HorizonIQ migrates to Proxmox VE to escape VMware costs and complexity
When VMware’s acquisition and licensing changes threatened HorizonIQ’s business model, the company needed a fast and reliable alternative. With Proxmox VE, they migrated over 300 virtual machines into a robust, high-availability cluster backed by Ceph storage. The transition reduced costs by 94%, strengthened operational resilience, and opened new doors for innovation.
HorizonIQ is a technology company from Georgia, US, specializing in delivering modern IT infrastructure and cloud solutions for SMB and enterprise clients. With a focus on reliability, scalability, and customer-centric innovation, HorizonIQ empowers organizations to deploy infrastructures purpose-built for AI, high-volume data analytics, secure and compliant operations, and global performance with fully managed, single-tenant bare metal and private cloud solutions.
When costs hit the breaking point
The breaking point came when HorizonIQ’s leadership reviewed their VMware renewal contract. The projected cost had ballooned to more than half a million dollars per year, with little flexibility and growing uncertainty around the platform’s future.
We were staring at a bill north of $500,000 a year just to keep VMware licensing. With Proxmox VE subscriptons, that dropped to about $15,000. It’s night and day. The money we save now fuels growth instead of vendor lock-in.John Scanlon, CEO
The numbers spoke for themselves. High licensing fees and rigid terms were not sustainable for a company dedicated to providing flexible, cutting-edge IT solutions. HorizonIQ needed a way out that would preserve enterprise-grade reliability without breaking the bank.
The challenge was clear: HorizonIQ needed to transition from a proprietary, high-cost model to a flexible platform that could scale with their evolving needs without incurring excessive costs. This wasn't just a simple technical migration—it was an opportunity to build a more resilient, future-proof foundation for the entire company.
Migrating to a flexible, open-source platform
HorizonIQ took a bold step away from VMware, migrating its entire virtualization environment to Proxmox VE. The team designed a powerful, 19-node, high-availability cluster supported by Ceph distributed storage to ensure resilience and scalability. In preparation for the transition, VMware-specific tools were removed, QEMU guest agents were installed, and virtual machines (VMs) were rebuilt in Proxmox VE with identical specifications. Each workload was carefully moved. In total, more than 300 VMs were successfully transferred, including 760 virtual CPUs and nearly 10 terabytes of RAM.
The new infrastructure included 90 terabytes of redundant Ceph storage and an additional 225 terabytes of flash storage, which guarantees performance for latency-sensitive applications. Throughout the migration, HorizonIQ ensured business continuity, proving that a shift of this scale could be achieved without sacrificing reliability or uptime.
The migration process was meticulous:
Preparing a shared datastore for smooth handover between VMware and Proxmox VE
Decommissioning VMware-specific tools and installing QEMU agents
Rebuilding VMs with equivalent specs in Proxmox VE and converting disks to qcow2 format
Moving more than 300 VMs (760 vCPUs and 9.7 TB RAM) into the new environment
Provisioning 90 TB of redundant Ceph storage and 225 TB of flash storage for performance-critical workloads
Despite the scope, the transition maintained uptime and ensured business continuity.
Measured success and savings
The results of the migration were striking. HorizonIQ reduced its annual licensing and support costs by 94 percent, lowering expenses from over half a million dollars to approximately $15,000. At the same time, HorizonIQ preserved the level of performance and stability it had previously enjoyed with VMware, ensuring that clients and internal teams experienced no compromise.
The intuitive interface of Proxmox VE streamlined daily operations by making it easier to manage VMs, containers, backups, and high-availability (HA) features in a unified way. Equally important, the new environment freed HorizonIQ from restrictive licensing models, creating an open, future-proof foundation for growth. Rather than allocating resources to vendor lock-in, HorizonIQ can now invest in innovation and expansion, showcasing the potential of an open-source alternative.
The outcome was transformative:
The licensing and support expenses fell from over $500,000 to about $15,000 annually, resulting in a 94% cost reduction.
Performance parity with VMware without compromising speed or reliability
Management was simplified with Proxmox VE’s intuitive interface for virtual machines (VMs), containers, backups, and high availability (HA).
Future-proof infrastructure built on open-source technology, free of vendor lock-in
Our Proxmox migration demonstrates what’s possible for businesses caught in the VMware uncertainty. We’ve proven you can move to an open-source platform, save dramatically on costs, and still retain the enterprise-grade resiliency customers expect. This gives our clients confidence that they can do the same.Sameer Aghera, Head of Product, Marketing, and New Sales
The road ahead with Proxmox VE
With Proxmox VE, HorizonIQ is moving toward the next chapter. Plans include greater automation, deeper hybrid cloud integration, and support for advanced AI workloads. With the freedom gained from leaving vendor lock-in behind, the company can channel investments directly into innovation and business expansion.
Mike Davis VP, Engineering
About HorizonIQ HorizonIQ is an IT service provider that focuses on private cloud environments built for performance, security, and scalability. The company supports businesses in reducing costs, simplifying the management of their infrastructure, and meeting regulatory requirements. With its own technology platform, managed services, and dedicated support, HorizonIQ helps organizations operate reliably and grow in line with their needs.
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