Virtualization strategy is shifting as organizations look for more control over costs, capacity planning, and the operational
workflows that keep their environments running. Rising IT operating costs, tighter budget oversight, and new subscription requirements are driving teams to take a closer look at how they expand and modernize their infrastructure. With IT spending projected to grow 7.9% this year, leaders are under growing pressure to deliver predictable infrastructure growth while keeping complexity in check.
Flexibility is becoming a central requirement. Many teams want the ability to expand capacity, diversify their virtualization stack, and maintain the workflows they already trust—all without adding operational overhead.
HPE Morpheus VM Essentials (VME) fits well into these conversations. It offers a way to introduce a second hypervisor, align costs with growth, and retain unified management across platforms. The sections below outline how VME works and what to consider as you evaluate whether it belongs in your long-term plan.
Understanding HPE Morpheus VM Essentials
HPE Morpheus VM Essentials consolidates hypervisor and management functions into a single, consistent framework built on HVM and Morpheus. The result is a unified interface for managing both VMware vCenter clusters and HVM clusters through the same operational workflows. This consistency allows teams to introduce additional capacity or add a second hypervisor without changing how they work.
Morpheus provides a cohesive view of clusters, templates, and workloads across environments. Tasks such as right-sizing, snapshot management, access control, and template updates follow the same process regardless of hypervisor. Teams maintain their existing standards and avoid the overhead of retraining or managing separate operational playbooks.
Key capabilities include:
- High availability for HVM clusters
- Live migration across HVM hosts
- Distributed workload placement
- Integration with data protection platforms through Morpheus automation
- Unified provisioning for ESXi and HVM
- Bulk VM migration tools for moving workloads from vCenter to HVM
- Support for HPE Alletra MP and third-party storage platforms via standard protocols
VME can be deployed as standalone software or as part of HPE Private Cloud Business Edition. It supports HPE ProLiant servers along with several validated third-party configurations, giving teams flexibility during refresh cycles.
This structure makes it easier to add capacity, support specific workloads, or explore a second hypervisor in lower-risk areas of the environment.
Where VME Fits Into Current Virtualization Planning
IT teams evaluating VME usually want predictable costs and more flexibility in how they grow the environment.
Licensing and Cost Pressures
Virtualization budgets are under more scrutiny, and forecasting multi-year costs has become harder. Many organizations are working through licensing changes, new subscription structures, and different purchasing requirements. VME’s socket-based licensing offers a clearer model for planning the cost of new capacity added on HVM, especially when teams want tighter control over future cost growth.
Predictability drives most of today’s planning conversations, and budget will continue to shape virtualization decisions.
Adding Flexibility to the Stack
Most organizations expect VMware to remain a critical piece of their virtualization execution and strategy. At the same time, they want the ability to expand without committing every new workload to the same platform. VME allows VMware and HVM to run side by side and lets teams manage both from the same interface. That makes it easier to introduce a second hypervisor gradually instead of reworking the entire design.
Teams often start by placing noncritical or net-new workloads on HVM—such as dev environments or isolated applications. As they gain familiarity, they expand where it makes sense, without disrupting the clusters that need to remain on VMware.
Reducing Operational Overhead
Running two virtualization platforms typically means running two sets of tools, two sets of workflows, and two paths for support. That adds overhead quickly. Morpheus consolidates this into a single management layer for provisioning, automation, access control, and lifecycle tasks across both ESXi and HVM.
With one workflow, teams maintain standards more easily, reduce exceptions in daily operations, and free up time to focus on improvements that move the environment forward. Streamlining operational processes can often be just as valuable as reducing costs.
How To Evaluate Whether VME Fits Your Environment
Several factors can help determine whether VME belongs in your long-term strategy.
Capacity planning
If you need to add virtualization capacity but want to limit additional VMware licensing, VME can provide a predictable cost model for new workloads. A good place to start is workloads with fewer VMware-specific dependencies. They offer a low-risk way to understand how a second hypervisor behaves in your environment.
Operational consistency
If your team wants to test another platform without increasing complexity, look closely at how unified management would change your day-to-day work. Because consistent workflows reduce overhead and mistakes, it is worth examining how Morpheus handles templates, integrations, automated provisioning, and access control across both hypervisors.
Hardware and storage alignment
VME supports HPE ProLiant and HPE Alletra MP and works with commonly deployed third-party storage through standard protocols. This gives your team flexibility during refresh cycles and avoids large architectural changes early on.
Migration timing
Bulk migration tools make it possible to move workloads in phases, though compatibility depends on specific workload characteristics. Many organizations align migrations with renewal cycles or hardware refreshes. Beginning with a small, well-understood workload provides clarity around performance and process while giving your team a chance to see the operational impact. Moving one cluster at a time helps keep risk low.
Future platform plans
If cloud integration, container adoption, or broader modernization efforts are on the roadmap, VME provides a path into HPE Morpheus Enterprise. Starting with VME now preserves a clean upgrade path later.
Helpful planning questions
- Which workloads would we trust on a second hypervisor in the next 12 to 24 months?
- How much operational simplification would unified management actually deliver?
- What hardware do we expect to refresh and when?
- How does adding a second hypervisor affect future VMware negotiations?
These are the kinds of questions IT directors are already discussing as they plan for the next phase of their environment. Addressing them early helps keep your strategy grounded and protects future flexibility.
Planning Your Next Steps With VME
If you are considering VME, begin with an assessment of your current environment. Review workloads, dependencies, and cluster capacity to identify where additional flexibility would help, and determine which workloads are good candidates for a second hypervisor. Many organizations start with a small pilot to validate performance, workflow consistency, and migration processes before deciding where a second hypervisor fits.
HPE Morpheus VM Essentials: A Guide to Adding Flexibility to Your Virtualization Stack
Learn more about HPE Morpheus VM Essentials here.
