Fujifilm MicroChannel: What a well-planned migration can change

At MicroChannel, VMware had long been the backbone of the infrastructure for both internal systems and customer hosting. Over time, licensing changes became a real source of friction: harder-to-predict costs, complicated budget planning, and a growing sense of dependency on a single vendor.

Day-to-day operations also ran into limits, backup integration and operational workflows were constrained in ways that created unnecessary overhead. Scaling across multiple hosts remained a persistent obstacle to flexibility.

Choosing XCP‑ng with Vates

After reviewing the available alternative, Microchannel chose XCP‑ng, supported by Vates, as the foundation for their next-generation virtualization platform.

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FUJIFILM MicroChannelGlenn Butterworth, Chief Financial Officer, 360 Capital Group

The deciding factors: a clear licensing model, responsive support, and an open architecture that removed reliance on any single vendor.

A controlled migration, no nasty surprises

Microchannel approached their infrastructure migration with meticulous planning and a clear strategy. Before touching a single production system, the team validated backups, confirmed workload compatibility, and designed high-availability clusters. Once those foundations were in place, virtual machines were moved with minimal disruption and without requiring any changes at the application level.

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Simpler Day-to-Day operations

Since the migration, Vates VMS has become the operational backbone of Microchannel’s. Critical systems and hosted workloads run reliably, expanding the cluster no longer requires a major effort, and licensing costs and overhead have been significantly reduced. The team also benefits from expert support that's accessible when it matters.

Vates Virtualization Management Stack

From the hypervisor layer to the management orchestrator, through the backup interface, the hyperconvergence solution and more, discover all Vates’ solutions for server virtualization.

FRANCIS BOISSON (IT MANAGER Challans city)

What changed in practice

Three outcomes stood out after the migration:

• Enterprise-grade reliability at scale. Critical workloads both internal and customer-facing now run on a platform built to handle complex infrastructure without compromise.
• Predictable, per-host pricing. Expanding the cluster is straightforward: no surprise fees, no renegotiations, no hidden costs. MicroChannel knows exactly what growth will cost before they commit to it.
• Expert support, not just a ticketing system. When issues arise, the team has direct access to Vates engineers, people who know the platform and can provide real guidance, not just documentation links.

A Decision built for the long term

This migration represents a strategic choice for Microchannel. By adopting Vates VMS, the company has regained complete confidence in its virtualization layer, freed itself from licensing constraints, and implemented a platform capable of growing without dependence on a single vendor.

This new virtualization architecture stands out for its strategy, predictability, and openness, perfectly embodying Microchannel's vision of a future ready to take on any challenge!