VMs aren't outdated
VM management is
The future isn't VMs vs containers. It's containers for cloud-native apps, VMs for Windows infrastructure, and modern management for both.
The hybrid reality
Even companies that champion containers still run massive VM infrastructure
Netflix
700K+ containers
AND hundreds of thousands of VMs
Invented Kubernetes
AND runs massive VM infrastructure
Amazon
Champions serverless
AND EC2 is their biggest service
Microsoft
Pushes containers
AND sells Windows Server licenses
The Truth
Both technologies coexist because they solve different problems. Containers excel at cloud-native applications. VMs are essential for Windows infrastructure, legacy apps, and scenarios requiring full OS isolation.
Ready to modernize your VM management?
Make VMs as easy as containers
What can't be containerized
Real enterprise workloads that still need VMs
Windows Infrastructure
- Active Directory Domain Controllers - Core Windows infrastructure
- SQL Server with GUI management - SSMS, reporting services
- Windows Server roles - File servers, print servers, DHCP
- Legacy Windows applications - 20+ years of business-critical software
Development & Testing
- Full Windows development environments - Visual Studio, SDKs
- Desktop application development - WPF, WinForms, Win32
- Legacy .NET Framework apps - Not .NET Core/5+
- Windows compatibility testing - Different OS versions
Training & Education
- Student lab environments - Complete Windows desktops
- Windows administration training - Hands-on server management
- Customer demonstration environments - Full product stacks
- Sandbox environments - Safe testing and validation
Compliance & Security
- Full OS isolation - Regulated workloads requiring complete separation
- Air-gapped environments - Where container registries create security risks
- Windows licensing compliance - Per-core, CAL requirements
- Legacy application support - Where containerization isn't viable
Make VMs as easy as containers
The problem isn't VMs - it's manual, error-prone VM management
Traditional VM Management
- Manual VM creation through GUI wizards
- Configuration drift - no two VMs identical
- Lost expertise when admins leave
- Team bottlenecks waiting for VM experts
- 45+ minutes to deploy a single VM
Modern VM Management with eryph
- Declarative YAML configurations - Just like containers
- Perfect consistency - Every VM identical, every time
- Template inheritance - Capture expertise in reusable templates
- Team self-service - Anyone can deploy standardized environments
- deployment in minutes - PowerShell automation that works
The Result
VMs with container-like developer experience. Declarative configuration, version control, team collaboration, and infrastructure as code - for Windows workloads that need full OS environments.
Both containers and VMs can coexist
Use containers for cloud-native apps. Use VMs for Windows infrastructure. Use modern management for both.