you access to the latest VMware innovations and 200+ cloud-native AWS services. 

For example, VMware Cloud on AWS offers VMware Tanzu services that let you accelerate app development, modernize existing applications, and optimize IT operations. 

Key features: 

• Worldwide data centers to deploy VMware workloads on demand.
• Robust security features, including cloud-based firewalls and enterprise-level encryption to protect the hosted content.
• Seamless integration for hybrid cloud.
• Resource-based pricing for easy scalability.
• VMware Tanzu services to run and manage Kubernetes clusters for easier application deployment via automated containers. 
• Wide range of versatile EC2 instances supporting VMware workloads.

Best VMware hosting for: Businesses looking for a custom and flexible solution.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go pricing model.

5. Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure lets you host VMware workloads via Azure VMware Solution. Verified by VMware, it helps you migrate the existing VMware instances to Azure and benefit from Azure’s capabilities as the best cloud for Microsoft Windows and SQL Server. 

Plus, with Azure integration, you can use Azure compute, IoT, and AI services to support your process requirements and modernize existing IT infrastructure. 

Besides that, Azure VMware Solution lets you avoid retraining costs since you can keep using the existing VMware tools, such as VMware vSphere, vSAN, and vCenter, using its control panel without any issue. 

Key features:

• Private clouds with VMware vCenter Server, vSphere, vSAN, and NSX-T Data Center.
• Data protection at rest and in transit via Azure ExpressRoute.
• Leading compatibility for Windows Server and SQL Server workloads.
• Robust security and compliance systems to ensure data privacy and protection. 
• Lower expenses with Azure Hybrid Benefit.

Best VMware hosting for: Businesses already in the Microsoft ecosystem and who need seamless integration with their existing infrastructure.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go pricing model.

6. Google Cloud

Google offers Google Cloud VMware Engine for hosting VMware workloads. It lets you easily migrate any VMware-based applications to it without any modification and get started since it already comes with all the necessary tools you need to get started with VMware in Google Cloud. 

With Google Cloud VMware Engine, you get access to industry-leading networking infrastructure to get the necessary uptime and service stability you require to earn customers’ trust. 

You also get an extraordinary Google Cloud experience via Google Cloud services, such as BigQuery, Cloud Storage, and Cloud AI. For instance, Google BigQuery lets you analyze how customers are interacting with the server infrastructure and respond to it in real-time to improve their experience. 

Key features: 

• Dedicated 100 Gbps networking to fulfill enterprise bandwidth requirements.
• Support for vSAN to scale file storage from TBs to PBs for space-hungry VMs.
• Quick deployment of a private cloud in about 30 minutes.
• Access to Google Cloud services, such as BigQuery, Cloud AI, and Cloud Storage.
• Managed disaster recovery solutions to ensure the protection of crucial data.

Best VMware hosting for: Businesses looking for advanced cloud computing technologies to deal with artificial intelligence and data analytics requirements.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go pricing model.

7. phoenixNAP

If you want to avoid public clouds and need a personalized experience, phoenixNAP may be your solution. phoenixNAP offers managed VMware hosting with support for vSphere, vSAN, and NSX-T Data Center. 

phoenixNAP’s VMware hosting solution is excellent for cash-strapped growing businesses since it requires no upfront capital. You can grow your business with the exact IT resources you need and avoid overspending with phoenixNAP’s flexible deployment. 

Key features: 

• Backup and disaster recovery solutions to ensure low downtime in case of accidents.
• 24/7 support for certified experts to help you with any questions.
• Self-service with vCenter Server or vCloud Director.
• DDoS protection to ensure high uptime.
• Compliance-focused solution to help you run your business with strict data-related regulations.

Best VMware hosting for: Businesses needing a managed VMware solution without upfront investments.

Pricing: Available via quote.

8. OVHcloud

OVHcloud is a VMware private cloud solution that offers managed VMware hosting for SaaS providers, SMBs, and large enterprises via managed VMware vSphere. You also enjoy support for vSAN, NSX-T, Tanzu, and Aria, so you don't have to adjust anything if your team already uses this software stack. 

OVHcloud’s VMware-based Hosted Private Cloud comes with 10 Gbps guaranteed public bandwidth and an SLA of 99.995% to ensure high availability and performance. You can also migrate apps to the cloud via lift and shift without worrying about overhead costs on refactoring. 

For CPU-intensive applications, you can customize your VMware cluster with the latest Intel Xeon gold processors for quick provisioning. 

Key features: 

• Professional technical support to help you resolve any issues.
• Managed backup service via Veeam as an add-on.
• Kubernetes support to help you with application deployment and modernizing of existing applications. 
• Optimized VMware experience with VMware vSphere support.
• High performance with 10 Gbps public bandwidth and 99.995% uptime SLA.

Best VMware hosting for: Businesses looking for a flexible VMware hosting solution with advanced management tools. 

Pricing: The vSphere starter packs start at $1,839 per month.

Final thoughts: 8 best VMware hosting services for your business in 2024

Our top eight picks for the best VMware hosting provide solutions you can turn to solve compliance needs without starting your in-house data center from scratch. 

And while public clouds like AWS and Microsoft Azure offer powerful solutions, it’s better not to overspend your IT budget just to win a gunfight with a tank. 

In short, if you’re looking to lower your IT spending and work with a well-trained existing IT team, you’re better off with Liquid Web since our managed VMware private cloud solution offers everything you need at an affordable price with a feasible pricing model. 

Plus, you’re in the company of Liquid Web's team of experts, who ensure you get the best cloud experience possible.