Key Takeaways
- VM migration to Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is a phased journey that requires consistent protection across hybrid environments.
- A unified, Kubernetes-native data protection platform helps reduce complexity and eliminate the need for separate tools or processes.
- Reliable resilience – including immutable backups and threat detection – is critical during migration, when risks are highest.
- Flexible recovery options allow organizations to quickly adapt if migration steps fail or timelines shift.
- Consolidating protection for VMs and containers helps reduce tool sprawl and maintain consistent governance.
If you’re an IT leader today, chances are your virtualization strategy is under active review.
Rising costs, licensing uncertainty, and long-term vendor lock-in have many organizations reassessing their reliance on traditional hypervisors. At the same time, Kubernetes has matured into the operational foundation for modern applications.
These two realities are converging – and for many enterprises, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is emerging as a preferred destination for running virtual machines within a Kubernetes-native operating model.
This transition is accelerating across industries. As organizations modernize infrastructure on their own terms, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is increasingly viewed as a way to modernize the platform without the need for application refactoring. With that momentum comes a critical question:
How do you migrate virtual machines while maintaining consistent protection, resilience, and recoverability throughout the process?
To answer it, you need to examine how most enterprise migrations actually unfold – and where protection and resilience become critical.
Migration Is a Journey, not a One-Time Event
Seasoned IT leaders know that infrastructure transitions rarely happen all at once.
For enterprises opting to move from hypervisors like VMware to Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, the transition typically unfolds in phases. During this time, organizations inevitably operate in a mixed state:
- VMware-based VMs continue to support core business operations.
- VMs newly running on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
- Containerized applications sharing the same Red Hat OpenShift clusters.
This coexistence period introduces complexity and risk. Data is in motion, environments are changing, and protection gaps can appear if tooling and processes don’t evolve alongside workloads.
Maintaining Reliable Protection Is Essential
Commvault has long delivered data protection and recovery for both VMware environments and Kubernetes workloads running on Red Hat OpenShift. That same Kubernetes-native, policy-driven protection model now extends to VMs running on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
What really resonates with customers is the consistency:
- A single platform for protection and recovery.
- Policy-based operations applied uniformly across workloads.
- Designed to work with your existing tools and processes as environments evolve.
VMs running on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization are protected using the same workflows and governance constructs as containerized applications. This unified approach is being embraced by organizations standardizing on Red Hat OpenShift that want a simpler, more consistent way to manage data across environments.
This capability is available today. Commvault Cloud supports protection for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization environments aligned with Long-Term Support Release 11.40 and Innovation Release 11.42, meaning customers can put these capabilities into production now.
You Shouldn’t Need to Manage Protection Differently
Once VMs move to Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, they shouldn’t require special handling from a protection standpoint.
Commvault Cloud discovers and protects Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization VMs alongside containerized applications, helping give teams centralized visibility, consistent policy enforcement, and simplified recovery operations. Virtualized and containerized workloads are managed together – without introducing operational silos.
For organizations managing diverse application portfolios, this treatment of VMs inside Kubernetes helps reduce operational friction while maintaining enterprise-grade controls.
Cyber Resilience Is Key When Migration Increases Risk.
Migration periods represent a uniquely vulnerable window. Change creates complexity, and complexity increases exposure to data loss and ransomware.
Commvault Cloud helps maintain resilience throughout this phase with:
- Air-gapped and immutable backups for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization workloads.
- Backup data that supports threat hunting and forensic analysis, helping teams validate recovery readiness before restoring workloads.
- Advanced recovery capabilities designed to help organizations minimize operational disruption.
Whether workloads are pre-migration, mid-transition, or fully operating on Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, the resilience posture remains intact.
Recovery Flexibility Provides Confidence
Every modernization initiative needs room for adjustment.
Commvault supports both in-place and out-of-place recovery for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization virtual machines, including full VM context and configuration. If a migration step doesn’t go as planned – or timelines need to shift – teams may recover quickly and move forward without compromising availability or data integrity.
Kubernetes-Native Protection Beyond VMs
For many enterprises, virtualization is only one piece of a broader application modernization strategy.
Commvault Cloud also provides application-centric, Kubernetes-native protection for containerized workloads, including persistent volumes and application metadata, across all CNCF-certified Kubernetes distributions. This enables mobility and recovery for cloud-native applications while helping maintain operational consistency across environments.
Reducing Tool Sprawl as Infrastructure Evolves
Platform transitions often introduce new tools, new processes – and new complexity.
By using Commvault Cloud as a unified protection platform for:
- VMware VMs.
- Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization VMs.
- Containerized applications.
Organizations can help reduce tool sprawl, simplify administration, and maintain consistent governance even as infrastructure strategies evolve.
How it all Comes Together
During any migration, it helps to understand how the pieces work together. Red Hat’s Migration Toolkit for Virtualization takes care of moving VMs from VMware into Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
Commvault Cloud helps provide the protection and resilience that stays with your workloads throughout the process, so data can remain protected before, during, and after migration. This can help keep recoverability from falling behind as workloads move.
Continuing the Conversation at Red Hat Summit
We’re already working with customers that are actively moving virtual machines onto OpenShift Virtualization – and we’re continuing these discussions at Red Hat Summit, May 11–14 in Atlanta.
At the Commvault booth, we’ll be:
- Talking with IT leaders about real-world resilience challenges.
- Sharing practical guidance on migrating with confidence.
- Demonstrating Commvault Cloud protection for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
If maintaining resilience and recoverability throughout your virtualization strategy is a priority, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect.
Moving Forward with Confidence
Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization is becoming a foundational component of modern enterprise infrastructure. But you can’t rush migration at any cost; you must build protection, resilience, and recovery into the process from the beginning.
With Commvault Cloud, protecting Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization workloads isn’t a future aspiration. It’s something customers already are doing – using a unified platform to modernize confidently while staying resilient and recoverable.
“Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization delivers a reliable, consistent foundation for organizations to support their entire virtualized estate,” says Steve Gordon, Senior Director, Product Management, Hybrid Cloud Platforms, at Red Hat. “By leveraging an optimized integration like Commvault Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, our customers can move forward with greater confidence, knowing their workloads are protected consistently before, during, and after migration.”
FAQs
Q: Why is VM migration considered a multi-phase process?
A: Most enterprises cannot migrate all workloads at once, so they operate in a hybrid state with legacy and new environments running simultaneously. This phased approach introduces complexity, making consistent protection and visibility essential throughout the transition.
Q: What role does resilience play during VM migration?
A: Resilience enables organizations to maintain data protection, recover quickly from failures, and defend against threats like ransomware. During migration, when systems are in flux, strong resilience measures can help prevent data loss and operational disruption.
Q: How does Commvault Cloud simplify protection across environments?
A: Commvault Cloud provides a single platform with policy-driven protection for VMware VMs, OpenShift Virtualization VMs, and containerized applications. This unified approach enables consistent operations without introducing new tools or workflows.
Q: What makes Kubernetes-native protection important?
A: Kubernetes-native protection aligns with how modern applications are deployed and managed, covering both containers and virtual machines. It enables simple data management, mobility, and recovery within cloud-native environments.
Q: How does recovery flexibility improve migration confidence?
A: Flexible recovery options, such as in-place and out-of-place restores, can help teams quickly recover workloads if something goes wrong. This adaptability helps reduce downtime and enables organizations to adjust migration plans without risking data integrity.
Q: How can organizations reduce complexity during infrastructure transitions?
A: By adopting a unified data protection platform, organizations can manage all workloads – virtualized and containerized – through a single interface. This approach helps reduce tool sprawl, simplify administration, and maintain consistent governance across evolving environments.
Jason Giza is Senior Manager, Global Content Partner Marketing, at Commvault.
