News

Red Hat Launches OpenShift Virtualization Engine to Streamline Virtual Machine Management

• By John K. Waters
• January 22, 2025

Red Hat, one of the world's leading providers of open-source solutions, has announced the general availability of Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine, a new edition of its OpenShift platform tailored specifically for managing virtual machines (VMs). This virtualization-centric solution aims to help organizations simplify their virtualization infrastructure, reduce costs, and transition seamlessly toward application modernization.

The Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine provides a focused platform by removing features unrelated to VM management. This streamlined approach is designed to maximize efficiency, scalability, and security while delivering consistent performance across on-premises and cloud environments.

"Virtualization solutions form the bedrock of most private and public cloud environments," said Mike Barrett, vice president and general manager of Hybrid Cloud Platforms at Red Hat, in a statement. "With Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine, we're meeting organizations where they are in their modernization journey by offering a solution that aligns with their specific virtualization needs at a significantly lower price point."

Containerization has transformed IT workflows, and yet virtualized infrastructure remains essential for running critical applications, representing a multibillion-dollar industry. Organizations are increasingly looking for cost-effective and scalable virtualization solutions as they face rising budget constraints and operational complexities.

"Even as containers grow in adoption, virtualized infrastructure remains one of the backbones of modern computing for critical applications," said Stephen Elliott, group vice president at IDC. "Many organizations are seeking streamlined options for managing virtual machines that reduce complexity while delivering scale, performance, and security."

Powered by the KVM hypervisor and Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, the platform supports a wide range of environments, including on-premises hardware with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and bare metal instances from cloud providers like AWS. Key features include:

• Migration Toolkit for Virtualization: Simplifies transitions from other virtualization platforms, reducing downtime and operational disruption.
• Integration with Ansible Automation Platform: Enables IT teams to automate VM migrations and daily management tasks, ensuring operational efficiency and resilience.
• Advanced Cluster Management for Virtualization: Centralizes VM lifecycle management, streamlining provisioning, compliance, and monitoring across virtualized environments.

The Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine also leverages Red Hat's partner ecosystem, offering capabilities such as advanced storage, backup and disaster recovery solutions, and networking tools to support modern IT needs.

By focusing exclusively on virtualization workloads, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine provides a cost-effective alternative for organizations seeking to modernize their virtual environments. The platform reduces operational complexity while delivering built-in security and scalability, making it an ideal choice for businesses navigating tight budgets.

Additionally, Red Hat's Virtualization Migration Assessment workshop and migration toolkit provide organizations with tailored guidance on transitioning from legacy platforms, ensuring a smooth modernization process.

Both the Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Engine and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Virtualization are now available. Organizations can access these solutions and additional resources directly from Red Hat.