With many institutions reassessing their virtualisation strategy in light of recent VMware licensing changes, conversations across the sector increasingly focus on alternative platforms, long‑term resilience and the future balance between on‑premises and cloud infrastructure. For some, this is also a natural moment to step back and rethink architectures that have been in place for more than a decade.
WCG (Warwickshire College Group) found themselves at exactly this crossroads. Faced with ageing hardware, rising complexity and shifting cost models, they chose a different direction: moving from VMware to Nutanix on OVHcloud. As the first UK education organisation to adopt this approach, their experience offers timely insight for peers exploring alternatives.
This blog summarises what drove WCG’s decision, how they delivered the transition and what other FE and HE institutions can take from their journey.
Why WCG chose a new direction
For more than fifteen years, WCG relied on VMware as the foundation of its virtualised environment. As early adopters dating back to version 3, the platform had been familiar and dependable. Over time, however, rising licensing costs, shifting feature tiers and increasing operational complexity made a like‑for‑like renewal far less appealing as hardware approached end of life.
Alongside wider industry uncertainty, these factors created a natural moment for WCG to reassess its long‑term infrastructure strategy. The team also considered operational realities: as a predominantly Google Workspace institution with limited Microsoft usage, Hyper‑V was not shortlisted because it did not align with in‑house skills.
WCG modelled several options, including remaining on‑premises, moving to AWS, using Nutanix on AWS or adopting Nutanix on OVHcloud. After evaluating long‑term cost, resilience and operational implications, Nutanix on OVHcloud emerged as the strongest fit, offering predictable costs, flexibility and no ingress or egress charges.
As Matt Tennant, Corporate Services Director (Digital), put it: “We did not want to repeat the same cycle. This was the moment to rethink what our infrastructure should look like for the next decade.”
How WCG delivered the transition
WCG delivered the transition over a twelve‑ to eighteen‑month period, coordinating work across networking, VPN configuration, bandwidth tuning and firewall adjustments. As the first education organisation in the UK to deploy this combination with OVHcloud, the team worked closely with Nutanix, OVHcloud and a specialist partner to shape an environment that met their operational needs. Early technical alignment proved essential for a first‑of‑kind deployment.
Network performance quickly emerged as critical. The standard 1 Gbps bandwidth available from OVHcloud was increased to 10 Gbps to support large‑scale data movement and ensure consistent performance across all WCG sites. Firewall rules were refined to allow trusted IP ranges and preserve traffic flows for business‑critical services. Nutanix migration tooling helped minimise disruption, and by the end of the programme WCG had consolidated from ten physical servers to three cloud‑hosted nodes, simplifying operations.
A key learning moment occurred during a start‑of‑term traffic surge, when automated protection systems interpreted legitimate spikes as anomalous activity and closed VPN tunnels, causing a temporary outage. As Matt Tennant recalled, “It was a difficult moment, but once we understood the cause, we were able to engineer a solution quickly.” WCG and OVHcloud implemented fixes including dedicated IP ranges per campus and adjusted detection thresholds, ensuring similar events would not recur.
Collaboration and shared success
Strong collaboration across all partners played a central role in the success of the transition. WCG worked directly with engineering teams from Nutanix, OVHcloud and a specialist partner to resolve configuration issues quickly, clarify requirements and maintain momentum. This engagement was especially important for addressing challenges around bandwidth provisioning, firewall behaviour and other cloud‑specific nuances.
The experience highlighted the importance of early supplier alignment, clear communication channels and access to senior technical expertise. These factors helped reduce implementation risk and supported a smoother deployment for a complex, multi‑vendor project.
Operational improvements
Once the transition was complete, WCG saw immediate operational benefits. With no physical infrastructure to maintain, the IT team gained time and flexibility and no longer needs hardware skills that are tied to specific vendors. The cloud‑hosted environment also broadened recruitment options, allowing WCG to hire based on capability rather than proximity to specific sites. Performance and resilience improved as well, with systems remaining consistently stable throughout testing and go‑live. The cloud hosted platform also provides greater scalability, enabling WCG to increase capacity more easily as needs evolve.
Taken together, these improvements highlight several important lessons that help institutions plan and deliver similar large scale infrastructure changes more effectively.
Key lessons and practical takeaways
- Start with a strategic review rather than a like‑for‑like replacement when the opportunity arises.
- Plan networking and VPN architecture early. Align bandwidth, routing and firewall rules at the start to avoid bottlenecks and rework.
- Consolidate virtual machines before migration. Removing legacy or unnecessary workloads simplifies planning and shortens data‑transfer windows.
- Strengthen backup and recovery arrangements. Robust processes are essential for major data movement or re‑platforming and provide assurance if rollback is needed.
- Allow time for supplier‑ecosystem learning curves. Even when not a first mover, organisations may encounter unfamiliar processes or integration nuances, so building in time helps absorb unexpected complexity.
WCG’s future direction
Building on these improvements and lessons, WCG is exploring options to expand its Nutanix cluster, including potential use for VDI. As more business systems move to SaaS, the organisation expects its remaining on‑premises footprint to reduce further.
What this means for FE and HE infrastructure
For FE and HE institutions navigating VMware licensing changes and hardware refresh cycles, WCG’s experience highlights the value of stepping back from a like‑for‑like replacement and reviewing the wider operating model. Institutions may choose to modernise on‑premises, move to cloud‑hosted virtualisation or adopt a hybrid approach. European cloud options available through sector frameworks may also form part of a more diverse and resilient strategy. Cloud‑hosted virtualisation also delivers improved scalability, giving institutions the flexibility to increase capacity more easily in response to growth or changing requirements.
Procurement note
Although WCG used an alternative procurement route, OVHcloud is available through the OCRE framework for institutions seeking a compliant option when exploring similar cloud transformation programmes.
If you’d like to discuss options for modernising your infrastructure or explore cloud routes available through sector frameworks, please contact your Jisc Relationship Manager.
