Case

Strategic Realignment with an OpenStack Cloud

An industrial company in Baden-Württemberg is replacing VMware with an OpenStack cloud developed by UhuruTec, thereby creating a robust infrastructure for traditional workloads, cloud-native applications, IoT, and edge computing.

A medium-sized industrial company in the mechanical engineering sector has been operating its IT infrastructure on a VMware-based platform for years. With Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, the economic and strategic landscape is changing. Licensing costs are rising significantly, while at the same time the company’s dependence on a single proprietary platform provider is growing. This makes the question of the company’s future infrastructure even more fundamental: How can a modern IT platform be operated cost-effectively without being locked into a single provider in the long term?

Therefore, the company is not merely looking for a replacement for its existing virtualization platform. The goal is a strategic realignment of the infrastructure that provides greater control over the platform and data, an open-source foundation, and an architecture that supports future requirements arising from digitalization, the IoT, and data-driven applications.

Challenge

The existing VMware infrastructure is driving up licensing costs and locking core workloads into a proprietary platform. At the same time, the company needs an infrastructure that supports both traditional VM workloads and new containerized applications. This requires an open architecture, automatable operational processes, and the secure integration of ERP, and IoT systems.

Solution

UhuruTec is implementing an OpenStack-based open-source private cloud with uCloud as a technical alternative to VMware. The platform supports virtualized workloads and provides the foundation for containers and cloud-native applications. uMatsu adds CI/CD and GitOps processes. RBAC and integration with the existing IAM system control access to the platform and applications.

Result

The new platform unifies VM- and container-based workloads on a standardized OpenStack infrastructure. Automated deployment and GitOps reduce manual operational steps and create reproducible processes. IoT and edge applications can be operated and integrated in a decentralized manner. This results in a flexible infrastructure for existing systems and new digital applications.

Project Summary

For the company, the platform transition marks a shift in perspective: Infrastructure is no longer viewed solely as a technical foundation for existing applications, but as a strategic foundation for the company’s ongoing digital transformation. Of particular relevance here is the flexibility gained in making future infrastructure decisions. New technologies and applications can be tested and integrated on an open platform without tying the entire architecture to a single proprietary ecosystem.

This approach also opens up new possibilities for the production sites. Data from machines and systems can be more fully integrated into digital processes, while development teams can bring applications from concept to production more quickly.

UhuruTec is thus supporting the company not only in replacing an existing virtualization environment but also in building a platform that more closely integrates infrastructure, development, and production. The open-source strategy is thereby becoming a cornerstone of the company’s long-term digital development.

Client testimonial

“We didn't just want to replace VMware; we wanted to create an open platform on which we could run both traditional workloads and new cloud-native applications.”

Transformation Manager for a Mechanical Engineering Company

The customer has been anonymized for confidentiality reasons.