AravaliStack vs VMware Tanzu
VMware Tanzu is enterprise Kubernetes on top of vSphere — built for the VMware world. If you're running vSphere, Tanzu is the path of least resistance. If you want to own your stack, eliminate per-VM licence costs, and run a modern cloud-native platform without a Broadcom subscription, AravaliStack is the answer.
VMware Tanzu vs AravaliStack
Broadcom's 2023 acquisition of VMware introduced sweeping pricing changes that shocked enterprise customers globally. Perpetual licences were eliminated. Subscription bundles were restructured. Many enterprises reported 3–10× price increases on renewal. Indian enterprises running VMware/Tanzu estates are actively evaluating exit strategies — and AravaliStack is the most direct migration path to an open-source, India-sovereign alternative.
Inventory workloads, map vSphere dependencies, identify Tanzu-specific APIs to refactor
Deploy AravaliStack cluster alongside Tanzu — validate platform capabilities, migrate non-critical workloads first
Containerise remaining VM workloads, migrate stateful services with zero-downtime cutovers
Validate all workloads on AravaliStack, confirm monitoring parity, retire vSphere/Tanzu licences
Most enterprises complete the migration in 30–90 days. AravaliStack's migration tooling handles container image conversion, storage migration, and network policy translation automatically.
- Mature vSphere integration — familiar to ops teams
- Strong multi-cluster management (TMC)
- Enterprise-grade VM + container hybrid
- Long track record in regulated financial services
- No Broadcom / VMware licence dependency
- Native Kubernetes — not layered on vSphere
- Built-in zero trust, secrets, service mesh
- India regulatory compliance by design
- Predictable pricing — no surprise renewals
VMware Tanzu strengths
- Mature vSphere integration — familiar to ops teams
- Strong multi-cluster management (TMC)
- Enterprise-grade VM + container hybrid
- Long track record in regulated financial services
AravaliStack advantages
- No Broadcom / VMware licence dependency
- Native Kubernetes — not layered on vSphere
- Built-in zero trust, secrets, service mesh
- India regulatory compliance by design
- Predictable pricing — no surprise renewals
| Dimension | VMware Tanzu | AravaliStack |
|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes model | Kubernetes on vSphere (TKG) — VM-based nodes | Native Kubernetes on bare metal / Linux VMs |
| Hypervisor dependency | Requires vSphere / ESXi | None — runs without hypervisor |
| Licence model | Broadcom subscription bundles | Open-source + AravaliStack platform licence |
| Pricing predictability | Changed dramatically post-Broadcom | Fixed annual platform licence |
| vSphere migration | Minimal — already on Tanzu | Guided migration path — 30–90 days |
| Security model | NSX micro-segmentation (add-on cost) | Zero trust built-in — mTLS, OPA, Vault |
| Service mesh | NSX Service Mesh (paid add-on) | Integrated — included in platform |
| Secrets management | External vault integration required | Built-in — dynamic secrets out of the box |
| GitOps | Supported via TMC | Native — GitOps is the only change mechanism |
| ML platform | Not included — separate product | Integrated MLOps stack included |
| Observability | vRealize Operations (add-on cost) | Integrated — metrics, logs, traces included |
| Air-gapped support | ✓ with offline bundles | ✓ fully air-gapped by default |
| India compliance | Validated for on-premise use | Designed specifically for Indian regulations |
| Open source | Partially — Tanzu community edition | 100% — all components open-source |
| Broadcom dependency | High — core product | ✗ — no VMware/Broadcom component |
| Foreign software risk | US-headquartered (Broadcom/VMware) | ✗ — no foreign software dependency |
| Support | Global enterprise support | India-based, IST hours, Hindi + English |
- A proven path, not a leap of faith
- Parallel Deploy
- Tanzu Decommission
Escape the Broadcom pricing trap.
AravaliStack is the sovereign, open-source alternative Indian enterprises are migrating to. Request a migration assessment today.