CGI’s VMware Datacentre Exit is an economics-led migration programme that moves your VMware estate to AWS with a positive 5-year total cost of ownership (TCO) and a defined earn-back period.
We start with a funded OLA (Optimisation and Licensing Assessment) and a scoped Assess phase that quantify the business case before any migration commitment, so you invest on evidence rather than assumptions.
Our migration programme is built around financial outcomes rather than migration speed.
- A quantified view of your VMware licensing exposure and infrastructure cost baseline
- A target-state architecture where every workload placement decision is justified by economics
- AWS funding maximised across OLA, mobilisation, and migration phases, built into the programme from the outset
- An industrial migration factory with wave-based execution, real-time telemetry, and integrated governance
- FinOps running from assessment through to steady-state operations, so cost control survives cutover
- A defined earn-back period, where cumulative savings exceed the one-off transformation investment
Who the programme is for
Use CGI’s VMware datacentre exit programme when you need a clear, quantified path out of VMware and where:
- VMware renewal costs are being driven up by Broadcom licensing changes
- Your datacentre lease, hardware refresh, or support timeline is forcing action
- You need a business case before committing to cloud migration
- Finance, procurement, and infrastructure teams need a shared view of cost, risk, and target placement
How it works
A phased programme with funded on-ramps and clear decision gates at every stage:
OLA
4 - 6 weeks
A tool-based scan of your VMware estate using actual consumption and licensing data. It produces a quantified view of exit value, licensing optimisation opportunities, and candidate migration paths. AWS-funded
Assess
6 - 10 weeks
Detailed discovery and target-state planning. We validate the current-state inventory, define the target architecture, sequence migration waves, and build an investment-grade business case. AWS-funded
Mobilise
8 - 16 weeks
We stand up the migration engine. Delivery teams, governance, tooling, runbooks, and controls are established. Waves are confirmed and the execution plan is finalised.
Migrate
6 - 18 months
Wave-based industrial execution with automated replication, managed cutover, and real-time telemetry on throughput, defect rate, and cost variance. Our DBAssure service supports migration validation for proprietary databases including Oracle and Sybase.
Hypercare
4 - 8 weeks
Stabilisation, support transition, and operational readiness for your team or for CGI’s managed run services.
Run
ongoing, optional
CGI AWS Managed Run Services, if required.
Each phase produces a deliverable that justifies, or stops, the next. There are no open-ended commitments.
Placement strategy
Not every workload belongs in the same target. We apply modernisation selectively using clear decision criteria, and investment goes only where value is proven.
The placement decision comes out of Assess, quantified and documented rather than assumed.
|
Placement |
Best for |
Why |
|
Rehost to EC2 |
Low-complexity workloads |
Fast migration, lower change risk |
|
Refactor to managed services |
Databases, file storage, selected components |
Better cost and operational model |
|
Containers on EKS |
Apps needing release agility |
Platform consistency |
|
Serverless/full refactor |
High-value workloads |
Only where long-term economics justify it |
AWS funding pathways
AWS funds multiple phases of a structured VMware exit programme, and CGI structures workloads and waves to maximise funding eligibility from the outset:
- OLA funding: AWS funds the Optimisation and Licensing Assessment, removing cost as a barrier to getting started.
- MAP funding (Migration Acceleration Program): Subsidises mobilisation and migration execution. The funding scales with migration scope and the degree of modernisation applied, so it increases as the programme grows.
- CGI has secured significant MAP funding for migration programmes, including $1.72M for a Tier-1 Australian bank’s datacentre exit.
Funding structuring is part of our delivery model rather than something we work out after the fact.
Our delivery team brings proven experience across Australian financial services, UK government, and global healthcare, backed by AWS Premier Partner capability and two purpose-built accelerators.
- Migrated the national Testing and Registration System from Oracle RAC on end-of-life SPARC hardware to AWS RDS Oracle.
- 500 GB rationalised to 240 GB, zero service interruption, delivered ahead of schedule.
- Migrated 9 TB of clinical data (25 million patient records, 2.1 billion audit logs) from Oracle on-premises to Aurora PostgreSQL.
- Storage costs reduced by 95%, £50.5 million in annual savings, referral processing 75% faster, zero downtime.
- 104 applications and 200 fileshares migrated to AWS against a hard datacentre exit deadline.
- $1.72M AWS MAP funding secured.
- $24.6M projected annual savings identified across the wider 450-application roadmap.
- Zero unplanned downtime.
- Sybase-to-PostgreSQL migration pattern proven and reusable.
- How much does a VMware-to-AWS migration cost in Australia?
-
The cost depends on estate size, workload complexity, and the degree of modernisation applied. CGI’s funded OLA and Assess phases quantify the investment and projected savings before any migration commitment. AWS MAP funding then subsidises mobilisation and migration execution, which reduces the upfront cost.
- What are the alternatives to VMware after Broadcom’s licensing changes?
-
The primary alternative for enterprise workloads is migration to a public cloud provider such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. CGI specialises in VMware-to-AWS migration using an economics-led approach that maximises AWS funding and targets a positive 5-year total cost of ownership.
- Does AWS fund VMware migration?
-
Yes. AWS funds multiple phases through the OLA programme and the Migration Acceleration Program (MAP). OLA funding covers the initial licensing and infrastructure assessment. MAP funding subsidises mobilisation and migration execution, and scales with scope and modernisation depth. CGI structures workloads and waves to maximise funding eligibility from the outset.
- How does CGI handle Oracle and Sybase databases during VMware migration?
-
CGI uses DBAssure, a proprietary database validation platform, to support migration of Oracle and Sybase databases to Aurora PostgreSQL. DBAssure provides deterministic validation of data integrity and behavioural equivalence during migration. The pattern has been proven at scale across financial services and government programmes.
- Can we start with just the assessment before committing to migration?
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Yes. The OLA and Assess phases are scoped, fixed-outcome engagements that produce a quantified business case and a detailed migration plan. Each phase has a clear deliverable and a decision gate. You can stop, proceed, or adjust scope at each gate, and there is no open-ended commitment.
- Is VMware-to-AWS migration suitable for regulated industries in Australia?
-
Yes. CGI delivers VMware exit programmes with controls aligned to APRA CPS 234, the ISM, Essential 8, and PCI DSS. Security, governance, and audit evidence run from OLA through to steady-state operations rather than being added after migration. CGI has delivered migration programmes across Australian financial services, UK government, and global healthcare.