Virtualization environments are in a state of flux. With many companies moving away from VMware, the longtime foundational vendor for corporate virtualization initiatives, new approaches, such as cloud services and multi-hypervisors, are in play. The move to next-generation virtualization approaches is gaining urgency, as AI becomes a crucial part of corporate strategies.
These are among the findings of a survey of 269 executives, managers, and professionals across VMware user organizations to assess their plans and perspectives.
This study was conducted by Unisphere Research, a division of Information Today, Inc., in partnership with Rimini Street (“2026 IT Virtualization Survey: What’s Next for VMware Users,” June 2026).
Hybrid containerization and multiple hypervisor environments are coming within 3 years, the survey shows. There will be increased use of cloud environments—both public and private—to run workloads and applications across multiple hypervisors. Close to two-thirds of top IT decision makers (65%) say they are moving in this direction to improve operational efficiency. Another 53% seek to reduce costs for cloud-native applications. At least 47% prefer a best-of-both-worlds approach to workload placement. Of course, cost remains the primary driver of IT virtualization road maps—both in the short and long term. Nearly three-fourths of the final decision makers in the survey (73%) prioritize “minimizing costs” in their future IT virtualization strategies. Beyond direct cost savings, a majority (64%) also look to IT virtualization platforms to enable scalability and more flexible capacity.
There is a noticeable pivot toward containerization as a key part of a virtualization strategy. The percentage who will be moving most of their applicants and assets to containers is expected to grow from 10% to 18%. Operational efficiency and lower cloud costs are driving many of these decisions, cited by 65% of respondents. They are considering a shift from virtual machines to containerization to unlock superior efficiency, portability, and agility.
Close to half (47%) are adopting a blended approach, incorporating the agility and speed of containers while leveraging the robust security, networking, and management tools of existing IT virtualization platforms.
The survey also shows how AIOps—the process of achieving IT results through AI tools—serves as a “force multiplier” for efficiency. Interestingly, AIOps is seen as a means to support AI—61% see its utility in this regard. Another 47% see it supporting predictive analytics and proactive maintenance, while 40% intend to employ AI to enhance security and compliance.
Currently, only 22% are looking to autonomous AI agents to support their IT virtualization strategies. AIOps automates the “heavy lifting” of IT virtualization management, allowing overstretched IT teams to manage increasingly complex environments without an increase in headcount.
Complexity, security, and skills gaps remain key barriers to IT virtualization success. Ironically, operational complexity is the most cited challenge (40%), despite virtualization’s promise to simplify IT environments. Other leading obstacles include managing multi-vendor ecosystems (38%), securing an expanded attack surface (37%), and addressing skills gaps (37%).
Modernization in IT virtualization aims to create an environment that is automated, secure by design, and transparent.
The move toward AI and real-time visibility suggests a shift toward self-healing infrastructure that reduces the burden on overstretched IT staff. However, IT virtualization decision makers recognize that shifting or adding a new platform is more challenging than anticipated.