STAKATER STAKATER VMware Migration
For service providers mid-migration who need to replace the commercial layer, not just the infrastructure.
The infrastructure underneath was vSphere. vCD was the layer above it — the part your business actually ran on.
Customers lived in isolated virtual datacentres. Hard walls between them.
Customers provisioned VMs and vApps themselves. No ticket needed.
vApp templates and VM configurations published as sellable items.
Usage tracked per org. Feeding billing and showback reports.
White-label portal. Your customers saw your cloud, not VMware's.
Moving to OpenShift replaces vSphere. It doesn't replace any of this.
Every workload migration focus is on the infrastructure. The operating model gets treated as someone else's problem.
✓ Getting solved
✓ VMs migrated to OpenShift Virtualization
✓ Storage moved to OpenShift Data Foundation
✓ Networking re-platformed
✓ Workloads running on new cluster
✗ Being ignored
✗ Who manages tenant isolation?
✗ How do customers self-provision?
✗ Where does metering come from?
✗ What replaces the white-label portal?
You land on OpenShift. Your tenants still call you to provision VMs.
Cloud Orchestrator is the direct replacement for the operating model layer — not the infrastructure.
vCloud Director
Cloud Orchestrator
Organization VDCs — isolated virtual datacentres per customer
Tenant workspaces via KCP — isolated control planes per customer
Provider & tenant portals — separate views per role
White-label self-service portal — branded per service provider
vApp templates & VM catalog — publishable service items
Service catalog — CRD-backed, publish new offerings same day
Resource pools & quotas — per-org limits
Policy-driven quotas — enforced by architecture, not config
Chargeback & showback — usage reporting per org
FinOps metering engine — real-time cost per tenant, per service
Cloud Orchestrator isn't trying to recreate vCD. It's what vCD would have been if it were built today.
Kubernetes-native architecture. No legacy Windows dependency. Runs on any OpenShift cluster.
Every operation is an API call. Automate anything — onboarding, provisioning, billing — without portal clicks.
Runs air-gapped. On-prem, private datacentre, or hybrid. Data never leaves your jurisdiction.
Add new services — databases, backups, Kubernetes clusters — the same day you decide to sell them. No integration project per offering.
Cloud Orchestrator layers on top of your existing OpenShift migration — no separate programme required.
Workloads, storage, networking. The infrastructure migration runs as planned — Cloud Orchestrator doesn't change it.
Runs on your OpenShift cluster. Adds the commercial layer — tenancy, metering, portal, catalog — without touching the workload migration.
Map your existing vCD organisations to Cloud Orchestrator tenant workspaces. Policies, quotas, and access controls carry over.
Recreate your vApp templates as catalog items. Add new services — Kubernetes clusters, DBaaS — that weren't possible before.
Your customers log into your new branded portal. Same self-service experience — on modern infrastructure, with a modern operating model.
Stakater Cloud is the reference implementation. We run this operating model ourselves — every day.
Every vCD capability we've described runs in production on our own cloud — not a demo environment.
Stakater Cloud launched on this model. Paying customers from day one. Production workloads running today.
Our operator is on the Red Hat Marketplace. The tenancy model is certified, supported, and production-ready.
Stakater
✓ Red Hat Certified Multi-Tenant Operator
✓ Master Services Agreement — Sweden
✓ Reloader — 24B+ downloads, 9.9k GitHub stars
✓ Global team across 8 countries
Cloud Orchestrator layers on top of your OpenShift migration. You're in production within 90 days.
Architecture validated, scope locked
We
· Review your current stack
· Map tenant requirements
You
· Provide infra access
· Nominate platform lead
Cloud Orchestrator running, first tenant onboarded
We
· Deploy Cloud Orchestrator
· Configure tenancy model
You
· OpenShift cluster ready
· SSO credentials
10 tenants live, self-service working
We
· Build service catalog
· White-label the portal
You
· Select pilot tenants
· Validate billing output
Full tenant base migrated, cutover complete
We
· Run-book delivered
· Team trained
You
· Cutover comms
· Support escalation path
New services launched, metering live
We
· Quarterly reviews
· New catalog items
You
· Growth targets
· Feedback loops
OpenShift replaces vSphere.
Cloud Orchestrator replaces vCloud Director.
The complete stack — ready to go.
stakater.com