What are the disadvantages of VMware?

The disadvantages of VMware include high licensing costs, resource overhead, and compatibility limitations. Licensing is expensive in VMware, especially to small and medium-sized businesses; this becomes an investment for organizations in the virtualization of their infrastructure. Also, the solutions provided by VMware add some resource overhead to the physical servers since VMs take up some portion of the system resources, which can reduce performance if not managed effectively. Other shortcomings include the fact that VMware will likely not support all the different operating systems and hardware configurations smoothly, which will cause missed opportunities for flexibility in mixed or legacy environments. Thirdly, a wide range of features in VMware also implies a steep learning curve for novice users. Application-focused training is needed to make effective use of the product. Due to this, VMware is just not the best choice for budget businesses or those with relatively simpler infrastructure needs.