News
Webinar: Why TrueFullstaq chose OpenNebula - from customer to partner
We were days away from launching a new VMware platform. Then we had to rethink the decision from scratch.
We were a week away from launch. The platform had been designed. The hardware had been purchased. Months of preparation were coming together for the rollout of a new VMware-based platform. Then everything changed.
"We walked out of that meeting pretty shocked," recalls Marijn de Vlieger, Head of Technology at TrueFullstaq. What followed was not another vendor comparison. It was a complete re-evaluation of the assumptions behind our platform strategy.
At the time, we were not looking for an alternative to VMware. We thought we had already made our choice. But when the circumstances around that decision changed only days before launch, we were forced to revisit a question many organizations rarely stop to ask: Was technical fit enough, or should we also rethink our dependency model? That question ultimately led us to OpenNebula Systems (an open-source cloud and edge computing management platform), first as a customer and later as a partner.
The second evaluation was different
Could we continue to use the hardware we had already invested in? Would we retain operational control? How dependent would we become on a single vendor? And if circumstances changed again in the future, how difficult would it be to move away?
Those questions reshaped our requirements. Reusing existing hardware, open APIs, multi-tenancy, enterprise support and operational control became key criteria. Most importantly, we wanted a credible exit path.That last point became increasingly important.
Replacing VMware is not simply replacing a hypervisor. Organizations build automations, operational processes, Kubernetes platforms and business-critical services on top of their infrastructure. Once all those layers depend on a platform, changing direction becomes increasingly difficult.
As Marijn explained during the webinar, the real question became: What is your exit surface?
Why OpenNebula Systems stood out
When we started evaluating alternatives, OpenNebula continued to score well, not only technically but also strategically.
OpenNebula combined an open-source foundation with enterprise support, a straightforward architecture and extensive automation capabilities. It gave us the ability to operate and extend the platform ourselves while still having access to professional support when needed. In other words, it offered control without forcing us to go unsupported. That balance mattered.
The decision was never about finding the cheapest option or making an ideological statement about open source. It was about choosing a platform that met our technical requirements while allowing us to stay in control of our own future.
From platform evaluation to operations
Selecting OpenNebula was only the beginning. Once the platform was running, the discussion shifted from features to day-to-day operations. OpenNebula became the foundation underneath managed services, Kubernetes environments, virtual machines and customer workloads. Existing compute, storage and networking resources were integrated into a single operational model.
At that point, we stopped evaluating the product. We started operating infrastructure. That operational experience gave us a different perspective on the platform. We became active contributors, not just users.
Open source comes with responsibility
One of the lessons we shared during the webinar is that adopting open source also means participating in its success. If you want a platform to evolve in a direction that benefits your customers and your business, contributing back is part of the equation.
A good example is our work around Talos Linux. A customer approached us with a specific question: could Talos clusters be operated on OpenNebula in edge environments? Instead of building a customer-specific workaround, our engineers collaborated with the OpenNebula ecosystem to create a reusable integration. The resulting implementation was released as open source and is available for others to use.
According to the OpenNebula team, the work became a valuable addition to the ecosystem. For us, it demonstrated the advantage of an open platform. Improvements made for one customer can become improvements for everyone.
Why we became a partner
Over time, the relationship naturally evolved. We started as a customer. We built and operated our own platform. We contributed integrations and engineering work. Eventually, becoming a partner became the logical next step.
OpenNebula focuses on building the platform itself. TrueFullstaq brings expertise in architecture, implementation, migration, and operations. Together, that creates a strong combination for organizations looking for alternatives to traditional virtualization platforms.
As more organizations reassess their infrastructure strategy, the discussion is increasingly about more than technology. It is about control, flexibility, and long-term operational freedom.
For us, that journey led from customer to partner. And it started with a decision we thought had already been made.
