As the public sector in Hong Kong confronts escalating pressures of digital transformation, two pivotal developments are compelling technology leaders to fundamentally re-evaluate their virtualization strategies: the controversial acquisition of VMware by Broadcom and the imminent implementation of the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance, effective from 1 January 2026. This is not merely theoretical; the October 2025 Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms by Gartner confirms that:
The server virtualization market is facing the most significant disruption in decades. Heads of infrastructure and operations (I&O) are being forced to question the vendor and technology options for current and future virtual workloads — and respond accordingly.
Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms by Gartner, October 2025
For the IT infrastructure leadership of the Hong Kong government, tasked with balancing budget constraints against national security imperatives, the search for VMware alternatives has become increasingly urgent. The solution that is gaining decisive traction is Sangfor HCI, a solution that has been validated by three consecutive years in Gartner® Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software and is well-positioned to help Hong Kong Government Agencies meet the stringent requirements of the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance.
The VMware Disruption: When Commercial Models Collide with Public Sector Reality
The Broadcom-VMware acquisition has not merely transferred ownership; it has fundamentally recalibrated the commercial equation. According to a Gartner Peer Community survey, Broadcom's acquisition has prompted roughly three-quarters (74%) of VMware customers to begin actively researching or trialing alternative hypervisor platforms.
Source: Gartner Peer Community
Public sector bodies now face the following challenges:
- Subscription price hikes: Increases of three times or higher, far exceeding IT inflation norms.
- Subscription price hikes due to mandatory subscription models: Increases of three times or higher, far exceeding IT inflation norms.
- Product line integration and bundled sales models: This one-size-fits-all approach forces customers into purchasing bundled packages, placing a burden of oversized commitments onto smaller enterprises and standalone projects.
- Channel ecosystem destabilization: Authorized partners are losing accreditation as VMware refocuses its strategy on larger customers.
These pressures coincide with the upcoming deadline of the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (Computer Systems) Ordinance, which mandates rigorous cybersecurity standards across eight essential sectors. Departments must achieve compliance while absorbing the "VMware tax", a fiscally unsustainable paradigm.
Sangfor Hypervisor: Enterprise Maturity That Eliminates Risk Concerns
Sangfor's aSV hypervisor is built upon KVM technology, which has been deeply enhanced and engineered into an enterprise-grade virtualization platform. This foundation leverages KVM's validated enterprise maturity. Global hyperscalers such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Alibaba Cloud have operated KVM-based infrastructure at planetary scale for over nine years. This decade-long validation eliminates concerns about KVM's suitability for government deployments.
Sangfor's aSV hypervisor delivers 95% functional compatibility with VMware vSphere across 139 core features, while also providing a full-stack portfolio including aNET (network virtualization), aSAN (storage virtualization), aDR (disaster recovery), SKE (Kubernetes engine), DMP (database management), and AICP (AI computing platform).
Sangfor HCI in Hong Kong: 17 Years of Local Trust, Not Just Presence
Unlike recent market entrants, Sangfor has been a steadfast presence in Hong Kong since 2008 and has built up a robust local technical team that now comprises 60 professionals, alongside a comprehensive partner ecosystem. Our extensive experience in the region is evidenced by:
- 10,000+ VM migrations: Successfully executed for Hong Kong's largest single customer, showcasing our capability to handle large-scale deployments.
- Seamless adoption: Facilitated through a VMware-like UI and native Power CLI or API compatibility, ensuring a smooth transition for organization's accustomed to VMware environments.
- Certified agentless backup: Supporting a wide range of backup platforms, including Veeam (coming soon in 2026H1), Veritas, and 12 others, providing comprehensive data protection solutions.
- Vendor-agnostic architecture: Spanning X86, C86, ARM platforms. This multi-architecture support not only ensures flexibility but also enhances supply chain resilience by providing alternative options in case of disruptions or shortages in any one architecture.
For departments managing three-tier architectures, Sangfor enables seamless reuse of existing servers and SAN storage, preserving capital investments while modernizing operations.
Migration Excellence: Seamless Transition with Minimal Disruption
The primary concern for departmental IT leaders is service continuity. Sangfor addresses this with three modernization pathways, all supported by the SCMT hot migration tool:
- Verified migration: With minutes-level downtime through direct VMware cluster takeover and bidirectional migration.
- Sangfor native migration tools: Uses Sangfor SCMT migration tools, provide agent-less incremental synchronization to achieve 5-10 minutes business interruption, supporting rollback verification.
Currently, a strategic transition is underway across key Hong Kong government departments, with Sangfor solutions being deployed in multiple phases. A major government agency in Hong Kong, responsible for critical financial operations, faced mounting challenges in maintaining its IT infrastructure. Rising costs and restrictive licensing terms from its incumbent virtualization vendor created financial strain and long-term uncertainty. Additionally, as a Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) unit, this agency requires a shift toward solutions from regional providers to strengthen sovereignty and security.
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The agency successfully replaced VMware with Sangfor Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI). Key differentiators included:
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1. Lower TCO & Investment Protection:
To counteract escalating costs and ensure investment protection, Sangfor HCI provided a significantly lower total cost of ownership (TCO) while maintaining high performance and scalability. Its high compatibility (80%-90% functional parity with VMware) ensured a smooth migration with a minimal learning curve, protecting existing IT investments and skills. |
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2. Sovereignty and Localization:
To meet sovereignty and localization policy requirements, Sangfor HCI served as a trusted regional alternative, enabling the agency to build a secure and independent IT ecosystem. This independence extends to the hardware layer, as the platform's support for multiple chip architectures (x86,C86, ARM) provides strategic flexibility in procurement and reduces reliance on any single technology source. |
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3. Simplified Management and Native Security:
To simplify management without compromising security, the unified Sangfor HCI platform consolidated server and virtual desktop workloads, reducing architectural complexity and operational overhead. It further simplified the infrastructure landscape by providing seamless support for the agency's diverse server chip ecosystem (including x86, C86, and ARM architectures), allowing for flexible procurement and avoiding vendor lock-in at the hardware layer. This simplicity was fortified by native, hardware-agnostic security features, including a Distributed Firewall that enabled granular micro-segmentation directly within the platform. |
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4. Seamless Migration of Security Policies:
To achieve seamless migration of security policies, the solution leveraged API-driven tools to meticulously migrate thousands of existing NSX distributed firewall rules to the Sangfor platform prior to VM migration. |
Conclusion: The Strategic Imperative
Government IT worldwide faces a complex new reality, compounded by VMware's commercial realignment and evolving regulatory mandates. Sangfor HCI is equipped to address this challenging landscape with a robust set of solutions:
- Proven KVM-based technology: Built on the same hypervisor trusted by global hyperscalers, ensuring performance and reliability while maintaining seamless compatibility with existing VMware environments.
- Strong local support team: Sangfor focuses on localized support through a strong regional footprint across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, EMEA and LATAM, serving 24,000+ HCI customers globally. The company has over 70 regional branches and operates in over 14 countries in APAC, EMEA and Latin America.
- Low-risk, rapid migration: Engineered for smooth transition with service interruptions of just 5–10 minutes and rollback capability, minimizing operational impact.
- Substantial cost efficiency: Offers over 30% reduction in IT costs with flexible licensing models, delivering both immediate and long-term financial value.
For the IT infrastructure leadership worldwide, this transcends vendor selection. It's about digital sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and fiscal responsibility. Public institutions globally can leverage this imperative to turn compliance into capability, adopting Sangfor's validated solutions and expertise that ensure control, continuity, and long-term value. The goal is to build resilient digital infrastructure that upholds the public trust, safeguards data, and accelerates service delivery for citizens.
If your organization is navigating similar challenges, we invite you to contact us. We are ready to conduct a collaborative assessment and develop a bespoke transition plan that aligns precisely with your environment.
Source: Gartner Inc., Market Guide for Server Virtualization Platforms, By Tony Harvey, Elaine Zhang, Chris Saunderson, Published 23 October 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is driven by a confluence of strategic, financial, and operational imperatives. The Broadcom acquisition has fundamentally altered the VMware landscape, leading to significant licensing cost increases, bundled product changes, and uncertain long-term roadmap support. For the public sector, this isn't just a vendor switch. It's a necessary step to ensure digital sovereignty, fiscal control, and resilient service delivery. Proactive migration allows agencies to avoid costly renewals, escape vendor lock-in, and modernize their infrastructure on their own timeline.
Digital sovereignty refers to a government's ability to exercise full control over its digital infrastructure, data, and critical software stacks. Relying on a single, changing commercial vendor for core virtualization can pose strategic risks. Migrating to alternative platforms allows agencies to regain control, ensure compliance with national data policies, and build infrastructure that is aligned with long-term public interest rather than a vendor's commercial decisions.
Regulations like Hong Kong's Protection of Critical Infrastructures Ordinance, the EU's NIS2 Directive, and similar frameworks globally mandate that operators of critical infrastructure (including government digital services) must ensure the security, resilience, and continuity of their systems.
- Continuity & Resilience: A forced, unplanned vendor transition poses a major continuity risk. A proactive, managed migration is a compliance activity that directly enhances resilience.
- Security Posture: Migrating is an opportunity to architect a more modern, secure, and auditable platform, potentially exceeding legacy security baselines.
With a phased, well-architected approach, migration can be a controlled process with minimal disruption. The greater risk to operations is not migrating—it's facing unpredictable licensing costs, forced product changes, and potential support uncertainty from the incumbent vendor. A proactive strategy allows testing, parallel runs, and rollback plans, ensuring stability.
