PreRack IT Helped A VxRail Customer Lower Costs and Avoid Rushed Decisions
Challenge:
A customer running a four-node Dell VxRail P570F cluster started running into growing cost and planning issues. Dell indicated that renewing hardware and software support would be close to $20,000 per node per year. At the same time, Broadcom was pushing a move from perpetual VMware licenses to an annual VMware Cloud Foundation subscription priced at $300 per core per year.
Under the new VMware model, combined with Dell support, the customer was looking at more than $110,000 per year to keep the same environment. Leadership felt pressure to make a quick decision.
Solution:
Instead of pushing a fast refresh or a licensing change, we focused on keeping the environment stable and buying the customer time.
We took over support for the existing VxRail hardware and VMware environment for $11,000 for one year. This immediately reduced costs and removed the urgency around renewals, giving the customer space to think through next steps without risk to daily operations.
What PreRack Delivered:
- Three Dell PowerEdge R750 servers for $75,000 total
- White-glove installation, including rack and stack, OS and hypervisor setup, for $8,000
- Five years of Dell support included with the new hardware
- A move to Hyper-V, with guaranteed compatibility for the next five years
Results:
- About $200,000 saved over three years
- About $400,000 saved over five years
- No forced licensing changes
- No rushed decisions
- A clear plan with supported hardware for the next five years
The customer stayed in control the entire time. Costs dropped right away, the environment stayed supported, and the move to new hardware happened only when it made sense for them. For VxRail customers dealing with rising costs and uncertainty, this approach offers a practical way forward: keep what’s running today supported, and plan what comes next without pressure.
Cost Comparison Over Time:
Staying on VxRail with VMware
- Dell support: $80,000 per year
- VMware licensing: $33,600 per year
- Total: $113,600 per year
Estimated total cost:
- 3 years: about $340,000
- 5 years: about $570,000
Working with Pre Rack IT and Moving to Hyper-V
- Year-one VxRail and VMware support: $11,000
- New hardware: $75,000
- Installation and deployment: $8,000
- Ongoing Hyper-V and datacenter costs: $15,000 per year
- Five years of Dell support included
Estimated total cost:
- 3 years: about $140,000
- 5 years: about $170,000
